Bretton - Broadlane

Bretton

BRETTON, a township, in the parish of Hawarden, union of Great Boughton, hundred of Mold, county of Flint, North Wales, 3 miles (S. E. by E.) from the town of Hawarden; containing 224 inhabitants. This hamlet is situated on the road from Chester to Flint. Contiguous to the village lies what was formerly the great marsh of Saltney, which extends into the county of Chester, and was inclosed pursuant to an act passed in the year 1778.

Bridell (Briddell)

BRIDELL (BRIDDELL), a parish, in the union of Cardigan, partly in the hundred of Kemmes, but principally in that of Kîlgerran, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 2½ miles (S.) from Cardigan; containing 404 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the road from Cardigan to Narberth, and is bounded on the north by the parish of Kîlgerran, on the south by Llanvair-Nantyn, on the east by Manerdivy, and on the west by the parish of Llantyd. It comprises by admeasurement 3000 acres, of which 1000 are arable, 1850 pasture, 100 meadow, and 50 woodland. The surface is beautifully undulated, and ornamented in various parts with plantations of larch and fir, interspersed with oak, ash, and sycamore trees: there are some inconsiderable brooks, the principal being that called Pille, which bounds the parish. The soil is loamy with small patches of clay, and the lands are in some parts very well adapted to tillage. There are numerous stone-quarries, the produce of which is used by the farmers for buildings and fences; also a corn-mill, and a carding machine. The gentlemen's seats are, Tŷgwyn, and Plâs-y-Briddell: most of the farmhouses are of modern erection. The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £9, and in the patronage of the Freeholders of the parish: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £180. The church, dedicated to St. David, is a small ancient structure, beautifully situated, and embosomed among trees, whose luxuriant foliage almost conceals it from the view; it contains twelve or thirteen pews, with several benches for the poor. In the churchyard stands an ancient cross, of the kind called St. Catherine's, supported on a plain shaft about nine feet high, but the inscription has been obliterated by time. There is a place of worship for dissenters, with a Sunday school held in it. John Jones, of Pantyderri, in 1729 left a sum of 20s. to the poor, but the bequest is unproductive.

Bride's (St.) Major

BRIDE'S (ST.) MAJOR, a parish, in the union of Bridgend and Cowbridge, hundred of Ogmore, county of Glamorgan, South Wales; containing 914 inhabitants, of whom 335 are in the township of St. Bride's, 3 miles (S.) from Bridgend, on the road to Lantwit-Major. This place holds a conspicuous rank in the ancient history of the principality, being distinguished as one of the earliest known residences of its princes. Dunraven Castle is an elegant and spacious structure, occupying an elevated situation in the parish, and commanding an extensive marine prospect, with several fine views of the rocky scenery along the coast. It was erected by the late Thomas Wyndham, Esq., near the site of a former edifice, anciently the residence of Caractacus, and called by the Britons Dyndryvan, of which the present name is a modification. The British hero and his father, Brân ab Llŷr, are both said to have resided here; and the triple rampart that defended the "palace" on the only side on which it was accessible, and of which the remains are still visible, is at least as ancient as the time of the Romans. After the disastrous defeat of Caractacus it continued to be the residence of the native reguli, till the time of Iestyn ab Gwrgan, on whose deposition by the Norman adventurer Fitz-Hamon, it was granted by that chieftain to William de Londres, together with the lordship and castle of Ogmore. The castle and manor of Dunraven were given by William de Londres to Arnold, his butler, as a reward for his valour in defending Ogmore Castle from an attack of the Welsh, during the absence of that nobleman; for which he was also knighted, assuming from his office, according to the custom of that time, the name of Sir Arnold Butler. This surname of Butler he transmitted, together with the estate, to his descendants, who continued to enjoy the property for many generations, till, the male line becoming extinct, it was conveyed by a daughter in marriage to the family of Vaughan. According to local tradition, which appears to have been confirmed by subsequent discoveries, the last of the Vaughans who possessed the manor was in the habit of setting up decoy lights, to mislead vessels in the Channel, in order to increase his revenue by the "wrecks de mer," to which, as lord of the manor, he was entitled under certain restrictions. Within sight of the house was a rock, dry only at low water, to which two of his sons having gone to divert themselves, and neglected to secure their boat, it was floated away, and they were left on the rock till the return of the tide, when they perished in sight of the family, who vainly attempted to afford assistance. During the confusion which this melancholy event created in the family, the third son, a child only just able to walk, fell into a large vessel of whey, and was drowned; and the proprietor, thus left childless, sold the estate to an ancestor of the late Thomas Wyndham, Esq., whose only daughter and heiress conveyed it by marriage to the present Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, Earl of Dunraven and Mountearl, with whom it has since continued. The mansion is in the occupation of Viscount Adare, the earl's eldest son.

The castle and lordship of Ogmore passed, by marriage with the heiress of the family of De Londres, to the first Duke of Lancaster, and still forms part of the duchy, now vested in the crown. The former is thus described by Leland:—"Ogor Castelle stondith on the Est Ripe of Ogor, on a playn ground a mile above the mouth of Ogor, and ys meatly welle maintainid. It longgid ons to Lounder, now to the King." The ruins are situated on the southern bank of the Ewenny. The remains of "Old Castle upon Allam" are two miles from Ogmore, upon the banks of the Allam, a tributary of the Ewenny river, and present a striking and interesting feature in the landscape.

The PARISH is situated on the road leading from Bridgend to St. Donatt's and Lantwit-Major. It is bounded on the north by the parish of MerthyrMawr, from which it is separated by the river Ewenny; on the south by the parish of Wick and the Bristol Channel, by which latter it is also bounded on the west; and on the east by the parish of Colwinstone. The parish comprises, with Wick, 4927 acres, of which 800 are common or waste land. The surface, which is bare of wood with the exception of a few oak-trees, is in general undulated, and the soil in some parts clayey, in others a stiff loam, resting chiefly on lias limestone: a small quantity of oats is grown, but wheat and barley are principally cultivated. The river Ogmore runs along the western portion of the parish. The most considerable landholders are, the Earl of Dunraven, and R. Turberville Turberville, Esq., of Ewenny Abbey, the former of whom is lord of the manor. The parish contains the villages of Ogmore, Heolmynydd, Southerndown, Tair Croes, and Lamphey: Southerndown is resorted to for sea-bathing.

The LIVING is a vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of Wick annexed, rated in the king's books at £9. 16. 5½.: present net income, £176, with a glebehouse; patron, R. Turberville Turberville, Esq.; impropriator, C. R. M. Talbot, Esq. The church, an ancient structure, supposed to have been built about the year 1300, is 150 feet long, and 25 broad, and contains 200 sittings. Among the monuments, several of which are handsome, the most conspicuous are, a fine altar-tomb, bearing the effigies of a crusader and his lady, of the family of Butler, and an elegant mural monument, beautifully executed in white marble, by Gahagen, of Bath, to the memory of the late Thomas Wyndham, Esq., of Dunraven Castle, who represented the county of Glamorgan in several parliaments: on it are the effigies of himself and his two sons, who died in their infancy, finely sculptured in alto-relievo. About 1830, a stone sarcophagus was found on the south side of the church, in excavating a drain, about six feet below the surface; and in the summer of 1837, when the curate wished to remove the above and other relics of antiquity discovered in the churchyard, he accidentally found another monument of considerable interest, within three feet of the sarcophagus; the stone is of great hardness, and bears the effigy of a cross-legged knight, in chain-armour, with a skullcap, on which are represented two cups or goblets with a fleur-de-lis in the centre. His shield is charged with three cups, and on the margin of the slab is the following inscription:—JOHAN:LE:BOTILER: GIT:ICI:DEU:DE:SA:ALME:EIT:MERCI:AMEN. This relic is referred to the latter part of the thirteenth century. There are two places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, one of them in a part of St. Bride's village called Penylan, and the other at Ogmore, about a mile from St. Bride's. A day and Sunday school, in connexion with the National Society, was established in the year 1844, and gives instruction to about ninety children of both sexes; the subscriptions amount to above £60 a year, and the school is held in the upper and lower rooms of the old church-house, which was appropriated to the purpose: the expense of the necessary alterations, and of erecting a house for the master and mistress, was defrayed by the Countess of Dunraven and the curate, aided by a grant of £60 from the Lords of the Treasury. Two Sunday schools are conducted by the Calvinistic Methodists, in the meetinghouses above mentioned. A rent-charge of £5, a grant by Lady Mansel, but at what period is unknown, charged on lands in the parish of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, is annually divided, by the owners of Dunraven Castle, between two aged women; and the produce of another small benefaction by Benjamin Davies is annually distributed in bread among the poor. Two other charities, which produced about £3 per annum, have been lost.

Near the western boundary of the parish, a little south-west of the village of Ewenny, is a very copious spring, locally called "The Shew Well," but usually designated by tourists "Ogmore Spring." It issues from three different apertures in the limestone rock, and the waters uniting immediately on their emission, at first occupy a space about fifteen yards wide, but are soon contracted to a current seven yards wide and one foot deep, and, at the distance of between thirty and forty yards from their source, fall into the river Ewenny. It has been asserted that this is a part of that river which enters a subterraneous channel a short distance above; but the different properties of the waters of these confluent springs are sufficient evidence in disproof: the two eastern are exceedingly cold, and, in washing, will curdle soap like an acid; the water of the other is of a milder temperature, and will serve for washing as well as rain-water. In the cliffs on this part of the coast are some spacious excavations, formed by the action of the sea. One of these, of singular appearance, extends for a considerable distance in a direction parallel with the coast, and resembles a series of columns rudely formed. Another, called the Wind Hole, has penetrated the rocks to a great depth, and is remarkable for some apertures in the ground, through which, in certain states of the tide, the wind rushes upwards with considerable force.

Bride's (St.) Minor

BRIDE'S (ST.) MINOR, a parish, in the union of Bridgend and Cowbridge, partly in the hundred of Newcastle, and partly in that of Ogmore, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 1½ mile (N.) from Bridgend; containing 472 inhabitants. This parish is pleasantly situated on the river Ogmore, which, after running through it in a southern direction, unites with the river Ewenny at its influx into the Bristol Channel. It is bounded on the north by the parish of Llangeinor, on the south by Coyty, on the east by Llanharan, and on the west by Pyle; and comprises 1416 acres, of which 304 are arable, 609 pasture, 40 woodland, and the remainder common or waste. The lands generally are inclosed and in a good state of cultivation; the surface is diversified with rising grounds, and the alternation of arable, pasture, common, and wood: the surrounding country, which is in parts highly picturesque, affords some interesting views. The soil is various, in general gravelly, and the chief produce hay and corn. Coal of good quality is found in various parts, and worked with considerable success, affording employment to such of the inhabitants as are not engaged in agriculture. A tramroad from the coalworks in the neighbourhood passes through the parish, and communicates with the Llynvi railroad, by means of which the produce is conveyed to its destination. There are also iron-mines, which, like the collieries, are situated on the south crop of the South Wales mineral basin: the quarries are numerous, affording good building-stone and flagstones; and there are two grist-mills. The seat of SarnVawr is situated here, and also the village of Bryncethin, near which is a rivulet of the same name. The Earl of Dunraven, and the Right Hon. John Nicholl, are the chief landholders, the former of whom is lord of the manor. The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £5. 3. 6½.; present net income, £176, with a glebe-house; patron, the Earl of Dunraven. The church, dedicated to St. Bride, is a neat building, 66 feet long, and 16 wide, and contains 132 sittings, all of which are free. There are two places of worship in the parish for dissenters, with a Sunday school held in each of them.

Bride's (St.) Netherwent

BRIDE'S (ST.) NETHERWENT, a parish, in the union of Haverfordwest, hundred of Rhôs, county of Pembroke, South Wales, 11 miles (W. S. W.) from Haverfordwest; containing 178 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the south side of the bay in St. George's Channel to which it gives name, and at the neck of a small inlet from the bay, which flows up almost to the churchyard, forming what is called St. Bride's haven. A considerable herring-fishery, which has been discontinued for many years, was carried on here with very great advantage, and there are still the remains of an ancient chapel on the beach, which, according to tradition, being no longer used for religious worship, was appropriated as a salting-house for curing the fish. In the cemetery belonging to this chapel were numerous stone coffins, several of which have been washed away by the encroachment of the sea, which has here gained considerably on the shore, as was proved some years ago, during an extraordinary recess of the tide, by the discovery of several stumps of trees. The surrounding scenery is richly diversified, and various parts of the parish afford extensive marine views, and pleasing prospects over the adjacent country. Hill, the elegant mansion of W. Charles Allen Philipps, Esq., is beautifully sheltered by luxuriant plantations, being open only to a verdant lawn, sloping gently to the creek of which mention has been made above. This family, who are descended from the ancient royal house of Cilsant, resided formerly at the old mansion of St. Bride's, which was abandoned some years since on the erection of the present house. Attached to Hill is a park well stocked with deer, forming one of the very small number of deer-parks to be found in this part of the principality. The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £15. 12. 11., and in the alternate patronage of Sir W. Philipps, Bart., W. Philips, Esq., and Mary Bird Allen: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £195, and there is a glebe-house. The church is not distinguished by any features of importance. A Sunday school in connexion with the Church, established in 1839, is superintended by Mrs. Allen Philipps, of St. Bride's Hill.

Bride's (St.) Super Ely

BRIDE'S (ST.) SUPER ELY, a parish, in the union of Cardiff, hundred of Dinas-Powys, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 5½ miles (W. N. W.) from Cardiff; containing 129 inhabitants. This parish, which is of very small extent, is situated on the banks of the river Ely, and in the vale of that name, the scenery of which is pleasingly varied. The living is a discharged rectory, consolidated with the rectory of Michaelston-super-Ely. The church is dedicated to St. Bridget. There is a place of worship for Independents, with a Sunday school held in it. Mr. Horton gave £20 for the use of the poor, which sum was lent to an individual secured by his bond, in 1834, and remains still outstanding. St. yNill, the residence of J. Jenkins, Esq., is a large house within the limits of the parish, commanding a fine view over the vale of Ely: to the west of this house are some traces of an ancient chapel; human bones are sometimes dug up there, and close by is the base of an ancient cross.

Bridgend

BRIDGEND, otherwise PEN-Y-BONT-AROGWR, a thriving market-town, and, jointly with Cowbridge, the head of a union, partly in the parish of Coyty, and partly in that of Newcastle, hundred of Newcastle, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 20 miles (W. by N.) from Cardiff, and 179 (W.) from London: the population is returned with the different parishes. This town, the name of which is of obvious etymology, is pleasantly situated on the turnpike-road from Cardiff to Swansea, and on the banks of the river Ogmore, which divides it into two parts, the hamlet of Oldcastle occupying the eastern, and that of Newcastle the western bank; and over which are two bridges of stone, one of them an elegant modern structure of three arches, forming an ornamental entrance from the west. It stands in a beautiful and fertile district, nearly in the centre of the county, and consists of one irregular street, containing some excellent shops, and a new street leading from the Coyty road to the market-place, with several handsome dwelling-houses in the environs. A considerable portion of the town is paved and lighted; the place is well supplied with water, and has been much improved of late years, by the erection of several good houses, and by modernising the old ones. There are no fixed amusements, but concerts and dramatic performances occasionally take place at the town-hall. An act of parliament was obtained some years ago for constructing a new line of road from the town to a place called Pant-y-Brocastle, by which the distance from Cowbridge was shortened one mile, and the nearest and least hilly road from Cardiff to Swansea brought through the town.

A large woollen manufactory was established about the commencement of the present century by several gentlemen of the county, both to encourage industry among the inhabitants, and to provide a home market for the wool produced in the vicinity; but this scheme failed to realise the expectations of its promoters, and the building has been converted into a brewery. Contiguous to the town are some quarries of excellent freestone, resembling Portland stone, to which it is not much inferior. In connexion with the Llynvi railway is a branch line, commencing near the village of Cevn Cribwr, and extending four miles and a half, in an eastern direction, to the vicinity of Bridgend. It is intended principally to facilitate the transmission of coal from the large works on the railroad to this town, and to open a communication between the latter and the harbour of Porthcawl, which is a creek to the port of Swansea, and is usually considered the shipping-place for Bridgend, from which it is five miles distant. Considerable improvements of the railway are in contemplation. The South Wales railway, also, will run very near the town, where a station will be fixed. The market is on Saturday, and is noted for the sale of corn, which is pitched; it is also abundantly supplied with provisions, at reasonable prices: the market-place was erected by the Earl of Dunraven, and is replete with every convenience. Fairs are held on HolyThursday, or Ascension-day, and November 17th, chiefly for the sale of cattle and cheese. The pettysessions for the hundred are held here every Saturday; and here also the election of the parliamentary representatives for the county takes place. The powers of the county debt-court of Bridgend, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Bridgend and Cowbridge. A new town-hall has been lately erected, by subscription.

Connected with that part of the town which is in the parish of Coyty, forming the hamlet of Oldcastle, is the chapel of Nolton, a chapel of ease to Coyty, where divine service is regularly performed. This chapel, though connected with Oldcastle, is really situate within the verge of the hamlet of Newcastle, in which also stands the parish church of Newcastle. There are places of worship for Particular Baptists, Independents, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians: that for the Unitarians, with another in the neighbouring parish of Bettws, belonging to the same sect, is endowed with lands and money, amounting to about £40 per annum, chiefly by the ancestors of that distinguished writer, Dr. Richard Price, who was born at Tynton, in the parish of Bettws, in 1723. A National school, in which about 180 children are instructed by a master and mistress, is supported partly by school-pence, but principally by subscriptions, donations, and collections. There are likewise several Sunday schools, one of them in connexion with the Established Church. A savings' bank and a dispensary have been erected with part of a sum arising from the unappropriated fractional parts of dividends, which amounted to £800; the dispensary, for the distribution of medicines and advice gratis among the poor of the adjoining parishes, not receiving parochial relief, is supported by subscriptions, usually amounting to £100 per annum. The hamlets of Oldcastle and Newcastle derived their names from two fortresses, probably erected by some of the early Norman invaders of Glamorgan, to secure their newly-acquired possessions from the attacks of the native chieftains, to which they were for a long time exposed. That which gave name to the former stood near the present chapel of Nolton, the tithe-barn being subsequently erected on part of its site, and appears to have been dependent on the neighbouring castle of Coyty. The other fortress occupied a commanding situation on a precipitous eminence above the church.

George Cadogan Morgan, nephew of Dr. Price, and classical tutor and lecturer on natural philosophy in the dissenting academy at Hackney, in Middlesex, was a native of this place. He published two volumes of Lectures on Electricity, and a small work on education, entitled "Directions for the use of a Scientific Table in the collection and application of Knowledge;" and communicated to the Royal Society a valuable paper, under the title of "Observations and Experiments on the light of bodies in a state of combustion," which was published in the seventy-fifth volume of the Philosophical Transactions. He died near London, in 1798.

The poor-law union of Bridgend and Cowbridge was formed Oct. 10th, 1836, and includes the 52 following parishes and townships; namely, St. Athan's, Bettws, St. Bride's (including St. Bride's, Lamphey, and Southerndown), St. Bride's Minor, Colwinstone, Cowbridge, Higher Coyty, Lower Coyty, Higher Coychurch, Lower Coychurch, Cwmdû, St. Donatt's, Eglwys-Brewis, Ewenny, Flemingston, Gileston, St. Hilary, Kenvig, Laleston, Lantwit-Major, Llanblethian, Llandough, Llandow, Llandyvodog, Llangan, Llangeinor, Lower Llangonoyd, Middle Llangonoyd, Llanharan, Llanhary, Llanilid, Llanmaes, Llansannor, Llanvihangel, Llŷsworney, Marcross, St. Marychurch, Mary Hill, Merthyr-Mawr, Monknash, Higher Newcastle, Lower Newcastle, NewtonNottage, Pencoed, Penllyne, Peterston-super-Montem, Pyle, Higher Tythegston, Lower Tythegston, Wick, Ynysawdre, and Ystrad-Owen. It is under the superintendence of 52 guardians, and contains a population of 21,357.

Briskedwin (Prysg-Edwin)

BRISKEDWIN (PRYSG-EDWIN), with Tîry-Brenken, a hamlet, in the parish of Llandeilo, union and hundred of Swansea, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 7 miles (N. W. by N.) from Swansea; containing 485 inhabitants, of whom 297 are in Briskedwin. It is situated on the western declivity of some elevated ground, which lies between the road from Swansea to Pont-ar-Ddulas, and the river Loughor.

Brithdir

BRITHDIR, a chapelry, in the parish of Gellygaer, union of Merthyr-Tydvil, hundred of Caerphilly, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 8½ miles (S. E. by E.) from Merthyr-Tydvil; containing 1835 inhabitants. This place, which is situated in a rich mineral district, has, within the last few years, nearly trebled its population. The increase may be attributed to the establishment of the extensive iron-works on the estate of the late Marquess of Bute, and to the collieries and other public works in the immediate vicinity, of which a detailed account is given in the article on the parish of Gellygaer. The village is pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Romney, and the surrounding scenery, like that of the entire parish, combines numerous interesting features, and a pleasing variety of picturesque and romantic beauty. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the rectory of Gellygaer: the chapel is a neat plain edifice, appropriately fitted up. At a short distance is a rude erect stone, about nine feet high, a monument of a remote period of antiquity, of which there are other remains in the vicinity.

Brithdir

BRITHDIR, a township, in the parish, and upper division of the hundred, of Llanidloes, union of Newtown and Llanidloes, county of Montgomery, North Wales: the population is returned with the parish. Three-fourths of the tithes of this township belong to Sir W. W. Wynn, Bart., and the remaining one-fourth to the vicar of Llangurig.

Briton-Ferry

BRITON-FERRY, a parish, in the union and hundred of Neath, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 2 miles (S. W. by S.) from Neath; containing 718 inhabitants. This place, called in the Welsh language Llansawyl, derives its name from an ancient ferry over the river Neath, established here from time immemorial, and communicating with the opposite shore, from which there is an agreeable ride over Cremyln Burrows to Swansea. The Neath here expands into a channel of considerable breadth, and falls into Swansea bay, a little below the harbour. The navigation was greatly improved some years ago, at an expense exceeding £4000, raised by subscription among the proprietors of the coal, copper, and iron works in the neighbourhood, and other persons interested in the trade and prosperity of the town of Neath, to which place the river was rendered safely navigable for ships of three hundred and fifty tons' burthen at spring tides. In 1843 an act was passed for carrying out further improvements. The Neath canal, which passes through a district abounding with mineral wealth, terminates here, after a course of about fourteen miles; the wharfs are at a place called Giant's Grave, where, also, vessels lie when they are unable to proceed up the river so high as Neath. The water-communication between Neath and its out-port of Briton-Ferry is mostly carried on by means of barges. Powerful rolling-mills were built here in 1847, at which a good deal of the iron made in the Vale of Neath is converted into bars: the engine is of 300-horse power. It has been for some time in contemplation to construct a bridge over the river at this place, and to make a road across the Burrows to Swansea, by which a distance of seven or eight miles in the present coach-route would be saved. At present, persons on horseback and on foot save this distance between Swansea and the eastern part of the county by crossing the ferry, the fare of which is one penny for each man, and the same for each horse. In 1847 an act was passed for certain branches and deviations of the South Wales railway, including a branch to Briton-Ferry, one mile and three-quarters long.

Nothing can surpass the beauty of this sequestered spot: embosomed in hills, skirted by shady woods, fertile vales, and luxuriant meadows, the scenery is strikingly diversified. In some parts are fine views of the sea, from which the woods seem to rise. The atmosphere is mild and temperate, and the air salubrious; the arbutus, the myrtle, the magnolia, and other exotics grow in the open air, and the environs abound with the richest verdure. The advantages of its situation, and the facilities afforded for seabathing, may at no distant period render this the favourite resort of families who are fond of retirement, and of invalids whose state of health requires a temperate climate. Formerly the accommodation for visiters was extremely deficient; but since the Vernon Arms, a house of great respectability on the banks of the river, has been conducted by the present tenant, every regard is paid to the comfort of families, who may be boarded upon terms as reasonable as in a private family. Attached to the building is excellent stabling, with every requisite.

The parish comprises about 1500 acres of meadow, pasture, and arable land, with some mountain sheepwalks of various soils and quality; the wood consists chiefly of oak, larch, fir, and poplar. The mansion house of Briton-Ferry, which for many generations was the property and residence of the Mansels, one of the most ancient families in the county, is now occupied by George Frederic Muntz, Esq., M.P. for Birmingham, and late of Hockley Abbey near that town. It is a spacious building, adapted more to comfort and family accommodation, than remarkable for magnificence of character; the situation commands extensive marine views, and prospects over a tract of country richly cultivated, and abounding with objects of interest. The other principal mansions are, Rock House, Craig Vawr House, Court Sart, Upper House, and Baglan Bay. The Briton-Ferry estate, originally comprising nearly forty thousand acres, distributed through not less than forty parishes in South Wales, was devised to the younger brother of the present Earl of Jersey, on whose death it passed to the earl, who has reduced it to about eight thousand acres in the immediate vicinity. The Earl of Jersey is proprietor of the whole parish, and lord of the manor.

The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £400 private benefaction, and £600 royal bounty; net income, £124; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Jersey. The church is a neat structure, about sixty feet long and twenty wide, and the churchyard, remarkable for its picturesque appearance, has been celebrated in elegy by the poet Mason, who, with Gray, occasionally visited at Baglan House, then the residence of the Rev. William Thomas, chancellor of the diocese of Llandaf. In this church the late Archbishop of York preached his first sermon; his Grace's half-brother, Lord Vernon, at the time occupying the mansion, and being owner of the estate. At Giant's Grave is a day school on the British system, established in 1842, and supported by subscription; also a Church Sunday school, and a Sunday school connected with the Independents. In another part of the parish is a Sunday school kept by the Calvinistic Methodists. The Countess of Jersey gives £10 per annum to be laid out in the purchase of flannel for the poor.

Broadlane

BROADLANE, a township, in the parish of Hawarden, union of Great Boughton, hundred of Mold, county of Flint, North Wales, 1 mile (E.) from the town of Hawarden; containing 51 inhabitants. Hawarden Castle, the seat of Sir Stephen Richard Glynne, Bart., is situated in this township, but is described in the account of the parish.