Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/27

Rh ABE-KGLASXEY. 17 ABERLADY. bigh, and 213| miles from London, being a station on the Holy head railway. Khyl is the nearest post town. The town is situated in the valley through which the river Geley flows, which hero falls into the Irish Sea. In the neighbourhood, the scenery id bold and picturesque, the mountains rising to a great height south of the town. It is believed that the sea has considerably encroached on this part of the cuast. At some points there are sandy cliffs overhang- ing the sea, and at low water a wide tract of loam is exposed, in which oaks, nearly entire, have been found. The place has not a few historical associations. Before the Norman conquest was achieved, Harold the Saxon encountered Grufydd-ab-Llewellyn, Prince of North Wales, in the vicinity of the great rock Cevn Ogo. A bloody battle was fought, which terminated in the defeat of Harold. During the reign of William the Conqueror, the Welsh attacked Hugh Lupus in the pass of Cevn Ogo, which is very narrow, as he was on his way to invade and take possession of Anglesey. In the reign of Henry II., Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North Wales, made a stand against the English on this ground and succeeded in repulsing them ; and it was near this pass that Richard II., having been invited by Earl Percy to a friendly conference with Bolingbroke, while on his way was betrayed, and earned off as a prisoner to Flint Castle. Traces of an ancient camp are found on a limestone hill near the town, and bear the name of Castell Cawr. On another hill, at a little distance from the former, called Mount of the Watch-tower, are remains of an ancient British fort. Cevn Ogo is a limestone rock, about 2 miles W. of the town, in which there are several caves, one very large and magnificent. The entrance to this principal cave is by an arch 48 feet in height. The large chamber to winch it leads is 30 feet high, and is said to extend an unknown distance into the rock. The sides and roof are rich in beautiful >,. !M elites, and the floor is covered with stalagmites of a deep orange colour. A large quantity of limestone is obtained from the Llysfaen quarries, in the mountains south of the town, and shipped to Liverpool. There is a telegraph in communication with Liverpool on these mountains, at the height of above 700 feet. The church is very low and plain, but of great length, and has a lofty square tower. It is dedicated to St. Michael. The living is a vie., val. 400, in the dioc. of St. Asaph, and in the patron, of the bishop. The Independents, Baptists, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists have chapels here. Petty sessions are held in the town ; Saturday is the market day. Fair's for cattle and horses are held on the 2nd April ; on the Wednesday before Holy Thursday ; 18th June, 20th August, and 9th October. Gwyrch Castle, the seat of the Heskeths, stands on the summit of a rock between the town and < Vvii Ogo. It is a very large structure, recently erected, with spacious terraces and eighteen embattled towers. ABERGLASNEY, near the vil of Llandilofawr, in the co. of Carmarthen, 14 miles N.E. of Carmarthen. It is situated on the river Glasney, at a short distance from Grongar Hill. ABERGORLECH, a vil. in the par. of Llanybyther, bund, of Cathinog, in the co. of Carmarthen, South Wales, 6 miles N.W. of Llandilofawr, at the confluence of the rivers Gorlech and Cothy. The living is a cur., val. 60, in the dioc. of St. David's, and in the patron, of the vicar. ABERGWILLY, a par. in the hund. of Elvct, in the co. of Carmarthen, South Wales, 2 miles N.E. of Car- marthen, on the road from Carmarthen to Llandilo- fawr. It is pleasantly situated on the Gwilly, at its confluence with the-Towy, amidst the meadow grounds watered by these streams. The Gwilly is here crossed by a stone bridge of three arches. A fierce conflict took place on this ground in the year 1020, between LleweUyn-ap-Sytsyllt, Prince of Wales, and a Scottish chief, named Rhun, who pretended that ho was the son of Meredydd-ap-Owain ; the pretender was defeated and slain. The chief points of interest in the place at present are the old church and the episcopal palace. VOL. I. The church, dedicated to St. David, is very plain, and consists of two aisles, separated by a series of pointed arches and octagonal columns. It has no tower. The churchyard is planted with evergreens. The church was made collegiate in 1287, but its establishment was removed by Henry VIII. to Brecknock College. The episcopal palace stands on the Towy, which winds through the grounds. It is a recent structure, in the Elizabethan stylo of architecture, the old palace having been allowed to fall into decay. The living is a vie.,* val. 172, in the dioc. of St. David's. It is in the patron, of the Dean and Canons of Windsor, but the bishop is by courtesy allowed to present. He is also lord of the manor. Besides the parish church, there has lately been erected a new one at Llauvihangel UwahgwUly, which is a perpet. cur., val. 75, in the patron, of the vicar. Slate is obtained from quarries in the parish, and many hands are employed in working it. Petty sessions are held once a month. Fairs, chiefly for cattle, take place on the 2nd and 27th October. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Methodists. Twelve poor children of the parish are educated by means of an endowment of 6 a year, originated by some unknown benefactor. At White Mill, near the village, is a wood, on ground rising steeply from the road, and called Merlin's Grove, where the great enchanter, sage, or sorcerer, resided and was buried. Tradition speaks of a cave in the centre of this wood as the scene of the incantations to which allusion is made in Spenser's " Faery Queen." The principal seats are Cwm-Guilly, and Gallt-y-G6g. ABERHAFESP, a par. in the upper div. of the hund. and union of Newtown, in Montgomeryshire, North Wales, 2 miles N.W. of Newtown. This place derives its name from its situation at the confluence of the river Hafesp with the Severn. The Roman road from Caer-sws to Mediolanum, passed through the parish, and traces of it still remain on a farm named Llwydd Coed. The views from the church and the rectory are very fine, over the rich and varied scenery of the Vale of Severn, bounded in the distance by Plinlimnion and other mountains. The living is a rect.,* in the dioc. of St. Asaph, val. 356, and in the patron, of the bishop. The church is an ancient edifice, in the early English style, and is dedicated to St. Cynog (Gwynnog). The Baptists and Independents have places of worship here. The principal occupations of the inhabitants are flannel-weaving, fishing, and working in the quarries. A medicinal spring, named Black Well, is much thought of and resorted to for relief in cases of scrofula. ABERHALE, a tnshp. in the par. of Tregynon, in the co. of Montgomery, North Wales, 5 miles to the N. of Newtown. ABERHALL, a small place in the par. of Hentland, in the co. of Hereford, 4 miles N.W. from Ross railway station, near the junction of the road from Hereford to Monmouth. ABERHONDDHU. See BRECKNOCK. ABERKENFIGG, a vil. in the tnshp. of Higher New- castle, par. and hund. of Newcastle, in the eo. of Gla- morgan, South Wales, near Bridgend. ABERLADY, a par. and district in the co. of Had- dington, Scotland, 5 miles N.W. of Haddington, and 15 E. of Edinburgh. It is situated at the head of an extensive, flat, sandy beach, where the river Peffer, or Leddie, as it is conjectured to have been once called, falls into the Frith of Forth. David I. made a grant of the parish to the bishopric of Dunkeld, which he established. In 1522 it passed from Gavin Douglas, at that time the bishop, to his brother, Archibald Douglas. It was converted into a temporal barony by James VI. The village is large and clean. The soil near the sea is light and sandy, and a rabbit warren extends along the shore. The views from the village are very fine, em- bracing the Filth of Forth, the Pentland Hills, Arthur's Scat, Edinburgh, with its churches, and spires, and castle, and the Grampian Mountains in the far distance. Gosford House, the seat of the Earl of Wemyss, and its beautiful grounds, are situated along the Forth, and extend to a T>