Part 28

On Llanymynech hill is an artificial cave of considerable length, called _Ogo_ (from the Welsh word _Ogof_, signifying a cave), supposed to have been worked by the Romans as a copper mine. It contains many sinuosities, and is generally about three yards wide, having many turnings and passages connected with each other. Some years ago, all the passages of this subterraneous labyrinth were explored by J. F. M. Dovaston, Esq., when none of the paths were found to extend more than two hundred yards from the entrance. The passages are cut through the rock, which is of limestone, whereon frequently appear the marks of chisels, and the various ramifications have no doubt been made in quest of the rich veins of ore. Subsequent to the Romans, it probably became either a place of refuge after battle, or a depository for the dead, for human skeletons, culinary vessels, hatchets, and Roman coins have been found in this cavern. A finger-bone was picked up with a ring on it. One of the skeletons had a curious battle-axe beneath his arm, and not far from it were the bones of a man, woman, a child, a dog, and a cat. Some time ago several Roman coins, mostly of Constantine, were found in the earth which was washed down the side of the hill. The water which drops in some parts of the cave is of a petrifying quality, and forms stalactites; the drops of water hanging on the points of each, catch the light of the candle, and give the surrounding space a glittering illumination extremely beautiful. It is probable that a battle has been fought here in disputing for this mine, or that the large entrenchments, that run parallel with the Clawdd Offa eastwardly, were made to defend it. Not far from this cave is a Cromlech, called the GIANT’S GRAVE. At the north-east end are four large stones, which formerly supported a fifth flat stone on their points, in form of a Brandart, called in Welsh _Trwbad_; but these are now thrown down. Towards the south-west proceed two rows of flat stones, six feet asunder, and thirty-six in length. On digging here a Druid’s celt was found, and several other things, with human bones, the teeth very perfect.

There is a sum of £26 in the hands of the churchwardens, the origin of which is not known. It was received from the executors of the late incumbent, who died in 1829. The interest is distributed among poor women of the parish at Christmas.

LLANYTIDMAN

is a township with a scattered population, five and a half miles south from Oswestry, having in 1841, 113 houses and 545 inhabitants. Here are extensive stone quarries and lime works, and the township is intersected by the Ellesmere and Llanymynech canal, and the Oswestry and Llanymynech turnpike road.

TREPRENAL

is a small township in Llanymynech parish, comprising three houses and 21 inhabitants. Here is LLWYNYGROES HALL, the residence of R. N. Broughton, Esq., delightfully situated, commanding fine views of the surrounding country.

POST OFFICE.—_At Mr. John Lloyd’s_. Letters arrive by gig mail from Oswestry at 9.30 A.M., and are despatched 4 P.M.

_Those marked_ 1 _reside at Llanytidman_, 2 _at Treprenal_.

2 Asterley Thomas, farmer

Asterley William Lloyd, Esq.

Batterbee Charles, brazier, plumber, painter, and beerhouse keeper

Baugh Margaret, vict., Cross Keys

1 Bothell Mary, farmer

Bower William, wool agent

2 Broughton Richard Nightingale, woolstapler and maltster, Llwynygroes hall

Broughton and Asterley, grocers, drapers, and general dealers

Davies Mrs., gentlewoman

1 Davies John, farmer and miller

Dovaston Edward Milward, surgeon

1 Dyke Isaac, farmer

Ellis Letia, tailor and draper

1 Evans John, farmer, gardener, and rate collector

Griffiths Richard, blacksmith

Griffiths Richard, draper and grocer

1 Griffiths Jn., quarry master

Gwynne George, cooper

Gwynne George, shoemaker

Hackett John, tallow chander

1 Harris Geo., quarry master

1 Harrison John, farmer

Hughes Edward, shoemaker

1 Humphreys James, vict., Cross Guns

Jeffreys John, weaver

Jones Edward., saddler and harness maker

1 Jones Thomas, farmer

Leak Francis, toll collector

Lloyd John, farmer, timber merchant, builder, and vict., Lion Inn

Lloyd Richard, vict., Dolphin

Luxmoore Rev. John, the Rectory

Morgan Edward, saddler and dealer

Morris John, shoemaker

Parkins Charles, shoemaker

Poole Mrs., gentlewoman

1 Price Elizabeth, farmer

Price Hugh, seedsman

1 Pryce William, gentleman, Holly Bush

Pugh Henry, seedsman and druggist

Pugh James Owen, grocer and draper

Ratcliffe Samuel, farmer

Richards Richard, farmer, maltster, and vict., Bradford Arms

1 Roberts William, gentleman, Prospect cottage

Rodgers Edward, farmer

1 Savage Elizabeth, farmer

2 Sheldon Wm., gentleman

Thomas Thomas, farmer

Thomas Robert, schoolmaster and parish clerk

Watson Miss, post office

Whitticose Mary, gentlewoman

Williams Sarah, schoolmistress

CARRIER.—Hugh Price, to Oswestry on Wednesdays and on Mondays, Saturdays, and Welshpool on Mondays.

ST. MARTIN

is a parish, and small but pleasantly situated village, five miles N.E. from Oswestry, and about the same distance W. from Ellesmere. The parish comprises the townships of Bronygarth, Ifton Rhyn, and Weston Rhyn, containing together 5,314A. 2R. 25P. of land, and had in 1801, 1,476 inhabitants; in 1831, 2,099; and in 1841, 2,200. The village of St. Martin is included in IFTON RHYN township, which contains 2,813A. 2R. 33P. of land; and at the census of 1841 had 217 houses and 1,620 souls. Rateable value, £4,570. The principal land owners are the Right Hon. Arthur Trevor Viscount Dungannon, of Bryn-Kinalt Castle, the Hon. W. M. B. Nugent, Dean and Chapter of Winchester, R. G. Jebb, Esq., J. Haslam, Esq., Joshua Jones, Esq., Mrs. Fallows, and Edward H. Dymock, Esq. This township lies on the N.W. confines of the county, and has some fine grazing land. It is separated from Denbighshire by the Ceiriog river. The Morlass brook here turns several corn mills, and has its confluence with the Ceiriog about a mile from the Erewescob corn mill.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Martin, stands on an eminence, and is a conspicuous object for many miles around. It consists of nave, north aisle, chancel, and a massive square tower at the west end. The side aisle is separated from the nave by five pointed arches rising from octagonal pillars. The east end of the church and the east window have recently been rebuilt; the lower part of the window is divided into three compartments, and the upper part is foliated, and ornamented with stained glass. The windows on the south side of the church are also richly adorned with stained glass. The one near the pulpit has beautiful representations of St. Peter and St. Paul; another has the armorial bearings of the bishop of the diocese, the rural dean, and the vicar. There are also the armorial bearings of Viscount Dungannon, by whose munificence the church has been renovated; and these beautiful decorations have been added within these last twenty years. The old font, which is of stone, has been re-hewn and modernized. A beautiful mural marble monument remembers Richard Phillips, Esq., of Thyn-y-rhos, who died in 1824, and his second son, Richard, ensign of the 17th regiment of the Hon. East India Company’s service, who died at sea, off the Cape of Good Hope, on his return from India in 1832. There are also several other neat tablets in the church. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £5. 2s. 3½d., now returned at £320, in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph, and enjoyed by the Rev. William Hurst, M.A. The Vicarage is a neat residence, a little W. by S. from the church. The vicarial tithes have been commuted for £261, and the rectorial for £862. On the west side of the churchyard is a lofty and finely proportioned elm tree, which is seen at a great distance; and about a quarter of a mile west from the church, near the toll-gate, stands a magnificent oak tree of considerable magnitude. IFTON HEATH is a scattered district, chiefly of detached cottages, half a mile N.W. from the church. Here the Primitive Methodists and the Wesleyan Association have each a small chapel. The Primitive Methodists have also a chapel on ST. MARTIN’S MOOR, a scattered district of houses near a mile, W. by S. from the church.

CHARITIES.—BRYNGWYLA SCHOOL, situated about a mile W.W. by S. from the church, was founded in 1705 by _Edward Phillips_, for the instruction of twelve poor boys of the parish of St. Martin to read and write. Mr. Phillips also endowed the school with the sum of £100, and directed £3. 12s. yearly to be paid to the schoolmaster, who was to occupy the school-house rent free, on condition of his keeping the premises in repair. The donor also directed 4d. to be given to each boy every Ascension day for his encouragement; and 5s. to be expended by the vicar, trustees, and schoolmaster, in remembrance of the benefactor. The master now receives £4. 13s. 6d. per annum, from which 5s. is paid to the trustees, but nothing is paid to the children. The master receives 25s. yearly in respect of John Price’s charity hereafter mentioned.

ALMSHOUSES.—The almshouses are situated near the west side of the churchyard. They consist of six tenements, mantled with ivy, and are supported by _Lord Dungannon_. The inmates are clothed, receive 15s. a quarter, a loaf of bread on Fridays, and two tons of coal yearly. There is also a school, where twelve children are clothed and educated.

_Arthur Trevor_, of Kay Mark, left £2 a-year; one half to be given to the poor on St. Thomas’s day, and the other half on Good Friday. The amount is paid by the agent of Lord Dungannon.

_Thomas Abellis_ left 21s. per annum, payable out of a piece of land called Cae-Rhoes. In 1812, Edward Birch, a mortgagee, and Edward Jones, in consideration of £220. 10s., conveyed to the Ellesmere Canal Company a parcel of land called Cae Rhoes, and the said Edward Jones covenanted that he would indemnify the said company from a rent-charge of 20s., payable out of the said premises. The property is still in the possession of the Ellesmere Canal Company, but nothing had been paid thereout to the poor for a period of twelve years when the Charity Commissioners published their report. Application had been made to Mr. Price, of Felton Butler, who married the heiress of Mr. Jones, and he promised to continue the payment of this rent-charge.

_Edward Phillips_ charged a piece of land with the payment of 4s. yearly for the benefit of the poor.

_John Price_ bequeathed £100, and directed the interest of £25 to be applied in the education of youth, and the interest of £75 to be bestowed in clothing for some of the poorest parishioners. The amount is secured on a piece of land in Weston Rhynn, from which £5 are paid yearly.

There are two cottages in the township of Soutley, in the parish of March Weil, Denbighshire, adjoining premises purchased by the governors of Queen Ann’s Bounty, for the augmentation of the vicarage of St. Martin’s. These cottages have for a length of time been let for the benefit of the poor; but it is not known when or how the rents became thus appropriated. They were repaired some time ago at an expense of £30, which was borrowed for this purpose, and they are now let for £6 a-year. Of the rent, £3 is applied in paying off the debt, and the remaining £3 is given among the poor on St. Thomas’s day.

_Hugh Lloyd_ left a rent-charge of 16s. per annum, issuing out of certain lands, called Cae Dickin, in Weston Rhynn, and directed the amount to be expended in sixteen dozen of bread, to be distributed on St. Thomas’s day. It is stated on the table of benefactions, that “Richard Berkley, for Hugh Lloyd, pays for ten dozen of bread on St. Thomas’s day for ever.” The gift of _Edward Edwards_, of 20s. per annum to the poor of St. Martin’s, is void under the statute of 9 George II. It is stated in the parliamentary returns of 1786, that _David Hughes_ left £10 for the benefit of the poor; and among the parish documents there is a bond, dated in 1746, from Thomas Phillips, of Trehowell, for the payment of this money. Nothing, however, has been paid on this account for many years.

POST OFFICE—_At Esther Edwards_. Letters despatched at 2.30 P.M.

Beckitt Godfrey, butcher

Beckitt John, victualler, Cross Keys

Beckitt Roger, farmer, and land and timber valuer, Cadwagans Palace

Boodle William, shopkeeper

Dodd Richard, farmer, Pennybank

Dodd William, farmer and corn miller

Edwards David, tailor

Edwards Esther, farmer and shopkeeper

Edwards Mary, farmer, Peny-bryn

Edwards William, farmer

Griffiths Richard, schoolmaster

Harrison Francis, tailor

Hughes, Mrs. Jane

Hughes John, farmer, Erewescob

Hughes Robert, shopkeeper

Hughes Sarah, farmer and corn miller, Erewescob Mill

Hurst Rev. William, M.A., vicar

Isaac Jane, farmer, Rhosyllan

Jones Edward, wheelwright

Jones Elizabeth, farmer

Jones George, shoemaker

Jones Jane, shopkeeper

Jones Joshua, Esq., Wigginton Hall

Jones Richard, bricklayer, Glynmorlass

Jones Thomas, farmer, Wigginton

Jones William, provision dealer, St. Martin’s Moor

Jones William, shoemaker

Kynaston William, farmer, Wigginton

Lee Richard, farmer, Ifton Hall

Lee William, parish clerk

Lewis Thomas, grazier, Brook House

Matthews George, schoolmaster

Newnes Peter, shoemaker

Owen Richard, farmer, Glanywern

Parry Joseph, cooper

Powell Frances, schoolmistress

Powell Thomas, wheelwright

Powell William, wheelwright

Poynton John, farmer, Glenrid

Price John, farmer

Prynallt William, farmer

Randles Elizabeth, farmer

Roberts Edward, farmer, Wigginton

Roberts Joseph, tailor

Roberts Mary, farmer

Roberts Samuel, victualler, Crown Inn

Rogers Jane, schoolmistress

Rogers John, farmer and maltster, Ifton

Rogers Joseph, registrar & assistant overseer

Rogers Richard, shoemaker

Rogers Robert, stonemason

Rowland Elizabeth, farmer

Williams Daniel, farmer

Williams Jane, farmer

Williams John, farmer, Wigginton

Woodvill Thomas, farmer and maltster, Pine Bryn

Woollam Charles, farmer

Woollam John, farmer

WESTON RHYN

is a township and scattered village from two to three miles W. from St. Martin’s Church, containing 1850A. 2R. 4P. of land, and in 1841 here were 195 houses and 856 inhabitants. Rateable value, £4,053. The principal land owners are Frederick Richard West, Esq.; Rev. John C. Phillips; John Richard Powell, Esq.; Mr. James Edwards; E. H. Dymoch, Esq.; T. E. Ward, Esq.; Mr. John Pritchard, and Mrs. Dickin, Mr. Edward Heys, and others are also proprietors. A neat and ornamental school, in the early English style of architecture, was built in the year 1850 at the Lodge. The structure is of stone got from the neighbouring quarries, with the Cafn hewn stone for the windows and ornamental portions of the building; it measures 20 feet by 40 feet, and has a pitched roof with a neat belfry. The cost of the structure was £700, of which £40 was given by the National Society and £130 by the Privy Council on Education, the rest was raised by voluntary subscriptions. A residence for the teacher adjoins the school. The Calvinistic Methodists have a chapel at the lodge, built in 1811, the services of which are conducted in the Welsh language. Coal of a good quality is found upon the estate of John R. Powell, Esq.; a steam engine is now in course of erection to clear the mines of water. THE QUINTA, a handsome castellated residence built of lime stone, stands on a gentle acclivity, and commands some pleasing views to the south. It is surrounded with shrubberies and park-like grounds, and is the residence of Rowland Jones Venables, Esq., and the property of F. R. West, Esq. On the knoll of a hill a short distance from the hall, the owner of the estate about ten years ago caused immense blocks of stone to be reared up in the exact form of the celebrated Druidical Temple at Stonehenge. From this eminence a most beautiful panoramic view of the surrounding country is seen. PREES-GWENE HOUSE, the residence and property of John Richard Powell, Esq., stands in a sheltered situation embosomed in foliage. The Shrewsbury and Chester railway intersects this township, and has a station at Preesgwene, 1½ mile from Gabowen, and 22 miles from Chester. The large tithes of Weston Rhyn are commuted for £270.

Calcott William, corn miller

Davies William, butcher

Duckett Mary, corn miller, New mill

Duckett Mrs. Tamar, Weston villa

Edwards Moses, maltster & vict., The Lodge Inn

Evans David, boot and shoe maker, The Lodge

Evans William, farmer, Berllan-deg

Griffiths Francis, wheelwrigt

Griffiths Thomas, colliery owner and shopkeeper

Hayes Mr. Ed., The Lodge

Hughes Hugh, farmer

Hughes John, inland revenue officer, The Lodge

Hughes John, carpenter

Hughes William, carpenter

Jackson Richard, butcher, The Lodge

Johnson William, maltster and vict., New Inn

Jones John, blacksmith

Jones Peter, saddler and shopkeeper

Jones Thomas, paper manufacturer, Morda

Jones Thomas, farmer

Lewis Richard, farmer

Lloyd Elizabeth, blacksmith

Peate Martha, farmer and maltster, Moreton hall

Phillips Rev. John Croxon, Tryn-y-rhos

Powell John Richard, Esq., Prees-gwene house

Poynton Thomas, farmer, Weston hall

Richards Thomas Anderson, station master, Prys-gwane

Roberts Daniel, provision dealer, The Lodge

Roberts Hugh, farmer

Roberts Thomas, farrier

Rogers John, farmer

Rogers Walter, farmer

Scudamore Mr. John, Moreton hall

Smith Frederick William, Esq., Green field lodge

Thomas David, farmer, The Vron

Turner Joseph, beerhouse & shopkeeper, The Lodge

Usher John, butcher

Vaughan William, tailor

Venables Rowland Jones, Esq., The Quinta

Williams Ann, farmer

Williams Edward, farmer

Williams John, farmer

Williams John, shoemaker and shopkeeper

Williams John, carpenter

Williams Thos., corn miller

BRONYGARTH,

a small township in St. Martin’s parish, with 645A. 1R. 28P. of land, lies on the verge of the county, and is separated from Denbighshire by the Ceireog river. It lies about four miles W.W. by N. from the parish church, and in 1841 had 71 houses and 164 inhabitants. Frederick Richard West, Esq., and the Rev. John Croxon Phillips, are the land owners and impropriators; to the former was apportioned £36, and to the latter £56, when the tithes were commuted. The rateable value of the township is £1168. TYN-Y-RHOS is a good house pleasantly situated, the residence and property of the Rev. John C. Phillips. The scenery in this township is bold and romantic, and some of the land is cold and exposed. Lime works have been established on the northern confines of the township, bordering on Wales; lime is extensively used by the farmers as a fertilizer, particularly in the north-west parts of the county.

DIRECTORY.—Rev. John Croxon Phillips, Tyn-y-rhos; Moses Edwards, lime burner; John Hughes, carpenter; John Jones, blacksmith; William Lloyd, blacksmith; William Mason, shoemaker; Richard Orford, vict., Britannia, John Owen, farmer; Thomas Owen, farmer; Robert Roberts, butcher; Jane Williams, shopkeeper.

MELVERLEY,

a parish and township with a scattered population, 12 miles W.W. by N. from Shrewsbury, and 9 miles S.S. by E. from Oswestry, is situated on the western verge of the county, and is separated from Montgomeryshire by the river Vernieu and the Severn; the former having its confluence with the Severn at the Cymmeran Ferry. The parish contains 1,445A. 2R. 22P. of land, which from its low situation is frequently inundated by the overflowing of the Severn, thus enriching the meadows and producing the greatest luxuriance; large herds of cattle are usually fed upon the meadows. In 1801 here was a population of 218 souls; in 1831, 216; and in 1841, 229. Rateable value, £2,317 5s. The manor in the time of the confessor was held by one Edric, in whose family it continued till the 9th of Elizabeth, when Henry Earl of Arundle sold it to Young, from whom it subsequently passed to the Willastons. Lord Craven was afterwards lord of the manor, and it is now vested in George Edwards, Esq. The freeholders are Colonel Desbrow, Hon. Thomas Kenyon, Mrs. E. Bather, Mr. Henry Adams, Mr. William Parkes, Mr. Edward Williams, Rev. Mr. Maddocks, Mr. A. D. Benyon, Mr. James Jones, Mr. Stephen Matthews, Mr. William Cooper, Mr. Thomas Bromley, Mr. James Payn, Rev. Mr. Dimmock, Mr. William Downes, Mr. Oswell, Mr. Betta, Mr. John Edmunds, Thomas Justice Bather, Esq., Mr. Owen Owens, Mr. Jones, Mr. Manford, Mr. Duckett, and others.

THE CHURCH, dedicated to St. Peter, a large fabric of very primitive appearance, built of wood, stands on an elevated piece of ground near the banks of the Vernieu; part of it was swept away subsequent to the year 1478. Although the workmanship is of the rudest description, yet the magnitude of the building and the fine old porch, give it an attractive and venerable appearance. The windows are small and admit of very little light. It contains several ancient memorials, and was fitted up with oak pews in 1718, previous to which it was provided with massive benches. The living is a rectory annexed to Llandrinio, in the patronage of the bishop of St. Asaph, and enjoyed by the Rev. Henry Rogers. The tithes were commuted in 1841 for £177. 11s., and there are five acres of glebe. The parsonage is a neat residence of brick in the Elizabethan style of architecture, built during the years 1846–7. THE INDEPENDENTS have a small chapel with a residence annexed, built in the year 1842.

CHARITIES.—There is a field called the Poor’s Croft, in the upper division of Melverley, containing 2R. 2P., and another piece of land containing about an acre and a half, in the township of Tir-y-coed, in respect of which W. B. Price has for many years paid a rent of 12s. a year. The premises are stated to be worth £3 per annum, and notice has been given to the parties holding the lands to give up possession to the parish. There is also a small piece of ground in Melverley, about one and a quarter acre, producing a yearly rent of £3. 3s., which for many years has been carried to the account of the poor’s rate. Henry Morgen gave a rent charge of 10s. yearly, which is given to the poor on Good Friday. The poor have also a yearly sum of 5s., left by Mrs. Prees. The charities of Richard Lloyd and Elizabeth Lloyd are lost; the former left a rent charge of 20s. per annum in 1780, and the latter bequeathed the sum of £20 for the benefit of the poor.

Bather Mrs. Eleanor, Cross lane house

Bill Edward, farmer

Brown Edward, farmer

Davies William, farmer, Melverley hall

Gittings Benjamin, farmer

Jones David, farmer

Jones Ed., grocer & beerhse

Jones Richard, blacksmith

Jones William, farmer

Lewis John, shoemaker and parish clerk

Lewis Thomas, farmer

Lloyd William, farmer

Manford Thomas, farmer, The green

Morgan William, farmer & cattle dealer

Morris Edward, farmer, Cross lane

Owens John, farmer

Pugh John, shopkeeper & beerhouse

Richards John, grocer and cattle salesman

Rodgers Rev. Henry, The parsonage

Rodgers John, assistant overseer and rate collector

Vaughan Richard, farmer

Vaughan Thomas, saddler

Wild John, butcher

Wild John, farmer

Wild Richard, vict., New Inn

Williams Edward, farmer, The green house

OSWESTRY