* * * * *
NICHOLS _and_ SON, _Printers_,
_Red-Lion-Passage_, _Fleet-Street_.
Footnotes.
{0} The errata has been applied in this eText.--DP.
{6} The Saxons at this period are supposed to have occupied Monmouth,
Chepstow, Caerwent, and Caerleon.
{7} Mr. Pennant.
{9} The common appellation of this mode, _Gothic_, is equally improper
with the preceding, as the reign of the Goths was at an end long before
its introduction: indeed its origin is wrapped in obscurity. Sir
Christopher Wren, and after him many architects and antiquaries, have
attributed it to the Saracens, and hence called it Saracenic; but their
grounds are very questionable. Perhaps the homely conjecture, that it
arose from the pointed form in the intersecting Saxon arches, may be as
near the truth as one derived from more laborious researches; indeed,
from the specimens of early Gothic which I have seen, I am of opinion,
that cogent reasons may be adduced, to prove it rather to be of natural
growth from the Saxon modes, and formed in its characteristics by gradual
alteration, than a new system of remote and detached origins.
{11} An iron grate, with spikes at the bottom, which was let down after
the gate was forced.
{12} Several years ago, when I first set about castle-hunting, I
endeavoured in vain to discover a relation between what I saw, and the
description with a figure of an ancient castle, laid down in Grose's
Antiquities, and copied by others. I have since seen the greater part of
the principal ruins in South-Britain; and the only castles that occur to
me as approaching to that gentleman's plan, are those of Dover and
London. I mention this, because persons building a theory on the
authorities above-mentioned, might, among ruins, be puzzled, to no
purpose, for a practical illustration.
{21} The practice of whitening their dwellings, in Wales, is very
general, and of long standing. David ap Gwillim, a bard of the 14th
century, thus notices it in his invocation to Summer: "With sun-shine
morn gladden thou the place, and greet the whitened houses."
{22} Of the numerous vessels that sail from Bristol to Swansea, not one
is fitted for passengers, and it was our misfortune to enter the worst in
the service: we afterwards learned, that two superior vessels, Dimond and
Hawkins masters, afford very tolerable accommodation. The sailing of
these might be learned from a correspondence at Bristol, and a pleasant
conveyance obtained,--at least for men.
{29} The cromlech is certainly a relic of the Druidical age. It is
variously contended to have been a place of worship, a sepulchral
monument, and an altar for sacrifice. The latter opinion appears to me
best supported; nor can I look on a cromlech without adverting to those
horrid rites wherein human victims were immolated by Druid-craft to
excite the terrors of superstition.
{62} See the Introduction, Section 3.
{67} A Description of England and Wales, Vol. VII.
{71} The shores of Milford-haven abound with lime-stone; which,
affording a rich manure (with coals and culm), is conveyed by water over
a great portion of the country. In the shores of the haven also, near
its junction with the open sea, are many veins of copper ore, some of
which are conjectured to be very rich; but none have been explored with
perseverance.
{72} Lord Kensington described to me a very picturesque ruin called
Benton cattle, situated upon the borders of Milford-haven near the arm of
Lawrenny. This ruin I had not an opportunity of seeing, nor do I
remember having read of it in any of the descriptions of Wales.
{73} I asked one of these young women, with the utmost seriousness and
civility, at least with all that I was master of, what they made use of
to render their teeth so uncommonly white; when the arch hussy waggishly
replied, "Only a little nice white sand, and a scrubbing-brush, Sir."
{81} From Haverfordwest, a turnpike road extends to Caermarthen, 33
miles distant. About nine miles from Haverford, and one to the left of
the road, is Lawhaden castle, picturesquely seated on a bold eminence,
overlooking an extensive country. This castle was the principal seat of
the Bishops of St. David's; but in the year 1616 Bishop Milborne obtained
leave to dismantle it, the lead and other expensive materials having been
purloined by his holy predecessors. Narbeth, a small irregular town
built on a hill about 11 miles on the road, has some inconsiderable ruins
of a castle erected by Sir Andrew Perrot, whose ancestor came over at the
Conquest. The road, pawing through St. Clare, a pleasing village,
continues onward without any particular attraction.
{84} Aber, in Welch, signifies the mouth of a river: hence Abertivy,
Aberystwith, &c.
{85} Powell, in his History of Wales, says, that it was rebuilt before
the year 1176; when Rhys, Prince of South Wales, made therein a great
entertainment at Christmas, at which were present many hundreds of the
English, Norman, and Irish nobility. Among other things for their
entertainment, he caused all the bards throughout Wales to come thither;
and seating them round the hall, they had to contend with each other in
rhyme: such as excelled, were promised great rewards and rich presents.
The North Wales bards were acknowledged victors in poetry, and Prince
Rhys's own servants the ablest musicians.
{91} The equilibrium is now destroyed.
{92} See p. 29.
{94} Camden says, it often holds its tail between its teeth, to render
its springs more immediate.
{98} Near Penrhyn a British gold coin was found, of about equal weight
with a guinea, a little hollowed on one side, and different from any of
the coinage of the Romans, or their successors: whence, and from other
instances, it is inferred, that the Britons had gold and silver coin
before the arrival of the Romans. In the church-yard is a large
rough-hewn stone, bearing an inscription that has not yet been
interpreted.
{106} At Lhanar, a small village two or three miles distant, on the
right bank of the river, there was a Cistercian nunnery, a cell to
Starflower Abbey, of which I understand some imperfect vestiges remain.
{123} According to Tanner, Leland, and Dugdale. Camden says it was for
Cluniacs.
{130} The mansion of Mr. Vaughan, the greatest landholder in
Caermarthenshire. We did not visit this seat, or Middleton hall, also
southward of the valley a few miles nearer Caermarthen, but without
commanding any of its beauties. The latter place, built a few years
since by Mr. Paxton, formerly a banker at Bengal, I understand to be the
most splendid specimen of modern architecture in Wales; but, unfortunate
in its situation, it is already neglected.
{131} The ruins of Gruslwyn castle occupy a bold conical hill about
half-way between Llandilo and Caermarthen, in the Vale of Towey. Nearer
Caermarthen, until lately, stood the venerable remains of Green castle,
built by Uchtred, prince of Merionethshire, in 1138; but the ruin is now
reduced to a few unimportant walls: both these fragments of antiquity are
within view of the road.
{135} "Dim Sarsnic" (no Saxon) is a common expression, grounded on their
anciently confounding all foreigners with their mortal enemies the
Saxons; as the lower class in England consider every foreigner a
Frenchman. This is said to be connected with a marked dislike and
incivility to strangers; yet, so far as my observations extend, a greater
disposition to acts of kindness is not to be met with in any part of the
kingdom than in South Wales.
{140} Along with the degeneracy of social affections, manly prowess, and
other noble affections, that hang on nations and places absorbed in the
pursuit of trade, the dereliction of chastity is greatly conspicuous. In
Manchester, for example, an almost promiscuous intercourse prevails in
the great class of the people: insomuch that the Magistrates attempt to
check the increase of bastard children by inflicting stripes and
imprisonment on the women who bear above a certain number! But why
enumerate particular instances of the debasing tendency of too much
trade, when the history of the world furnishes abundant proofs to
establish the fact as an axiom.
{145} Rail-ways are so called, from being constructed of iron (in some
places wooden) rails, placed in such a manner as to receive the wheels of
a sort of low cart, used in the conveyance of metal and coals. These
cars, as they are called, are of very ponderous structure; their wheels,
grooved round, with a shoulder dipping on the inside, pass with great
facility over the rails; which latter, projecting an inch or two above
the ground, are kept in their places by a sunken frame of wood. The
advantages of these roads are very considerable for the purposes to which
they are applied; insomuch that many persons have suggested their
usefulness for public ways; but perhaps without considering the numerous
practical objection that would encounter the project.
{150} _Single stones_ may be considered among the remotest monuments of
antiquity: we read of such in the Old Testament, raised in commemoration
of signal victories, and as noted sepulchres. Jacob erected one at Lug;
and placed another over the grave of Rachael.
{153} They were wrecked on the Margam estate upwards of a century since.
{155} This is called part of the Abbey church in Grose's Antiquities;
but, as the foundation of that edifice is demonstrable near the
chapter-house, it appears to be an error.
{163} In this neighbourhood several Roman coins have been dug up, among
which were some very scarce ones of AEmilianus and Marius.
{164} Llancarvan, about three miles from Cowbridge, is said to be the
site of a Monastery built by St. Cadocus in the year 500.--Boverton, a
village a short distance from Cowbridge in the road to Cardiff, is
thought to be the Bovium of the Romans.
{173} From this place a turnpike-road extends through the mountains to
Brecon, a district so wild as not to present a village, and scarcely a
habitation in an extent of eighteen miles.--In the neighbourhood of
Merthyr-tydvill I find described Morlashe castle, a ruin.
{174} An outwork that defended the drawbridge.
{175} The external staircase entrance to the hall spoken of by Camden,
"the roof whereof is vaulted and supported by twenty arches," is now
rendered nearly impassable by rubbish.
{177} On a mountain near Caerphilly is a monument known by the name of
_Y Maen hir_. It is a quadrangular stone pillar, rather inclining, and
about eight feet high: close to the base is a mound, inclosing the space
of six yards; and in the midst, a square area. On the pillar is an
inscription in Welch, which signifies, "May'st thou awake;" from which it
is inferred to be a funereal monument.--Grose's Antiquities.
{181} This is called the magazine, from its having been applied to that
purpose in the civil wars of Charles the First.
{184a} There is no cross aile to this cathedral, as there is to all the
others in England and Wales: nor any middle steeple, as there is to all
the others except Bangor and Exeter.
{184b} Castle coch, or the Red castle, situated upon a high bank of the
river Taffe, about four miles above Landaff, is a small ruin which we
neglected to visit.
{185} Monmouthshire has been separated from Wales by the judicial
arrangement of later times; yet the character of the county throughout is
so entirely Cambrian, that I cannot consider myself out of Wales until
after having passed the Wye. Indeed, this highly-varied and interesting
district may be considered as an epitome of the whole principality. The
mountains stretching over the north-west of Monmouthshire shire may vie
with any in South-Wales, and even aspire to the majestic wildness of some
in North-Wales; the rich fertility, or broken precipices accompanying the
course of the Severn, Wye, and Usk, with much contrastive grandeur,
possess the highest pretensions to picturesque fame; and its numerous
ruins and other monuments of antiquity are among the most celebrated in
the kingdom.--An elegant and able work, in two volumes, quarto, has been
lately published, descriptive of Monmouthshire, and illustrated by no
less than 90 excellent plates. The researches of its author (Mr. Coxe)
have been so accurate and complete, as to leave little more for a
succeeding tourist to do than to select and transcribe. The descriptions
I always found highly satisfactory and just; I have therefore, in the
generality of instances, thought it unnecessary to follow any other
authority for documents in history and antiquities.
{192} An officer who had the superintendance of the walls, and collected
a toll for keeping them in repair.
{195} We did not visit Rogeston castle, about two miles north-west of
Newport, a fortress of the Stradlings who came over with Fitzhammon.
Part of its remains appear in the foundation of the mansion built on its
site, belonging to the Morgans, but tenanted by Mr. Butler of Caerleon,
and employed as a manufactory of iron bolts and tin plates.
{200a} In ancient military architecture "_circinatio angulorum_;" a plan
condemned by Vitruvius, because it rather sheltered the besiegers than
the besieged, "_quia hostem magis tuentur quam civem_."
{200b} A decent little inn, and the only one in the town.
{208} These ruins are attributed to the ravages of Owen Glendower, who
sacked and burnt the town.
{209} From Usk to Abergavenny, the road passes several objects worthy of
a tourist's notice. I must here borrow from Mr. Coxe's survey, not
having travelled on the road. The church of Kemys Commander, between
three and four miles from Usk, to the left of the road, is a small Gothic
structure; its cemetery is remarkable for a hollow yew-tree, fifteen feet
in girth, within which is inclosed an oak not less than seven feet in
circumference; its branches shadow the parent trunk, forming a singular
combination of foliage. The church of Bettus Newydd, on the right of the
road in the same neighbourhood, is noticeable for the entire state of its
ancient rood-loft. A mile and a half further the road is graced with an
elegant Gothic gateway, of modern execution, appertaining to Clytha
house, the seat of William Jones, Esq.; and near it is Clytha castle, a
structure erected by Mr. Jones to the memory of a beloved wife. At seven
miles from Usk, to the right of the road, is the old mansion of
Lansanfread, a residence of James Green, Esq. M.P., for Arundel.
Colebrook, about two miles further, and nearly the same distance from
Abergavenny, is a seat of Sir John Hanbury Williams. The house was an
irregular old pile, with square towers at each angle, until about fifty
years since, when the present front and Doric portico were erected, from
a design of Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, of diplomatic and facetious
memory.
{214} The walls here and in many other parts of the ruin are not
deprived of their facing stones, as is generally the case with these
remaining monuments of baronial splendour; but, constructed of a superior
sort of light grey stone, they still exhibit a specimen of exquisite
masonry; and where they have not been wilfully dilapidated appear as
perfect as if just finished.
{219} List of the household, and method of living, at Raglan Castle, by
the Earl of Worcester, in the reign of Charles the First, 1641.
At eleven o'clock in the forenoon the castle gates were shut, and the
tables laid; two in the dining-room; three in the hall; one in Mrs.
Watson's apartment, where the chaplains eat (Sir Toby Matthews being the
first); and two in the housekeeper's room, for the ladies' women.
The Earl entered the dining-room, attended by his gentlemen. As soon as
he was seated, Sir Ralph Blackstone, steward of the house, retired. The
comptroller, Mr. Holland, attended with his staff, as did the sewer Mr.
Blackburne; the daily waiters, Mr. Clough, Mr. Selby, Mr. Scudamore; and
many gentlemen's sons, with estates from two to seven hundred pounds a
year, who were bred up in the castle; my lady's gentlemen of the chamber,
Mr. Morgan and Mr. Fox. At the first table sat the noble family, and
such of the nobility as came there.
At the second table, in the dining-room, sat knights and honourable
gentlemen attended by footmen.
In the hall, at the first table, sat Sir Ralph Blackstone, steward; the
comptroller, Mr. Holland; the secretary; the master of the Horse, Mr.
Dolowar; the master of the Fish-ponds, Mr. Andrews; my Lord Herbert's
preceptor, Mr. Adams; with such gentlemen as came there under the degree
of a knight, attended by footmen, and plentifully served with wine.
At the second table in the hall (served from my Lord's table, and with
other hot meats) sat the sewer, with the gentlemen waiters and pages, to
the number of twenty-four.
At the third table, in the hall, sat the clerk of the kitchen, with the
yeomen officers of the house, two grooms of the chamber, &c.
Other officers of the household were, chief auditor, Mr. Smith; clerk of
the accounts, George Whithorn; purveyor of the castle Mr. Salisbury;
ushers of the hall, Mr. Moyle and Mr. Cooke; closet-keeper; gentleman of
the chapel, Mr. Davies; keeper of the records; master of the wardrobe;
master of the armoury; master grooms of the stable for the war-horses,
twelve; master of the hounds; master falconer; porter and his man. Two
butchers; two keepers of the home-park; two keepers of the red-deer park.
Footmen, grooms, and other menial servants, to the number of 150. Some
of the footmen were brewers and bakers.
Out Officers: Steward of Raglan, William Jones, Esq.; the governor of
Chepstow Castle, Sir Nicholas Kemys, Bart.; housekeeper of
Worcester-house in London, James Redman, Esq.; thirteen Bailiffs; two
counsel for the bailiffs to have recourse to; solicitor, Mr. John Smith.
{222} The Romans constructed their roads with large masses of stone
closely layed together: each piece was often six or seven feet long and
carefully squared. The road to Caerwent, formed on such a foundation,
though passing through a low swampy country, is observed to be uncommonly
compact and dry. Thus the utility of that once great people's work is
transmitted through the constant wear of fifteen centuries; and excites
the admiration of even our own enlightened age.
{236} Camden's Britannia, p. 714, ed. 1722.
{238} About half a mile from the shore is a rocky islet called Charston
rock, much esteemed for the durability of its stone: it has lately been
employed in the lower part of the piers of Newport-bridge.
{244} The stone coffin, containing the remains of St. Theodoric, was
discovered some time since: upon removing the lid, the skeleton appeared
perfectly entire, except a large fracture on the skull, which probably
occasioned the death of the hero.
{251a} Owing to a neglect of the roof, the upper stories of the building
were swimming with water, and perishing very fast. It is to be hoped,
that before this the Duke of Beaufort's agents have looked to their
charge, and adopted proper means to prevent the entire loss of a useful
habitation, and an interesting remnant of antiquity.
{251b} Southey's Poems, p. 378.
{252} Several of the glazed figured tiles used by the Normans, commonly
called Roman tiles, patched up in different parts of the ruin, and a few
Roman bricks built in the heterogeneous mass that composes the grout-work
of the walls, have occasioned many persons to consider the castle as of
Roman foundation. But these circumstances, standing alone, afford very
inconclusive grounds. On the Normans building the castle, the Roman
fragments were most probably brought from the then decaying town of
Caerwent, and with other rubbish applied to the work.
{255} In the garden of a house in Bridge-street is the phenomenon of a
well of soft water that ebbs and flows regularly is an exact opposition
to the tide.
{261} Col. Wood is about to dispose of this estate.
{264} She was a niece of lord Peterborough.
{265} This part of our journey, in wading through a right Welch road,
brought to my mind an anecdote of Mr. Morris. When a bill was before the
House of Commons for the improvement of the roads in Monmouthshire, many
gentlemen of the county, willing to plod through the same mire that had
bedaubed their ancestors, gave it a strong opposition. Mr. Morris, who
had a mind above vulgar prejudices, and who was a warm promoter of every
useful improvement, being examined at the bar of the House and
questioned, "What roads have you in Monmouthshire?" replied,
"None."--"How do you travel then?"--"In ditches," was his reply.
{268} A rough carved figure of a man in a coat of mail is shewn as the
effigy of Richard Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, the founder of the abbey.
This account, however, is altogether erroneous: Richard was only great
nephew of the founder, and he was buried in the chapter-house of
Gloucester.
{274} The neighbourhood that has risen round the abbey is called Abbey
Tintern, to distinguish it from this village, which is about a mile
distant.
{285} The Herberts came over soon after the Conquest, and settled at
Worndee, near Abergavenny.
{287} The manor of Troy deviated from the Herbert line to that of the
earls of Worcester about the beginning of the seventeenth century. In
the Apophthegms of the Marquis of Worcester is related a punning _jeu
d'esprit_ upon the word Troy, between the old Marquis and his royal guest
Charles the First. Sir Thomas Somerset, the Marquis's brother, residing
at Troy-house, possessed a greater art in forcing plants than was at that
time generally understood in England; which enabled him to send a present
of fruit to the Marquis that was entirely out of the natural season. The
old Peer, highly pleased, carried them to the King, and said, "Here I
present you, Sire, with that which came not from Lincoln that was, nor
London that is, nor York that is to be, but from Troy." Whereupon the
King smiled, and answered the Marquis, "Truly, my Lord, I have heard that
corn grows where Troy town stood; but I never thought that there had
grown any apricots before."
{308} This cross-legged position of sepulchral effigies does not denote
that the person represented was a Knight Templar, as is generally
supposed; but that he had visited the Holy Land: indeed, his having
entered into vows that he would perform the journey, entitled him to this
distinction.
{310} One of his posterity, William de Braose, in the reign of King
John, says Dugdale, "gave the tithes of his castle, _viz._ of bread,
wine, beer, cyder, all manner of fresh, fish, salt, honey, wax, tallow,
and in general whatsoever should be brought thither and spent there, upon
condition that the Abbot and Convent of St. Vincent's in Mans, to which
the priory was a cell, should daily pray for the soul of King Henry the
First; as also for the soul of him the said William and the soul of Maud
his wife."
{313} See Page 290.
{330} There is an oblong camp in the neighbourhood of the town called _Y
Gaer_; where Roman bricks, bearing the inscription LEG. II. AUG. are
frequently ploughed up. Near this camp is a rude pillar, about six feet
high, called the _maiden stone_; on one side of which are the figures of
a man and woman coarsely carved in relief.
{343} Cairns, or barrows, in the druidical ages, were large heaps of
stones raised over the bodies of deceased heroes. After the introduction
of Christianity, similar piles were placed on malefactors, to give a sort
of counteraction to the old custom; and it soon became the bitterest wish
a man could give his enemy, "that a cairn might be his monument."
{349} In _Dugdale's Monasticon_, the signature _Godricus Duxi_ occurs
twice among the witnesses to two charters granted by king Canute.
{351} The distance from Ross to Chepstow, in a straight line, is not
more than sixteen miles and a half; but owing to the sinuosity of the
river the voyage by water is near thirty-eight miles. The boats descend
with the current, and are towed all the way back by men: this laborious
task may account for the expensive hire of a boat, which I understand to
be three guineas.
{355} We did not neglect to visit the remains of Lanthony Abbey near
Gloucester, the successful rival of the foundation in Monmouthshire. The
ruins are situated about a mile southward of the town: they are by no
means picturesque, consisting of a series of buildings which surround a
large square area; the dilapidated walls of the chapel are standing
without encumbrance; but the other parts are made up into farming
habitations, with numerous out-houses and sheds.