Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/501

Rh CARMAPvTHEN. 491 CARMARTHENSHIRE. outside tho town. The county gaol stands on part of the site of the old castle ; and in the parish of Llanllwch is a lunatic asylum erected in 1SG3, on a grand scale, for the counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan, and Pembroke. There are a custom-house, gas-works, water-works, and a fish-market. Carmarthen is the seat of a thriving trade, chiefly in connection with the port, which ia subordinate to the port of Llanelly. Vessels of 150 tons burthen can approach the quay. They are for the most part engaged in tbe coasting trade, tim- ber, slates, marble, lead ore, oats, and Borne provisions being exported. The salmun fishery is carried on to a great extent, and with considerable profit. The primitive light boat called the coracle is still in use among the fisher- men on the Towy as well as on the Teify. Shipbuild- ing employs some of the inhabitants. Ln tho vicinity are tin-works and iron foundries. The town was in- corporated by a charter of Henry VIII. Under the Municipal Act the borough ia divided into wards, and the corporation consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors, bearing the style of tho " mayor, burgesses, and commonalty of the town and borough of Carmar- 11." With tho contributory borough of Llanelly it ins one member to the imperial parliament. The
 * -.uo of the corporation is about 1,900 per annum.

I'.iruiartht-n is the seat of a Poor-law Union, tho head ' 'ouuty Court district, the chief place for the county
 * ion, and the headquarters of tho Carmarthenshire

militia. Tho assizes and quarter sessions are held . except at Midsummer, when tho latter are held
 * <>vawr. Two weekly newspapers, called the

!:tftn and the Cunnitt'thcn Journal, are published .Carmarthen is the head of an archdeac. and a deanery in the dioc. of St. David's. Tho living is a vie.* in the dioc. of St. David's, of the val. of 130, in the patron, of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. i'eter. It ia a very ancient building in tho early English style, with a square tower, but has been dis- figured by modern alterations. It is said to have been of the form of a cross, but there is now no transept on the N. side. Although in the middle of the present town, this church stood outside the old walls. It contains several very interesting old monuments, foremost among which is the altar-tomb, with recumbent effigies of Sir llhys ab Thomas and his lady. Sir Rhys was made a knight of the Garter on Bosworth Field, in recognition i of his services to the Earl of Richmond (Henry VII). Here are alao monuments to Lady Vaughan and the Scurlock family, and the grave of Sir Richard Steelo, who married a Scurlock and died in this town. There are two district churches. The living of Llanllwch is a pcrpet. cur., val. 120, in the gift of the Bishop of St. David's ; and that of St. David's is a perpet. cur.,* val. 190, in the gift of the Vicar of Carmarthen. There are two chapels belonging to tho Independents, two to the Baptists, two each to tho Wesleyan and Cal- vinistie Methodists, and one to the Unitarians. Car- marthen has several important educational establish- ments. The grammar school was founded and endowed by Dr. Morgan Owen, Bishop of Llandaff, about the middle of the 17th century. It has an income of 20 a year, and an exhibition at Cambridge University, <Ies the preference to two exhibitions at Oxford, open to tho county. The Presbyterian College is for the education and training of young men for the ministry. In 1847 was founded here the South Wales Diocesan Training School for CO pupils. Tho buildings, which comprise dwellings for the masters and scholars, chapel, lecture-rooms, &c., occupy 10 acres of ground, and have i iidsomo front in the Gothic stylo. There are Na- tiunal, British, infant, and other schools, and a literary institution. Almshouscs for six aged men were founded in 1087 by Charles Powell ; and a hospital, or almshouse, in St. Petcr's-strect, has an endowment of 25 per annum, the gift of Sir Rico Rudd, Bart., about 1040. The charitable endowments of the parish are worth about 180 per annum.- Tho remains of antiquity in Carmarthen consist of portions of the old town walls, and some inconsiderable remains of the castle, of St. Mary's church, of the priory of St. John, and of tho Grey Friary, the latter of which was a cell to the abbey of St. Augustine, Bristol. The famous enchanter, Mer- lin, is said to have been a native of Carmarthen or its neighbourhood. This town was tho birthplace of Dr. Bailey, Bishop of Bangor, General Sir Thomas Picton, and General Lord Nott. There is a monument to Picton. on a hill near the town. An Eistedfodd, or " Assembly of tho Bards," was held at Carmarthen in 1450. The town was several times visited by the plague during tho first half of the 17th century. Tho drainage and water- supply of the town are reported to be seriously defective. Carmarthen gives the title of marquis to the Osbornes, dukes of Leeds. Saturday is tho market day. Fairs are hold on tho 12th March, tho 16th May, tho 12th August, the 20th September, and the 5th December, chiefly for the sale of cattle. Tho par. extends about 5 miles in length and 4 in breadth. CARMARTHENSHIRE, a maritime co. of South Wales, bounded on the X. by Cardiganshire, on tho E. by Brecknockshire, on the S. by the Bristol Channel, and on the W. by Pembrokeshire. It extends in length from N.E. to S.W. about 50 miles, and its greatest breadth is about 33 miles. It has a coast line of 35 miles. The entire circuit of the co. is about 160 miles, being tho largest co. in tho principality. It has an area of 972 square miles, or 606,331 acres. It is situ- ated between 51 4' and 52 8' N. lat., and between 3 4' and 4 50' W. long. Under the Roman dominion this county formed part of that division of the island called Britannia Sccunda, and was occupied, like the neighbouring counties of Pembroke and Cardigan, by the tribe named Demeta;. Tho Romans constructed several military roads across it, the principal of which were tho Via Julia Maritima and tho Via Julia Montana. After the withdrawal of the Romans, this county, with Cardigan and other parts of South Wales, formed the territory of Caredigion (Cardigan), and with the rest of Wales fell under tho dominion of Rhodri Mawr (Roderick the Great), in the 9th century. On his death this district fell to the lot of his son Cadell, who had his palace and seat of government at Dynevor. Disputes and armed conflicts occurred between him and his brothers, and tho country was ravaged by war. The successor of Cadell, in 907, in the sovereignty of South Wales was tho illustrious Hywel Dda (Hywel tho Good), who obtained afterwards tho sovereignty of North Wales, and compiled the celebrated code which boars his name, and remained in force for centuries. Partitions and bloody contests followed the death of Hywel, and before the close of the century the district was invaded and wasted by the Danes. In 1015 Llewellyn, by the defeat of Aedan, made himself master of both North and South Wales. His position was strengthened by another victory obtained five years later over Rhun, a Scottish adventurer, at Abergwili. Llewellyn fell in a battle fought near Carmarthen tho following year (1021 ), in which, however, his rivals, and the Irish and Scotch forces supporting them, were defeated. From that time to the close of the 1 1th century, the same tale is repeated of ambitious princes, rivalries, contentions, and arbitrament of tho sword. The Normans made their appearance in South Wales about 1080, when the native princes did homage to the Conqueror. After a few years the ancient kingdom of Dynevor began to decline, till it comprehended no more than Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire. Nor- man castles were founded, and a new series of troubles and conflicts began. For a few years Henry I. held tho sovereignty of South Wales. It was claimed by Ginf- fydd ab Rhys, and after tho unsuccessful but harassing struggles of several years, tho king made peace with this prince, about 1120, and gave up to him tho greater part of Dynevor. A century and a half had yet to elapse before these petty wars of prince with prince, and of both with Norman lords, were brought to a close by the com- plete subjugation of tho principality by Edward I. After that event, and the passing of the Statutes of Rhuddlan for the future government of Wales, Carmarthen waa made tho seat of the courts of law. A revolt was headed