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.