Imatges de pàgina
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Arthur's Stone, upon a mountain called Cwm Bryn, near Llanrhidian-the p turesque ruins of Penrice Castle, so called after the family of Penrice, who sett here in the reign of Edward I.—a modern villa, of the same name, the seat C. R. M. Talbot, Esq.-Oxwich Bay-the neat village of Cheriton-the b promontory of Wormshead, &c. Boating excursions to Oxwich, Penrice, Worn head, and other places on the shores of the promontory of Gower, are sometim undertaken by parties of pleasure from Swansea during the summer months. From Swansea to Pont-ar-Dulais is 9 miles-Neath, 8-Briton Ferry, 5 Cardiff, 39-Caermarthen, 26.

The upper road from Swansea to Caermarthen then leads by Melin Cadle 3 miles; Corseinon, with its elegant and beautiful churches, 5 miles; (on t right to Neath, 10 miles); Pont-ar-Dulais, 8; Cenbrenlwyd, (Caermarthenshir 101; Bryn-y-Maen, 11; Llannon, 13; Pontyferem, 17; Llangyndeyrn, 2 The lower road lies through Llanwelly and Kidwelly, 9 miles from Caermarthe The castle of Kidwelly was formerly of great extent, and to it King John ret ed when at war with the barons. It is said to have been built soon after t Conquest by William de Londres, a Norman adventurer, (A. D. 1094,) who co quered Glamorganshire. The gateway is very fine, and the whole a magnifice remain. It is now the property of the Earl of Cawdor.

CAERMARTHEN

is one of the most wealthy towns in Wales, elevated above the navigable riv Towy. It commands a view of one of the most beautiful vales in the princip lity. This town was the site of the Roman station Maridunum. Here the Wels held their parliaments, and established their chancery and exchequer. In th 38th of Henry VIII. it was created a borough. Caermarthen carries on a f reign and considerable coasting trade. The Towy is famed for its salmon. conveys ships of 250 tons up to the bridge. Here are established the Cambria and a Cwmreigyddion society. Here also are a handsome town-hall, market house, free grammar-school, an institution called the Presbyterian college, severa meeting-houses, national, Lancastrian, and Sunday schools. The remains o the castle have been converted into the county gaol. At the west end of th town there is a column to the memory of General Sir T. Picton, who represented the borough in Parliament. The Ivy Bush Inn was once the property of Si Richard Steele, who was interred in St Peter's Church. In the neighbourhood of this town he wrote the comedy of the Conscious Lovers. The famous magician Ambrose Merlin, was a native of Caermarthen. Here also was born Lewis Bailey Bishop of Bangor, and author of the Practice of Piety. Pop. 1851, 10,524. It joins with Llanelly in returning one M.P. About two miles from Caermarthen is an eminence called Merlin's Hill, near the brow of which is Merlin's Chair, where superstition says the famous prophet used to sit when he uttered his prophecies. A number of interesting objects are to be seen on the road from Caermarthen to Llandilo Vawr about 15 miles distant. The first object of notice is Abergwili Palace, the noble mansion of the Bishop of St David's, with its highly ormamented grounds; then Grongaer Hill, the spot to which the poet Dyer has

given so much celebrity. At some distance to the right is Middleton Hall, (E. H. Adams, Esq.), a very splendid mansion. Nearly opposite Rhiw-yr-Adar is Golden Grove, the property of the Earl of Cawdor, inherited from his maternal ancestors the Vaughans. Beyond this is Dynevor Castle, seated upon a lofty hill clothed with venerable oaks, once the regal seat of the ancient Cambrian monarchs. The last prince who inhabited it was Rhys ap Tew Dwr Mawr, an ancestor of its present possessor, Lord Dynevor. The forces of Henry I. besieged it in 1226, but were defeated with the loss of 2000 men, by Llywelyn Prince of North Wales. Newton Park (Lord Dynevor,) the view from the summit of Golwg-y-byd, the British fortress on the rugged eminence of Careg Cennen, and the ruins of Dryslwyn Castle will also be found well worthy of attention.

Dean

About 12 or 13 miles from Caermarthen are the ruins of Laugharne Castle, built or rebuilt by Sir Guido de Brian in the reign of Henry III. The town of Laugharne is one of the cleanest and best built towns in South Wales. Tucker was a native of this place. The neighbouring heights command grand and extensive sea views. One mile distant is another ruin called Roche's Car tle, but supposed to have been a monastery. A few miles from Laugharne is the village of Llanddowror, on the south bank of the Taff; the scenery is highly beautiful. Five miles distant from Laugharne is a place called Green Bridge, consisting of a natural excavation through which runs a small rivulet, and there disappears till it mingles its waters with the ocean.

About 27 miles from Caermarthen is Tenby, a fashionable sea-bathing place, delightfully situated on a rock facing Caermarthen Bay. The shore is well adapted for bathing, and the sands afford delightful promenades. Here are all the usual conveniences and amusements of a watering place. The trade of Tenby consists of coal and culm, and the oyster and trawl fisheries. Here are some remains of a castle supposed to have been erected by the Flemings. The ancient walls of the town are still sufficiently perfect to show its former strength and extent. The religious establishments of the town and suburbs have been numerous. The church is a spacious structure, with a spire 152 feet high; the interior contains some fine old monuments. Many pleasant excursions may be made from Tenby; among others, to the Isle of Caldy, 3 miles from the shore. The tower of its ancient priory is still standing.

About 4 or 5 miles from Tenby are the ruins of Manorbeer Castle, once the property of the Barri family, supposed to have been erected about the time of William Rufus. It was the birth-place of Giraldus de Barri, commonly surnamed Cambrensis, the celebrated historian of Wales. It has evidently been a place of great strength and importance. A little farther on are the ivy-mantled walls of Carew Castle, and about 3 miles from Pembroke the ruins of Lamphey, once the residence of the bishops of St David's, afterwards a seat of the great Lord Essex. Ten miles from Tenby is

PEMBROKE,

the capita' of Pembrokeshire, pleasantly situated on a navigable creek of Mil

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PEMBROKE.-MILFORD HAVEN.

ford Haven. It was formerly surrounded by a wall, some parts of which are stil visible. It carries on but little trade, and owes its chief importance to its Royal dockyard. In 1851, the town contained 10,107 inhabitants. It unites with Tenby, Wiston, and Milford, in returning one M. P. On an eminence west of the town are the remains of a castle which ranks among the most splendid monuments of antiquity in South Wales. It was the birth-place of Henry VII., and is famous for the brave defence made by its garrison in favour of Charles I. The natural cavern called the Wogan lies immediately under the chapel, and opens with a wide mouth toward the sea. Pembroke gives the title of Earl to the senior branch of the Herbert family-Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery. To the south of Pembroke is Orielton, the seat of Sir John Owen, Bart., and beyond it Stackpole Court, the baronial mansion of the Earl of Cawdor, placed on the west side of the pool on a fine eminence at the edge of a bold declivity. It bore originally a castellated form, and during the civil wars was garrisoned for the king. It came into the possession of Sir A. Campbell, ancestor of the Earl of Cawdor, by his marriage with Miss Lort, the heiress of this extensive domain. In the vicinity is Bosherston Mere, a remarkable cleft through which, during heavy gales from the south-west, the sea is forced up from beneath in a column 30 feet in height. A short distance east of Bosherston Mere is a curious hermi. tage called St Govan's chapel. Carew Castle (T. G. W. Carew, Esq.), 4 miles from Pembroke, is well worthy of a visit. The road lies through rich and picturesque scenery. A little to the north a fine view of Milford may be obtained. A great part of Carew Castle is in a state of excellent preservation, and it ranks among the most beautiful and interesting ruins in the principality. It was one of the royal demesnes of the princes of South Wales, and with seven others, was given as a dowry with Nêst, daughter of Rhys ap Tew Dwr, to Gerald de Windsor, an ancestor of the Carew family. Henry VII. is said to have been entertained here in his progress to Bosworth Field. In 1644, it was garrisoned for the king, and held out a long siege. Half-a-mile to the south-east of the castle is the church of St John the Baptist, a large and venerable structure. Within this parish are Freestone Hall, J. Allen, Esq.; and Wilsdon, on the site of which Cromwell took up his quarters when besieging Pembroke Castle.

The tourist is usually conveyed from Pembroke to Milford Haven in a boat. The entrance to the haven is remarkably fine, and the extent and smoothness of the water give it the appearance of a lake. The harbour is said to be one of the best in Europe, and is capable of holding all the navy of England in perfect security. At the upper end of the haven is MILFORD, a remarkable neat well built town. Its trade is small and has decreased since the dockyard was removed to Pembroke. Steam-packets sail daily to Waterford. The church is a very elegant building, with stained glass windows and a lofty tower at the west end. The custom-house, quay, observatory, and hotel, also deserve notice. The scenery around Milford is very picturesque. On a fork of land, formed by the confluence of the two rivers Cleddy and Cleddeu, stands Rose Castle, an ancient seat of the Owens, and higher up on the estuary of the Cleddeu is Picton Castle, the seat of the late Lord Milford, and now the residence of J. H Philipps, Esq.

The ancient style of grandeur in which the mansion was built is somewhat incongruous with the modern alterations made on it. The castle commands a fine view towards Landshipping, where the two rivers meet, and jointly form Milford Haven. Close to Picton Castle is Slebech, once an ancient commandery of the Knights of Jerusalem.

About 8 miles from Milford Haven is Haverfordwest. On the road is Steynton, where Sir William Jones was a scholar.

HAVERFORDWEST,

a sea-port, market, and borough-town, is beautifully situated on an eminence above the navigable river Cleddy. It was the capital of the possessions of the Flemings, granted to them in the time of William Rufus and his son Henry. Its public buildings are three churches, a handsome guildhall, and the gaol, originally the keep of an ancient castle, an extensive fortress erected by Gilbert de Clare, first Earl of Pembroke. In the civil wars, this castle was garrisoned for the King. Haverfordwest unites with Fishguard and Narberth in returning one M.P. Population in 1851, 6580. From Haverfordwest to Pembroke by water is 15 miles, by the road, 10, to Cardigan, 28. About 10 miles from Haverfordwest is Narberth, a small neat town, with the picturesque ruins of a castle. Population of borough, 1851, 1392. On the road to St David's, at the distance of about 6 miles, are the ruins of Roche Castle, commanding a most extensive view by sea and land. It sustained a siege against the Parliamentary forces during the civil wars.

ST DAVID'S,

sixteen miles from Haverfordwest, is an ancient but almost deserted city though still exhibiting indications of past splendour in its ecclesiastical remains, The cathedral is a venerable Gothic structure, displaying much ornamental ar chitecture. It contains a variety of ancient monuments, and the bishop's throne is of exquisite workmanship. Near the cathedral are the ruins of the Episco pal palace, formerly a magnificent building, founded by Bishop Gower in the fourteenth century, and a chapel, the only relic of St Mary's College, which was founded by John of Gaunt and Blanche, his wife. David, the national saint of Wales, with the consent of his nephew, King Arthur, is said to have removed the metropolitan see from Caerleon to Menevia, afterwards named St David's He was the first of 26 Archbishops of Menevia, and died here about the year 1544, after he had filled the metropolitan chair of Wales for sixty years, and was interred in his own cathedral. About 500 years after his death, he was canonized by Pope Calixtus II. His successors exercised the archiepiscopal power down to the time of Bishop Bernard, (consecrated in 1115,) who, by command of Henry I. resigned this power to the see of Canterbury. St David's had once seven suf fragans included within its metropolitan pale, viz. Worcester, Hereford, Llan

136 ST DAVID'S.—FISHGUARD.-CARDIGAN.-TOUR THROUGH WALES.

daff, Bangor, St Asaph, Llanbadarn, and Margam. It has had a greater number of prelates than any other see in the kingdom, and has numbered among its bishops Bull, Lowth, Horsley, Burgess, &c. At present Bishop Thirlwall, the historian of Greece, presides over this see. The shrine of St David's, in ancient times, acquired the highest celebrity, and in the list of monarchs who resorted to it are to be included the names of William the Conqueror, Henry II., Edward I., Eleanor, his Queen, &c. Population of parish, 1851, 2460. One mile west from St David's is the shell of St Stephen's Chapel, commanding an extensive view of Whitsand Bay, in which stand six dangerous rocks called the Bishop and his Clerks.

About 15 miles from St David's is Fishguard, situated on a bay of St George's Channel, forming an excellent harbour. In this and the adjoining parish are extensive quarries of excellent slate. Population of borough, 1851 1757. About 6 miles from Fishguard is Newport, where are the ruins of a castle. In the vicinity are several Druidical remains. About 10 miles from Newport is the town of Cardigan, one mile before which are the ruins of St Dogmell's Priory. The village of St Dogmell's is a remarkably picturesque object.

CARDIGAN,

the county-town of Cardiganshire, is situated near the mouth of the Teifi. It carries on a considerable coasting trade. The principal buildings are, the church, a venerable structure; the town hall; the gaol; and an ancient bridge of seven arches. On a low cliff, at the foot of the bridge, are the ruins of the castle, once a strong fortress, but destroyed in the civil wars. A mansion has been erected, by Mr. Bowen, on the site of the keep, the dungeons of which serve for cellars. Cardigan joins with Aberystwith, Adpar, and Lampeter, in returning one M.P., and gives the title of Earl to the family of Brudenell. Population in 1851, 3876. The Teifi is celebrated for the richness of its scenery, particularly between Cardigan and Kilgerran Castle.

From Cardigan to Haverfordwest is twenty-six miles, Narberth, twenty-six, Newcastle Emlyn, ten.

About twenty-two miles from Cardigan is Aberaeron, a neat little sea-port, pleasantly situated at the mouth of the river Aeron, a stream celebrated for its trout and salmon. The scenery of this vale is particularly beautiful. Sixteen miles from Aberaeron is Aberystwith, whence the tourist may proceed by Machynlleth, Dolgelly, &c. See p. 139.

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