Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/25

Rh .- ABERDINAS CREEK. 15 ABERFFRAW. royal forces suffered, defeat at Inverury. Ruins of many feudal castlea still exist in Abei-deenshire. On the northern coast is Dundargue, situated on a rock, which rises 60 feet above the sea, and is connected by a narrow ridge of rock with the mainland. On the same coast, near Banff, is Ken Edgar Castle, the old residence of the Comyns. Pitsligo and Pittulie Castles are near Fraserburgh. On the eastern coast stands Slains Castle, the seat of the Earls of Errol. It was destroyed, in 1594, by order of James VI., but has been rebuilt. On the Ythan was Fyvie Castle, a very fine Gothic structure. Many others might be mentioned. The monastic remains are not numerous. There was a Cistercian abbey near the village of Old Deer ; and a priory of the Tyronenses, in Fyvie, which is said to have been founded in the 12th century, by Fergus, Earl of Buchan. The principal seats in the county are the folio-wing : Haddo House (the Earl of Aberdeen) ; Aboyne Castle (the Murquis of Huntley) ; Slains Castle (the Earl of Errol) ; Keith-hall House (the Earl of Kintore) ; Mar Lodge (the Earl of Fife) ; Phi- lorth House (Lord Saltoun) ; Castle Forbes (Lord Forbes) ; Strichen (Lord Lovat) ; Monymusk (Grant, Bart.) ; Fin- tray, Crimonmogatc, Scotstown, Pitsligo, Edinglassie, Rannes, Logie Elphinstone, Fyvie, &c., &c. ABERDINAS CREEK, on the north coast of Pern- broke, South Wales, not far from Dinas Head, an anchorage for small craft. ABEKDOUR, a par. in the district of Buchan, in the co. of Aberdeen, Scotland, 6 miles V. of Fraserburgh. It is situated at the mouth of the river Dour, and extends for 6| miles along the coast of the Moray Frith, which is here very rugged and broken, having not more than three points at which landing is possible. There are many caves, one of which, called the Cow's Haven cave, is of considerable size, being 90 feet in length and 22 in breadth. On a promontory stand the ruins of Dun- dargue Castle, formerly a seat of the Earls of Buchan. Horn King David Bruce was once confined and besieged by the Regent Murray. The parish contains the villages of Aberdour New, and Pennan. It is chiefly a moorland district. There are two millstone quarries. Fishing forms the principal occupation of the people. The living is in the presb. of Deer, val. 204, and in the patron, of Gordon of Aberdour House. The par. contains above 20 square miles. ABERDOUR, a par. in the Dunfermline district, of Fifeshire, Scotland, 3 miles W. of Burntisland. Its name is Gaelic, and signifies the "mouth of Dour." It is a port and favourite bathing-place, situated on the Frith of Forth, at the ferry to Leith. It is near the Edinburgh and Northern railway, and the Cullelo hills. The living is in the prcsb. of Duufermline, val. '208, and in the patron, of the Earl of Morton. The par. includes the vils. of Aberdour Easter and Aberdour Wester, New Town and Inchcohn Island. The district is less bleak and much more cultivated than it used to be. Coal and iron are obtained here, as are also lime and stone ; and there are manufactures of muslin and coarse linen. The Earl of Morton, whose seat is Aberdour Castle, takes hence the title of Baron, and the popular one of " Carle" or " Gudeman of Aberdour." The nuns commonly called " Poor Clares," had a convent here ; and there is still an hospital for four widows, founded by Anne, Countess of Moray. The small island of Inchcolm, upon which are the ruins of Inchcolm monastery, founded in the 12th century by Alexander I., belongs to this parish, and is held by the Morays. ABERDOVEY, a vil. in the tnshp. of Cefnrhos, in Merionethshire, North Wales, 4 miles S.E. of Towyn. It is a bathing-place at the mouth of the river Dovey, which here falls into' the bay of Cardigan, and is a sub- port to Aberystwith. The harbour is good, with a bar north of the entrance to it. The vessels belonging to it are engaged in the coasting trade. There is a ferry to Cardiganshire. The new road from Pennal to Powyn, constructed in 1827, passes through Aberdovoy, that part of it which lies between Pennal and Aberdovey being cut through the solid rock. Here are some extensive slate quarries, and mines of copper and lead. Petty sessions for the hundred are held in the village. lenan Dyvi, a bard of the loth century, was born in this parish The living is a perpet. cur. in the dioc. of Bangor, in the patron, of trustees. ABERDULAIS, a hmlt. in the par. and union of Neath, in the co. of Glamorgan, 2 miles N.E. of Neath, at the confluence of the rivers Dulais and Neath. Here are considerable iron and tin works. ABEREDW, a par. in the hund. of Colwyn, and union of Builth, in the co. of Radnor, South Wales, 3 milca S.E. of Builth. It is situated at the mouth of the Edwy, a small stream abounding in trout and eels which falls into the Wye. The surrounding scenery is highly picturesque: the ground generally rocky and uneven. The church, which is dedicated to St. Cewydd, stands on a precipitous rock overlooking the Edwy, which flows by in a deep and narrow channel between the rocks, which are partly bare, partly wooded. Llewellyn is said to have resorted to a small cave here during his last struggles with the English. He had a castle at the head of the dell, of which part of the tower and a wall still remain. The inhabitants of the town are said to have sent intelligence to the English of his place of retreat, which led to his being surprised and overpowered. For this they were called the " traitors of Aberedw." The living is a rect., with Llanvareth annexed, val. 355, in the dioc. of St. David's. The bishop is patron. ABERERCH, a par. in the hund. of Dinlaen, union of Pwllheli, in the co. of Carnarvon, North Wales, 1 mile N.E. of Pwllheli. It lies pleasantly on the shore at the mouth of the river Erch, and the surrounding scenery- is very agreeable. It has a large ancient church dedi- cated to bt. Cwrda. The living is a perpet. cur. with the cur. of Penrhoss annexed, val. 96, in the patron of the Lord Chancellor. The Independents, and the Cal- vinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, have chapels in the parish. ABER-ESCIR, or ABER-ESGAIR, Brecknockshire. See AKERYSCIR. ABERFELDIE, a vil. in the pars, of Dull and Logierait, in the co. of Perth, Scotland, 6 miles from Kenmore. It stands in the midst of the finest scenery on the river Tay, at the foot of the Grampians, near the falls of Moness. The "birks of Aberfeldy" are the theme of one of the most graceful songs of Burns. A bridge, built by General Wade, crosses the river here. The Marquis of Breadalbane has his seat here, and there are a few Druidical remains. ABERFFRAW, a par. in the hund. of Malltraeth, in the co. of Anglesey, North Wales, 16 miles S.W. of Beaumaris. It is a station on the Holyhead railway. Bangor is the post town. The vil. is situated on the bay of Carnarvon, and the port is subordinate to Beau- maris. The par. includes 9 tythgs., and was formerly a market town. The living is a rect. * in the dioc. of Bangor, val. 888, in the patron, of the Prince of Wales. The church is dedicated to St. Beuno ; its tower was destroyed many years ago. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. Fairs are held on the 7th March, Tuesday after Palm Sunday, Wednesday after Trinity Sunday, the 15th August, the 23rd October, and the llth December. At a very remote period, Aberffraw was the principal residence of the princes of North Wales. A palace was erected, it is said, as early as the middle of the 5th century. In the year 870 the seat of government was re-established here after it had been removed to Carnarvon by Roderic the Great ; and here it was fixed till the death of Llewellyn in 1282. One of the three copies of the laws of Hywel Dha was deposited here. Here too was held the Eistedvodd, or triennial assembly of the bards of the district. No traces of the ancient palace exist, but at the south-eastern extremity of the village there is an enclosure still called Qardd-y- Llys, or the " palace garden." " Snake Gems," which are large beads of blue glass, and are supposed to be of Roman manufacture, are sometimes found near this village, and are even at the present time used supersti- tiously as charms.