BRECKNOCK, a borough and market town, having exclusive jurisdiction, locally in the hundreds of Merthyr-Cynog, Pencelly,
and Devynock, county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES, 171 miles (W. by N.) from London, on the road to Milford, comprising the
greater portions of the parishes of St. John the Evangelist and St. David, or Llanvaes, with the chapelry of St. Mary in
the lower division of the former (the remaining portions of both these parishes being included respectively within the
hundreds of Merthyr-Cynog, Devynock, and Pencelly), and the extra-parochial districts of the Castle and the College of
Christchurch, and containing 5026 inhabitants, exclusively of the out-portions of the two parishes, of which that of St.
John's contains 119, and that of St. David's 115, and the two extra parochial districts, of which that of the Castle
contains 24, and that of Christchurch College 88, inhabitants. The origin of this place is referred to a period of very
remote antiquity, having been attributed to the existence of an ancient British city, which, from its position on a
moderate eminence within three miles of the present town, and from its commanding situation near the confluence of the
rivers Yscir and Usk, may have been a place of considerable importance long before the arrival of the Romans in Britain.
Near this place Ostorius Scapula, the first Roman general that penetrated into this part of the country, fixed a station,
subsequently called Caer Ban, or Caer Bannau, and the remains of which are now called the Gaer. The Via Julia Montana
passed this way, and was here intersected by the Roman road leading from Neath to Chester, now commonly called Sam Helen.
Caer Bannau likewise communicated by a vicinal way with the station Tibia Amnia, situated at or near the modern Cardiff.
Its history under the dominion of the Romans, and after their departure from Britain, is involved in obscurity, very few
circumstances of importance having been recorded of it. In the fifth century it was under the jurisdiction of a petty
chieftain named Brychan, who is celebrated in the Welsh annals chiefly for the number, learning, and piety of his
children, and from whom the country derived the appellation of Brecheiniawg, or Brecheinoy, which has been altered by the
English into Breck. sock and Brecon, by which names it is at present known. In the reign of William Rufus, Bernard
Newmarch, encouraged by the success of his countryman, Robert Fitz-Hamon, in establishing himself in the neighbouring
territory of Glamorgan, advanced with an army against Bleddyn ab Maenarch, at that time prince of Brycheiniog, and, after
an obstinate and sanguinary battle near Caervong, (said by Mr. Jones to be a corruption of Caer Ban,) in which that prince
was slain, took possession of his dominions. Bernard, disliking the situation of the Roman British capital of the province
he had conquered, or probably induced by the superior advantages of the spot which he now chose, demolished Caer Bannau,
and employed the materials in building a castle three miles lower down the river Usk, at the influx of the Honddti into
that river, adjacent to which, in process of time, a town arose, which, from its situation, was called by the Welsh Aber
Honddfl, and, becoming the capital of the ancient principality of Brycheiniog, received from the English the name of
Brecknock, or Brecon. Having completed this castle, Bernard made it his chief residence and the head of his lordship
marcher. The town, also built of the materials of the ancient capital, was surrounded with walls, enclosing an elliptical
area about one thousand and seventy yards in circuit, defended by a deep moat, by which, together with the rivers Usk and
Honda, it was completely insulated. The walls were strengthened by ten towers, at nearly equal distances, but varying in
form, some being circular and others square and had five gates, of which two, still partly remaining, appear to have led
to the priory. Notwithstanding the care with which the town was fortified, it was, from its situation, but ill adapted for
security, being overlooked by numerous heights, from which missiles of every kind might be discharged against it with
effect; and Bernard was, therefore, enabled to retain the territory which he had subjugated more by his policy in
espousing a Welsh princess, namely Nest, the granddaughter of Grufydd ab Llewelyn. Bernard is said to have kept Gwrgan,
the eldest son of Bleddyn, in close confinement in his castle of Brecknock, not permitting him to go abroad, unless
accompanied by two of his Norman knights; but he nevertheless assigned to him, and also to his brother Caradoc, certain
portions of land that remained after his allotment of the rest to his Norman followers. The last expedition of this
conqueror for the extension of his territory was into Radnorshire, the result of which was the addition of Elvel, in that
county, to his dominions. After this, Bernard appears to have devoted the remainder of his days in atoning for the
violence and injustice of the earlier part of his life: by the advice of his confessor, Roger, a monk of the abbey of
Battle in Sussex, he founded, without the castle walls, a priory for monks of the Benedictine order, which he dedicated
to St. John the Evangelist, and made a cell to that abbey: he endowed it with ample possessions, including the chapel
within the castle, and churches, lands, tithes, and various other sources of revenue in several counties, and placed it
under the management of Walter, an intimate friend of Roger's, and a monk in the same abbey, who, on the completion of the
buildings, was made prior, and charged with the annual payment of twenty shillings, in token of dependence upon the abbey
of Battle, to the abbacy of which the priors of Brecknock were eligible, and in the election of whom to that dignity the
brethren of this priory had the privilege of voting. Bernard Newmarch died in the reign of Henry I., and was interred in
the cloisters of the cathedral of Gloucester. His son-in-law and successor, Milo Fitz-Walter, resided principally at
Gloucester, seldom visit, ing his Welsh possessions; but his eldest son, Roger, after succeeding to the lordship of
Brecknock, was a munificent benefactor to the monks of this priory, to whom he granted five several charters, still
extant, conferring many valuable gifts and important privileges. Among the former were the site of the Pasta Civitas, the
ancient Caer Bannau, with its dependencies, extending up the northern bank of the river Usk, from the influx of the Yscir
to that of the Cilieni; the exclusive possession of all mills in the parish of Brecknock, with the absolute right of
prohibiting the erection of others; and the tithes of all cattle arising from the " benevolence or free gift of the
Welsh," a sarcastic term, by which the Norman lords designated the annual contribution of a certain number of cattle,
which they rigorously exacted from their Welsh tenantry, for the supply of their larder. The lordship and castle of
Brecknock, after the decease of the other sons of Milo Fitz-Walter, passed by marriage with his daughter to Philip de
Breos, Lord of Builth, whose ancestor had accompanied the Conqueror into England. Philip died in the reign of Henry II.,
and left his possessions to his son, William de Breos, a man of a fierce and turbulent character, who, from the veneration
in which he held the priory of St. John, at Brecknock, granted to all persons belonging to it, as well burgesses as
others, exemption from all levies and contributions payable to chief constables, and from all fines for common trespasses
and defaults, and to the monks of that establishment the goods and chattels of felons, reserving to himself and to the
officers of his court the right of determining and pass ing all sentences affecting life or limb. William, having summoned
Trahearn Vychan, the great grandson of Bleddyn ab Maenarch, and lord of Llangorse, to a conference at Brecknock, in
1198, the latter immediately prepared to obey the injunction of his superior lord, who caused him to be treacherously
seized on his way, and fastening him to a horse's tail, ordered him to be dragged through the streets of Brecknock, after
which he was beheaded, and his body ignominiously hung up by the feet for three days. This lord was also continually
embroiled with King John, to whom, after repeated delays in the payment of a large sum of money, he was obliged to deliver
up his castles of Brecknock, Hay, and Radnor; but soon afterwards raising a body of troops in haste, he retook them by
surprise, and recovered possession of them. Having committed some devastations in the adjacent country, he was closely
pressed by the king's forces, and at last withdrew into Ireland, where he associated himself with the enemies of the
English sovereign. He afterwards made a feigned submission to the king, who was preparing to embark for Ireland; but,
after again exciting disturbances in Wales, he at length retired into France, where he died in exile, and his estates
escheated to the crown. The castle and lordship of Brecknock, with the other portion of the estates in Wales, were
restored by King John to Giles Bishop of Hereford, son of William de Breos, on whose death they passed, in 1215, to his
brother Reginald, who, having married the daughter of Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of Wales, entered, with his father-in-
law, into the confederacy formed by the disaffected English barons against that monarch. The English portion of his
paternal estates was afterwards restored to Reginald by Henry III., with whom he had entered into a separate treaty.
Llewelyn, in revenge for Reginald's desertion from his former alliance, laid siege to Brecknock, intending to demolish it;
but, on the petition of the inhabitants, strengthened by the earnest intercession of his nephew RhYs, he was prevailed
upon to spare the town; and, taking hostages for the future conduct of the burgesses, and a hundred marks as a
compensation to his troops, he retired and proceeded across the mountains towards Gower. Reginald, dying in 1228, was
interred in the priory church at Brecknock, and his estates descended to his son, William de Breos, who, aiding the
English monarch in an expedition into North Wales, was taken prisoner by Llewelyn, and detained in custody, from which he
was released on the payment of a large ransom. Llewelyn, after his departure, having, as it is recorded, discovered that
during his confinement he had seduced the fidelity of his wife, inveigled him into his power, in 1229, by a friendly
invitation to celebrate the festival of Easter at his castle at Aber, in the county of Carnarvon, where, after a sumptuous
banquet, reproaching him with his crime, he caused him to be dragged from his presence, and hanged on a neighbouring hill.
This prince, in the course of his devastations in the marches, about the year 1231, when he extended his ravages as far as
Caerlleon, appears to have made himself master of Brecknock; but in another excursion, about two years after, he was
foiled in his attempt to surprise the castle, and, after having besieged it for a month without success, set fire to the
town, and retired with his plunder into North Wales. The lordship and castle, on the death of William de Breos, passed by
marriage with his daughter to Humphrey de Bohun, sixth Earl of Hereford, in whose time Llewelyn ab Grufydd, Prince of
North Wales, in the prosecution of his border warfare, came to Brecknock, on the invitation of the inhabitants, who
voluntarily tendered their submission; and, notwithstanding de Bohun and he acted in concert on the side of the
insurgents under Simon de Montfort, yet in 1267, on the conclusion of peace between Henry III. and Llewelyn, the latter
was by treaty permitted to retain the lordship and castle of Brecknock. Humphrey de Bohun, son and successor to the former
earl, recovered possession of them, apparently without much opposition from the inhabitants; and, in the 4th of Edward
I., confirmed and considerably augmented the privileges conferred on the burgesses by his father, from whom they received
the first charter now on record, and invested them with liberties and immunities as ample as he had previously granted to
the citizens of Hereford. The hospitality of the de Bohuns, who lived in great splendour in the castle, which, in the
reign of Edward III., was considerably enlarged and beautified, in the best style of that age; the grant of an annual
fair for sixteen days, commencing eight days before, and continuing for eight days after, the festival of St. Leonard; the
great resort of persons to the castle, and the large demand for all kinds of provisions for their supply, contributed to
make the town of Brecknock more flourishing than it had ever been, and to render it the grand mart of South Wales. On the
elevation of the Duke of Hereford to the throne, in 1399, by the title of Henry IV., the lordship of Brecknock became
vested in the crown, in consequence of that monarch's previous marriage with the heiress of the de Bohuns; and, during
the war carried on by Owain Glyndwr, in 1404, John Touchet, Lord And-ley, was associated with Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick and Lord of Abergavenny, in a commission under that sovereign, to defend for one whole year the castle, town, and
lordship of Brecknock, for which purpose one hundred men at arms, and three hundred archers on horseback, with a suitable
allowance for their pay, were placed under their control. Henry IV., in the fourteenth year of his reign, granted to the
burgesses the first royal charter which they ever obtained: this was confirmed, and some further immunities added, by his
son and successor, Henry V. After the death of the Countess Dowager of Hereford, who, during her lifetime, had remained in
actual possession of the lordship of Brecknock, Henry granted this domain to Anne, widow of Edmund Earl of Stafford, who
no sooner obtained possession of it, than she disfranchised the borough, revoking all the charters which had previously
been granted to the burgesses, and entirely annulling their privileges and immunities. Her son, who succeeded to these
possessions in 1439, and was created Duke of Buckingham by Henry VI., in the twenty-third year of his reign, granted to
the burgesses, in 1448, a charter, in which about seventy-five of them are enumerated, to whom, as being " English people,
and to their heirs, being English, both by the father's and mother's side," the privileges were restricted; clearly
chewing the policy which prevailed at that period, of excluding the Welsh inhabitants from the exercise of any municipal
authority. The duke, who to his Welsh tenantry was an arbitrary master, burdening them with heavy impositions, and
requiring the landholders within the lordship to exhibit the title deeds of their estates, was killed at the battle of
Northampton, fighting in the cause of Henry VI., and was succeeded by his grandson Henry, then a minor, who, on attaining
his majority, lived in retirement in the castle during the greater part of the reign of Edward IV., and, after the death
of that monarch, became the confidential adviser of Richard Duke of Gloucester, and the chief promoter of his ambitious
designs. In recompense for his services, Richard, on his elevation to the throne, appointed him governor of all the royal
castles in Wales, steward of the royal manors in the counties of Hereford and Salop, Chief Justice and Chamberlain of
North and South Wales, and Lord High Constable of England. But on the rupture which ensued between Richard and the duke,
the latter withdrew from court to his castle of Brecknock, in which also was confined John Morton, Bishop of Ely,
originally a zealous adherent of the Lancastrian party, who, having been pardoned by the Yorkists, attached himself to the
family of Edward, and had been committed by Richard to Buckingham's custody. Between the duke and his prisoner a curious
conversation is recorded in the Chronicles of Stowe and Speed, the result of which was the departure of Morton to the
continent, to concert with the Earl of Richmond a plan for the promotion of his enterprise, by exciting an insurrection in
his favour at home. Richard, either having discovered or suspecting the plot, commanded the duke's appearance at court,
which being disregarded, he sent orders to Sir Thomas Vaughan, of Tretower, to raise the country and attack and plunder
the castle of Brecknock. The duke, having mustered his dependents, and raised what forces he could, published a vehement
manifesto against Richard, and advancing from Brecknock with a numerous, but ill-arranged, body of troops, proceeded upon
that expedition to the south-west of England, the issue of which was fatal to his hopes and to his life. On his execution
and attainder, Sir James TyiTel was appointed commissioner for his forfeited estates in Wales, and Sir Ralph Ashton was
ordained vice-constable of England, with discretionary power, either to try by the examination of witnesses, or, without
trial, to pass sentence upon all persons guilty or suspected of high treason, and on all who were concerned in the
insurrection, taking with him only a secretary to make minutes of his proceedings. On the accession of Henry VII., the
lordship and castle, together with the other honours and estates of the late duke, were restored to his eldest son Edward,
who considerably improved the castle, and restored to the burgesses the privileges which they had enjoyed under their
former charters. In the following reign, this duke was brought to trial for some indiscreet expressions respecting his
title to the throne, in the event of Henry's death without issue; and being found guilty, was beheaded. As his offence
was rather the effect of inconsiderate levity than of deliberate malice, the people, by whom he was greatly beloved,
attributed the refusal of a pardon to the animosity and revenge of Wolsey. With him expired the office of High Constable
of England, which had been hereditary in the family, and was never afterwards revived. The lordship escheated to the
crown, to which it has ever since belonged, having been granted on lease to divers individuals, and is now held by Sir
Charles Morgan, Bart. In the reign of Elizabeth, Mr. Harry Vaughan of Moccas was appointed Her Majesty's lieutenant and
steward of the castle and lordship; during whose lieutenancy it appears, from an ancient Welsh manuscript still extant,
that there broke out an insurrection of the country people, who are described as coming down from the hills to the number
of twelve hundred, armed with bill-hooks, and as making an ineffectual attempt on the castle, without either arms or
machines calculated to make any impression upon it. During the parliamentary war, it appears, from a manuscript in the
British Museum, by Mr. Simmons, who is supposed to have been an officer in the royal army, that the inhabitants destroyed
the castle, which, .since the abolition of the lordships marcher, had been suffered to go to decay; and also razed the
walls and fortifications of the town, in order to preclude the possibility of their being burdened with the maintenance of
a garrison, or compelled to sustain a siege. The king, in his flight after the battle of Naseby, passed through the town,
in the year 1645, and remained for one night at the priory house, then in the possession of Mr. (afterwards Sir Herbert)
Price, one of his zealous friends and adherents; and from this place he addressed a letter to the Prince of Wales, then
in Cornwall, or on his way thence to Bristol. The town is delightfully situated at the confluence of the rivers Honda' and
Tarrell with the Usk. Considerable alterations have been made of late years, with the view of improving the entrances to
it, on the line of the principal thoroughfare: at the eastern extremity, the barracks, and a row of genteel houses,
called Jeffreys Place, have been erected; and the Usk bridge gate, and several houses adjoining it, nearly in the centre
of the town, have been taken down. The bridge over the Usk also was widened, in 1794: it is a substantial stone structure
of seven arches, leading to the parish of St. David, commonly called Llanvaes, on the opposite bank of the river, one-half
of which forms the lower ward of the borough. At the western extremity, the Tarrell is crossed by a handsome stone bridge
of one large arch, with a cylindrical perforation at each end, erected in 1829, at the joint expense of the county and the
borough. There are three bridges over the river Honda, from which advantageous views of the dismantled towers of the
castle and the priory groves are obtained: the first, which is of stone, was rebuilt in 1813, and is kept in repair by
the inhabitants of the borough; the second, which anciently led to the castle, has two arches, and between them a very
massive pier, that anciently sustained a draw-bridge; it is now thrown open to the public, and the expense of keeping it
in repair is defrayed by the lord of the manor of Brecknock: the third, which is very near the confluence of that river
with the Usk, is an old bridge of stone, consisting of three heavy arches, and is kept in repair by the inhabitants of the
borough. The appearance of Brecknock is strikingly picturesque, and the various interesting objects composing the scenery
of the immediate vicinity, though not numerous, are pleasingly contrasted and happily combined. The streams which converge
to it, as a common centre, with their respective bridges, and the various mills erected on their banks; the venerable
ruins of its ancient castle, with its massive towers and ivy-mantled walls; the embattled turret and gateway of the
priory of St. John the Evangelist, with its ample and luxuriant groves, fringing the margin of the Honddi, from which in
many places they appear to rise; and the magnificent range of mountain scenery to the south of the town, with the almost
endless variety of impending heights, which encircle it on every side; unite in forming one this the most beautiful and
richly varied views in this part of the principality; and the banks of the Horidda, a wild and rapid stream, present
numerous picturesque objects. The town consists chiefly of three principal streets, diverging from the High-street, in the
centre, and containing a large proportion of well-built houses of respectable appearance. One of the principal streets
leads westward through Llanvaes towards Carmarthen; another takes an easterly direction, nearly parallel with the Usk,
towards Abergavenny and London; while the third, called " the Struet," leads north-eastward towards Hay and Hereford:
the other streets are in general narrow, but contain many good houses. The whole is lighted with gas, well paved, and
supplied with water under the superintendence of commissioners appointed by a local act of parliament. A handsome building
was commenced, in 1805, at the east end of the town, at the expense of Government, for the purpose of an armoury, in which
for some years fifteen thousand stand of arms were deposited, but they have recently been removed, and the building has
been converted into barracks, now occupied by regular troops: it is a handsome structure of red brick, enclosed within a
high wall, and forming an ornament to this part of the town: the original expense was £15,000, but a considerable sum has
since been laid out upon the building, in altering and improving it; notwithstanding which, however, it will not
accommodate more than one hundred and twenty men. In this town are held the meetings of the Brecknockshire Agricultural
Society, the oldest institution of the kind in the principality, originally established in the year 1755, and revived in
November 1817: the Duke of Beaufort and Marquis Camden are the present patrons; and its affairs are conducted by a
president, vice-president, and a committee of subscribers: the meetings usually take place in the rooms of the society,
in the months of March and October, when the premiums to be offered for the year ensuing are determined on: the total sum
distributed at the autumnal meeting, in 1831, was £53. O. 6. The theatre, a plain building well adapted to the purpose,
and elegantly fitted up in the interior, but occupying an ineligible site, is opened for four months periodically, and the
company is occasionally assisted by some of the London performers. Races are held annually in the autumn, generally in the
last week of September, or the beginning of October, and are in general well attended: the course is adjacent to the
town, and a grand stand is about to be erected, the subscription for which has been entered into. They continue for two
days: on the first are awarded the farmers' stakes of one sovereign each, and a cup given by the townsmen of Brecknock ;
and on the second, the members' plate of fifty sovereigns, a sweepstakes of five sovereigns each, with twenty sovereigns
added out of the subscription fund, and a free handicap stakes of four sovereigns each, with thirty sovereigns added. In
the assize and race weeks balls are held alternately at the guildhall and at the Castle Inn; and, until the last winter,
a regular course of public balls was supported, which were held once a fortnight during the winter, in the spacious room
at the inn above-mentioned. Along the banks of the Usk, and immediately under the old town walls, a beautiful promenade
has been formed, commanding a fine and extensive view of the scenery on the south side of that river; and another and
more retired walk has been laid out with great taste through the woods of the priory, extending along the declivity of an
eminence rising from the bank of the river Honda, and embracing much of the beautiful scenery with which the environs
abound. The internal neatness of the town, the pleasantness of its situation, the salubrity of the air, and the
interesting excursions which the neighbourhood affords, render it desirable as a place of residence, and have made it the
retreat of many opulent and highly respectable families. The society is remarkably select, and its influence on the poorer
classes is obvious in their decent and orderly demeanour, which is fully and frequently attested by the light calendar at
the assizes and quarter sessions. This town has at present no manufactures, but from the different companies mentioned in
its charter, each of which had a chapel in St. John's or St. Mary's church, in which they met to transact their affairs,
it appears formerly to have been of some commercial importance. The trade is now principally in wool, leather, and hops,
and in the supply of the neighbourhood with various articles of consumption; and has greatly increased since the
construction of the Brecknock and Abergavenny canal, which was completed in 1811, and communicates with the Monmouthshire
canal, and thence, by Newport,with Bristol and other parts of the kingdom. The whole extent of this canal is forty-five
miles, the greater portion of which is a fine level: within a few miles from the town it passes through a tunnel, nearly a
quarter of a mile in length, which has been cut through a hill; and on its near approach to Newport, the navigation is
partially impeded by the numerous locks, rendered necessary from the inequality of the ground through which it passes.
Regular trading boats have been established, which pass weekly between this place and Bristol, and capacious wharfs for
coal and lime have here been constructed on the banks of the canal. A tram-road from its head at this town to Kington, in
the county of Hereford, thirty-five miles in extent, has been formed, for the conveyance of coal, lime, and other heavy
commodities: about three miles from the town it passes through a tunnel, eight hundred yards in length, which has been
cut through the solid rock. The markets are on Wednesday for butchers' meat and vegetables, and on Saturday, which is the
principal market, for corn and provisions: the charter of this borough also grants another market on Friday. The fairs
are on the first Wednesday in March, May 4th, July 5th, September 9th, and November 16th, principally for horses, cattle,
sheep, agricultural produce, hops, wool, leather, and pedlery: those in May and November, of which the latter is the
larger, are also statute fairs for the hiring of servants. The market-place is under the town-hall, where butchers' meat,
salt butter, hops, and leather are sold; but the principal commodities, such as corn, fresh butter, poultry, hardware,
&c., are exposed for sale in the streets. During the existence of the lordship marcher of Brecknock, the inhabitants
participated in the privileges and immunities which were from time to time conferred by the lords marcher upon the priors
of St. John the Evangelist; but it was not till the accession of de Bohun, sixth Earl of Hereford, to the lordship, in
the reign of Henry III., that they possessed any exclusive privileges of their own. This nobleman first incorporated them,
and gave them a charter of privileges, which was confirmed and extended by his son and successor, who, in the 4th year of
the reign of Edward I., granted them privileges and immunities equal to those enjoyed by the city of Hereford. This
charter was renewed and confirmed by his son, Humphrey de Bohun, in the reign of Edward II., but in the following reign
was abrogated by his successor, who, upon some offence, disfranchised the burgesses, and kept them in a state of vassalage
for the remainder of his life. His nephew and successor, in the 39th of Edward III., restored to them their former
privileges, and gave them a new charter of incorporation, which continued in force till the accession of Henry IV., who,
in the 14th year of his reign, conferred on them their first royal charter. This charter was annulled by Anne, Countess
Dowager of Stafford, who, on being put in possession of the lordship, disfranchised the burgesses; but it was restored in
1448, by her son, the first of that family who became duke of Buckingham. Under these charters the municipal government
appears to have been exercised by a bailiff and twenty-four principal burgesses; and, till the union with England, the
bailiff appears to have been appointed by the lord, who also appointed a sheriff of the borough, who held his office for
life. The bailiff had power to appoint a deputy, and mention is made of a bailiff itinerant, the duties of whose office,
though not clearly known, are supposed to have consisted in superintending the municipal government of part of the parish
of Llywel, which, though eleven miles distant, is within the jurisdiction of the corporation, and in collecting the fines
and other revenues of the borough. There were anciently five guilds, or trading companies, viz., the weavers, tuckers,
tailors, shoemakers, and glovers, or skinners: the first four of these for several centuries held their meetings in their
respective chapels, in the churches of St. John and St. Mary. The abolition of various Welsh laws and customs, during the
reign of Henry VIII., having greatly diminished the revenue of the corporation, they obtained, through the interest of the
Earl of Pembroke, a remission from Queen Mary, soon after her accession, of £100 of the fee-farm rent of the borough,
which previously amounted to 4120, and, by the same influence, in the 2nd and 3rd years of the reign of Philip and Mary,
the charter by which the town is now governed, and which seems to have extended the limits of the borough, so as to
include the priory precincts and the parish of St. David, as far as the river Tarrell: the borough limits, under its
ancient lords, appear to have comprised only the space within the walls. By this charter the government is vested in a
bailiff, recorder, two aldermen, and fifteen capital burgesses, including the bailiff and aldermen, assisted by a town-
clerk, two chamberlains, two serjeants at mace, and other officers. The bailiff, who is also clerk of the market and
coroner, and has the return of all writs, and the aldermen, are chosen annually from among the capital burgesses, by the
corporation at large, on the Monday next before the 29th of September, and sworn into office on the Monday following. The
capital burgesses are chosen from among the burgesses, as vacancies occur, by a majority of their own body; and the
recorder, town-clerk, and chamberlains are appointed by the corporation at large, by whom also the burgesses are chosen.
The burgesses, whose number is now only seventeen, including the capital burgesses, are exempt from serving the offices of
assessors or collectors of taxes due to the crown out of the limits of the borough, and from the payment of toll
throughout the kingdom: those residing within the borough are also exempt from serving on juries for the county, and from
liability to appear without the walls of Brecknock before any judge or justice appointed by the crown, excepting only the
chief justice of the county. The borough first received the elective franchise in the 27th of Henry VIII., since which
time it has continued to return one member to parliament: the right of election was formerly vested in the bailiff,
aldermen, and resident burgesses. The act for amending the representation of the people, recently passed, has neither
altered the limits of the borough nor the number of its representatives, but has extended the right of voting to every
male person of full age, occupying, either as owner or as tenant under the same landlord, a house or other premises of the
annual value of not less than ten pounds, provided he be capable of registering as the law directs: the present number of
persons thus qualified is about three hundred and forty, in addition to the former limited constituency: the bailiff is
the returning officer. The right of conferring the freedom of the borough upon any of the inhabitants, on their taking an
oath to obey the municipal officers in all things lawful, and to defend the liberties and franchises of the borough to the
utmost of their power, is vested in the corporation; and the freedom is obtained only by this means. The borough is
divided into twelve wards, of which eleven are in the town and immediate vicinity, and include the precinct of the priory
of St. John the Evangelist; and the twelfth, called Trecastle ward, forming that part of the parish of Llywel which lies
to the north of the river Usk, is at the distance of eleven miles, in the hundred of Devynock. The bailiff, recorder, and
aldermen are justices of the peace within the borough, and the county magistrates have no concurrent jurisdiction, unless
in the event of a total failure of municipal justices. The corporation hold quarterly courts of session, for deciding upon
all offences not capital, at which the recorder presides; a court of record every Monday and Thursday, for the
determination of pleas and the recovery of debts to any amount, at which the bailiff, recorder, and aldermen, or any two
of them, preside, with the power of issuing process to hold to bail in actions for debt; and, within one month after
Michaelmas, a court leet, as lords of the manor, with view of frankpledge, at which also they appoint two constables for
each of the twelve wards. The assizes for the county, and the election of a knight for the shire, take place at Brecknock,
as the county town. The borough and county hall was rebuilt in 1770, at the joint expense of the corporation and the
county, aided by contributions from their representatives in parliament: it is a neat, spacious, and commodious building,
in the High-street, having on the first floor a spacious room, in which the public business of the corporation is
transacted, and the sessions and courts for the borough, and the assizes and quarter sessions for the county, are held:
at the east end is a room for the accommodation of the grand jury, and for the preservation of the public records of the
borough: the basement story is appropriated as a market-place, and beneath it are spacious vaults, in which leather and
other articles of merchandise are stored: the attic story was used as a receptacle for arms and military stores prior to
the erection of the armoury, in:1805. The gaol for the borough is small and inconvenient, being in no wise adapted to the
classification of prisoners: it is therefore used only as a prison for debtors under process in the borough court, and as
a place of temporary confinement for breaches of the peace, and of prisoners previously to their committal for trial to
the county gaol. The common gaol for the county was anciently in the castle, a portion of which was appropriated to that
purpose till the year 1690, when a new prison was built in that part of the borough called Watton, which was abandoned
some years ago. The present common gaol and house of correction is situated on the east bank of the Tarrell, in the parish
of St. David: it is a neat modern building, comprising five divisions for the classification of prisoners, five day -
rooms, one workroom, and five airing-yards, in one of which is a tread-wheel, applicable either to the introduction of
soft water for the supply of the prison, or to the working of a tucking-mill: the entire building, which is on the plan
recommended by the philanthropic Howard, will accommodate twenty-four prisoners, in so many separate cells. The living of
St. John's is a discharged vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of St. Mary's annexed, in the arch-deaconry of Brecknock,
and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £6. 13.4., endowed with £200 private benefaction, and £200 royal
bounty, and in the patronage of the Rev. Richard Davies, the present archdeacon of Brecknock. The church, which was
anciently the chapel of the priory founded here by Bernard New-march, is an ancient and venerable cruciform structure,
chiefly in the early and decorated styles of English architecture, with a low massive central tower, and occupies a
beautiful eminence on the western bank of the river Honddtt, on the north side of the town, near the Priory woods, but has
sustained so much unavoidable dilapidation, and undergone so many alterations, that little of its original character
remains. It is partly embattled, and on the south side is nearly overspread with ivy, forming, from its elevated situation
and romantic appearance, an interesting object in the view from was adjoining grounds of Marquis Camden's seat: it was
formerly surrounded by a strong lofty wall, part of which is still remaining on the western side. The nave, which is one
hundred and thirty-six feet and a half in length, and twenty-eight and a half broad, is very lofty, and has been recently
ceiled: on each side are portions anciently appropriated to the use of the guilds, separated by partitions of wood, on
the front of which emblematical devices, illustrative of their several trades, were formerly partly carved and partly
painted. The chancel, which is principally in the decorated style of English architecture, and is sixty-two feet long and
twenty-nine and a half broad, is separated from the nave by a screen, formerly the rood-loft, and has a modern ceiling,
divided into compartments on each side are the remains of three light and beautifully clustered springers, which supported
the ancient roof, broken off just above the corbels, and at the east end is a combination of five lancet-shaped windows,
under a plain pointed arch, divided externally by four mullions and internally by four slender pilasters. Adjoining the
chancel is a chapel of large dimensions, much admired for the beauty of its architecture: it was built soon after the
incorporation of the town, by one of the family of Bayard of Pontwilym, and for the last two or three centuries has
obtained the appellation of the Vicar's chapel. Of the cross aisles, or transepts, the northern, called the chapel of
the men of Battle, from its having been appropriated to the use of the inhabitants of the neighbouring village of Battle,
before that became a distinct parish, is thirty feet and a half long, and twenty-nine broad; while the southern, called
Capel y C6chiaid, " the chapel of the red-haired men" (meaning the Normans), is of the same breadth as the other, but
extends to a length of thirty-eight feet three inches. The former was lighted at the end by a combination of three lancet-
shaped windows, now filled up with boards, and the latter by a corresponding window: the aisles are lighted by a range of
four windows in the later English style. Near the western end of the nave is a circular Norman font, the shaft of which is
decors-, ted with a series of intersecting arches; and round the edge is an inscription nearly obliterated. The living of
St. David's, or Llanvaes, is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, rated in
the king's books at £5. 15. 7g., endowed with £400 private benefaction, and £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the
Archdeacon of Brecknock. The church, a small edifice of one aisle, with a tower at the west end, is situated in the suburb
of Llanvaes, on the south side of the river Usk. The living of St. Mary's is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage
of St. John's, in the archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, endowed with £400 private benefaction, and A
600 royal bounty. The chapel, which was anciently parochial, is situated in the centre of the town, and was rebuilt in the
reign of Henry VIII.: it is a spacious and handsome edifice, in the later style of English architecture, with a square
embattled tower, erected in 1515, about ninety feet in height, and containing a ring of eight bells: it comprises two
aisles, a chancel, and, on the north-east, the chapel formerly appropriated to the guild of shoemakers, from which a door
opens into the vestry-room, now rendered useless by the erection of houses close to its windows, by which it is so
darkened that it has been found necessary to transfer the transaction of the parochial business of St. John's to the town-
hall. At the western end is a large window of five lights, having cinque-foiled heads, under an ogee arch: the east
window of the chancel is of the same kind, but plainer. The pointed arches which separate the nave from the aisle spring
from short round piers, such as characterize the Norman style, from which it is inferred that this structure is of much
older foundation than is indicated by the prevailing style of its architecture: indeed, a document is extant, recording a
grant to this church at the end of the twelfth, or the commencement of the thirteenth century. A handsome brass chandelier
was presented to it about the close of the seventeenth century, by Lady Elizabeth Lucy, relict of Dr. Lucy, Bishop of St.
David's. In this chapel the consistorial court of the archdeaconry of Brecknock is held every month: its jurisdiction
extends over the whole of the counties of Brecknock and Radnor, the parishes of Kerry and Moughtrey, in the county of
Montgomery, eight parishes in the county of Hereford, and two in the county of Monmouth. Near Slwch, within the chapelry
of St. Mary, formerly stood a chapel, dedicated to St. Elyned; near the eastern entrance into the town, one called St.
Catherine's chapel; and adjoining the borough gaol, a third; but there is not at present a single vestige of any of them.
There are three places of worship for Baptists, and one each for Welsh Independents, Welsh Calvinistic Methodists, and
English Wesleyan and Welsh Wesleyan Methodists. That belonging to the Independents, called Plough Chapel, has two valuable
endowments, one a farm in the parish of MerthyrCynog, called Ty 'n rhYd y maen, bequeathed by Richard Williams, of Glewdy,
in 1689, and now producing £20 per annum; and the other a messuage, tenement, and lands, called the Plough, in the town
of Brecknock, producing from £25 to £30 per annum. A small tenement, called Bola Maen, in the parish of Llanvihangel-
NantBran, has also been left by some unknown benefactor for the support of a Roman Catholic priest in this town, where,
however, there are now but very few professing this creed, and these have no chapel. In the suburb of Llanvaes is situated
the College of Christchurch, occupying the site of an ancient house of friars preachers, which existed here before the
Reformation, and of which the church, dedicated to St. Nicholas (apparently, from the foundations still remaining, a
spacious structure, nearly two hundred feet in length), was demolished in the reign of Charles I., by the parliamentary
commissioners, who seized the revenue of the establishment. Its origin may be attributed to Dr. Thomas Beck, Bishop of St.
David's, who, in 1283, projected a similar establishment at Llangadock, in the county of Carmarthen, which was frustrated
by his death. The original design was revived, in 1331, by Bishop Gower, his successor, who, adopting the same plan, made
the church of Aberguilly collegiate for that purpose. The institution thus founded continued at Aberguilly till the year
1531, when, by the influence of Bishop Rawlins, it was transferred to Brecknock by Henry VIII., who assigned for its site
the suppressed monastery of St. Nicholas, and granted the revenue of that establishment, in addition to its former
possessions, for its better support, ordaining that it should be thenceforward called " the College of Christ in
Brecknock." The charter of Henry VIII. assigns, as the causes of its removal, the inappropriateness of its former
situation, and the ignorance of the English language that prevailed among the inhabitants of this part of South Wales,
which prevented them from understanding, and consequently from obeying, the statutes of the realm. The charter also
ordains that the Bishops of St. David's should be deans of the new foundation, and should appoint a schoolmaster, an
usher, a divinity lecturer, and a preacher, to be paid out of the revenue of the college, for the gratuitous instruction
of the children of the borough. The total amount of the reserved rents of the prebends is £387.2. per annum, out of which
are paid annually £30.18.4. to the divinity lecturer, and £20. 1. 9. to a schoolmaster. The present establishment consists
of the Bishop of St. David's, who presides as dean, a precentor, treasurer, chancellor, and nineteen prebendaries. From
the college grammar school young men were formerly admitted into holy orders, without graduating at either of the
Universities; but of this important privilege it has been deprived since the foundation of St. David's College, at
Lampeter. After the Restoration, Dr. William Lucy, being appointed Bishop of St. David's and Dean of Christ's College,
restored or rebuilt a portion of the church, as it now appears, consisting only of a choir and chancel, sixty-eight feet
in length, and twenty-six in breadth, in which, ranged along each side of the entrance, are the stalls of the dean and
prebendaries: the east window is large, comprising a combination of five lancet-shaped windows of elegant design, in a
plain pointed arch, and enriched with delicate tracery; and on the north side of the building there is a range of ten
lancet-shaped windows. Adjoining the north-west angle are the remains of the Aubrey chapel, an appendage of the ancient
church of St. Nicholas; and at the east end is a beautiful stone cross, removed into that situation, in 1806, from the
ruins of the Aubrey chapel. Bishop Bull was interred in the present church, which contains monumental memorials of several
other bishops of St. David's, who have been buried within its walls. But the most ancient inscription remaining is that on
a stone now forming the threshold of the door, in memory of the father of the famous Sir David Gam, who resided. at
Newton, in the parish of St. David, and was interred here, some time in the reign of Henry V., though the memorial is
without date. There is a monument to, the memory of Bishop Lucy; but the most costly is an altar-tomb bearing the
recumbent effigies of this prelate's eldest son Richard, chancellor of the church, and of his wife, with that of their
son, attired in the dress of the time of James II., on a stone tablet at their feet. There are also, within the college
precincts, which are extra-parochial, a house, which has been the residence of several of the bishops, some other
dwelling-houses, and also vestiges of the ancient conventual buildings, among which are part of the old gateway and the
refectory. The Boughrood charity school, held in the Struet, in the house of the master, who receives a salary of twenty
guineas per annum, and enjoys a house and garden rent-free, for the instruction of fifty boys, was established under the
will of the Rev. Rees Powell, formerly vicar of Boughrood, Radnorshire, dated 1686, by which he bequeathed the manors or
lordships of Upper Elvel, Aberedw, and Garreg, and the castle, Common, and forest of Colwyn, all in the county of Radnor,
and now producing annually £262. 4.4., to various charitable purposes therein named; among which, besides the support of
the above-mentioned school, are, £20 per annum for placing out poor children, natives of the town and borough of
Brecknock, or of the parishes of St. John the Evangelist, St. David, and Aberyscir, to some lawful trades in the town of
Brecknock; 410 yearly towards forming a stock for subsequently establishing the said poor children in business; and £24
per annum to the Principal, or Vice-Principal, of Jesus' College, Oxford, for poor scholars or under-graduates there,
natives of the counties of Radnor or Brecknock, with preference to the kindred of the donor: the income of this charity
having greatly increased, the surplus is employed by the trustees, either in extending the charity to a greater number of
children than is mentioned in the original deed, or in augmenting the sums therein specified. Two Lancasterian schools,
for the education of children of both sexes, were established in 1810, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the
accession of George III.: they are kept in two rooms in the same building, erected for the purpose; and on the books are
now about one hundred children of both sexes: the master and mistress receive a salary of £40 per annum each. In 1722,
Nicholas Jeffreys gave £100, directing the interest to be applied to the use of the charity school of blue-coat boys; in
1724, Mrs. Catherine Games gave £300, to purchase lands, out of the rents of which, £2 yearly was to be paid to the
charity school for girls, and the remainder to be yearly distributed in bread, at the discretion of the trustees; and, in
1794, Mrs. Mary Williams devised the interest of £100, to be annually applied towards the support of the charity school of
Brecknock: these several bequests are now united, and their produce, jointly with annual subscriptions, and the bequest
of Mrs. Collinson, below-mentioned, is applied to the support of the Benevolent or Lancasterian schools, forming a fund
out of which the salaries of the master and mistress are paid. Here is likewise a Sunday school supported by subscription.
An almshouse for twelve decayed female housekeepers was founded, in 1721, by Mrs. Catherine Games and Mrs.Walker, who
bequeathed £620 to be laid out in the purchase of lands for its endowment, and placed it under the superintendence of the
proprietor of the Pen Pont estate: the dwellings, to each of which a garden is attached, are situated in Llanvaes, form
three sides of a quadrangle, and are comfortably fitted up: the endowment was expended in the purchase of an estate,
called Hepste, in the parish of Cantrev; but in lieu of the rent of this property, only the interest of the original sum
is paid to the poor inmates, at the rate of fifty shillings each per annum. This stipend has, however, lately been
augmented by Mrs. Sybil Collinson, late of Brecknock, who by will left £25 per annum, of which 412 is to be equally
distributed every year among the inmates of this hospital, the same sum to be appropriated to the Brecknock Benevolent or
Lancasterian schools, and the remaining tE 1 to the county gaol. Numerous other bequests have been made for the benefit of
the poor. In 1581, Mrs. William Thomas gave £100, to be lent to five weavers and five tuckers, without interest, for the
term of three years, for ever: about the end of the sixteenth, or commencement of the seventeenth, century, Mr. Peter
Body gave a messuage and garden of the yearly rent of £1, to be distributed among the poor, which bequest has now become
merely a rent-charge; Mr. Lewis Meredith gave a messuage and garden of the same yearly rent, to be applied in the like
manner; and Evan Williams Shenkin gave £2 per annum to the poor. In 1612, Sir David Williams, of Gwernyvet, in the parish
of Gl&sbury, bequeathed the tithes of Gwendwr, in this county, to certain charitable purposes, among which was the sum of
forty shillings per annum to the poor of the parish of St. John the Evangelist in this town, which portion, owing to the
increased value of the property, now produces £8. 8. 6.: and a bequest of ten shillings by the same benefactor, for an
annual sermon to be preached here, has increased to £1. 12. 3. In the same year, Mr. Howel Thomas gave £1 per annum to the
poor; in 1657, Mr. Thomas Davies gave funds for furnishing four suits of clothes to four poor tradesmen yearly at
Christmas; and, about the same time, Mr. John Williams gave £6 per annum to three poor people of Brecknock, for ever ;
and Mr. Tobias Williams £1 yearly to the poor, and ten shillings for a sermon on Candlemas-day. In 1674, Edmund Jones, of
Buckland, assigned a house, stable, yard, and outhouse, in the High-street, in trust for apprenticing poor boys, natives
of the borough, within the same, which premises are now let at the yearly rent of £33. In 1675, Mr. Roger Boulcot gave a
house and garden, of the yearly rent of seven shillings and sixpence, for the term of one thousand years, to the poor: in
1683, Mr. William Thomas gave £ 50, directing the interest to be annually distributed among the poor at Christmas; and in
1685, Mr. Richard Jones gave £40, to purchase lands, and Mr. William Philipps, Sen., gave £30, the produce of both to be
paid to the poor annually at Christmas. In 1698, Mrs. Mary Powell gave an annuity of 3E6, charged on the estate of Dan y
Park, in the parish of Llandevalley, one-half to place out three children apprentices, and the other half to six of the
poorest housekeepers, with preference to widows. In 1710, Henry Jones gave ten shillings per annum towards clothing two
poor persons every year for ever; in 1712, Mr. Thomas Philipps gave £50, and in 1721, William Philipps gave £20, the
yearly interest of both to be distributed among the poor. Mrs. Elizabeth Jeffreys, in the latter year, left an annuity of
£6, of which fifty shillings was to be given yearly to ten poor men, the like sum to the same number of women, ten
shillings for a sermon, and the remaining ten shillings to be distributed at the discretion of the trustees. In 1726,
Matthias Berrow devised a rent-charge of £2, issuing out of certain premises in Mount-street, towards apprenticing poor
children; and, in 1826, Mr. John Jones, late of Cwm, in the parish of St. John the Evangelist, bequeathed to certain
trustees the sum of £50, secured on the Brecknock water-works, directing the interest to be paid annually to five poor
widows therein named, and afterwards to others residing in the upper division of that parish, not maintained in the work,
house. Of these bequests, the corporation annually distribute somewhat more than 450; and the recorder of the borough,
and the overseers and churchwardens, distribute such others as are now available. In this town, in the month of September,
or October, are usually held the meetings for conducting the affairs of the Clerical Charity for the relief of necessitous
clergymen, or their widows and orphans, within the archdeaconry of Brecknock, under the control of a president, treasurer,
secretary, and a committee of subscribers: on the day of the meeting the subscribers attend divine service, after which a
collection is made, and the amount added to the permanent fund, the interest of which, with the amount of the annual
subscriptions, is distributed in proportion to the necessities of the parties deriving relief from this benevolent
institution: the permanent fund belonging to the society is £368. 19. 11., and the amount of annual subscriptions is
usually about £150: the sum distributed for the year 1830 was £116. 13, 5. Voluntary contributions, generally amounting to
about £50, are annually raised by the inhabitants of the town, for supplying the poor with soup, which charity has been
productive of very great benefit. George Watkins, Esq., of Broadway, in the county of Carmarthen, has made a munificent
offer of £,1000 to the county of Brecknock, to be expended in the erection of a hospital or public infirmary; and
voluntary contributions to a nearly equal amount have also been made for the same object, by other gentlemen of the county;
but no application of these sums has yet been made, owing to considerable difference of opinion having arisen as to the
propriety of founding a large institution of this nature, disproportionate both to the wants and resources of the county;
nor is any likely to be made, unless the principal donor agree to a proposition now brought forward, of erecting only a
centre building, to which wings may, if necessary and practicable, be added at a subsequent period, and of laying out the
remainder to form a fund for its maintenance, or to form the whole into a public dispensary. Of the ancient castle, in
which the union of the houses of York and Lancaster is supposed to have been projected, by the Duke of Buckingham, and
Morton, Bishop of Ely, then a prisoner in the custody of the duke, there are some small remains, consisting chiefly of the
keep, in which that prelate was confined, and which, from that circumstance is called Ely Tower; but by far the greater
part has fallen into ruin, and an inn, called the Castle Hotel, has been built upon a portion of the site. The outer walls
appear, from their foundations, which are still discernible, to have enclosed a quadrilateral area, one hundred yards in
length and eighty in breadth, and to have been defended by two watch-towers at each of the angles: on the northern side
are traces of the ancient moat, and, further north, of a deep ravine, designed to convey the waters of the river Honddti
in that direction, with a view to insulate the whole site of the castle. Their remains, though greatly dilapidated,
present a very picturesque appearance, and occupy the brow of an abrupt eminence, on the north bank of the river Usk, just
above the influx of the Honda, which separated the castle from the fortified part of the town: besides the Ely Tower,
situated in the beautiful grounds of a villa belonging to Sir Charles Morgan, in the occupation of Thomas Bold, Esq., the
ruins consist chiefly of the mutilated shell of two of the watch-towers, now included in the garden of the Castle Hotel.
The remains of the Benedictine priory of St. John the Evangelist, founded by Bernard Newmarch in the reign of Henry I.,
consist principally of the church of St. John, before mentioned, a portion of the outer walls and of the gateway, and some
of the out-buildings, now converted into farm-offices: the revenue of this establishment, at the dissolution, amounted to
134. 11. 4. The site was granted to Sir John Price, a native of this county and an eminent lawyer, whom Henry VIII.
appointed a member of his council in the court of .the marches, and who was highly instrumental in effecting the union
between England and Wales. The estate was subsequently purchased from one of his descendants by Sir John Jeffreys, whose
granddaughter conveyed it by marriage to John Pratt, Esq., of the Wilderness, in the county of Kent, whose only son, dying
without issue, bequeathed it to its present noble owner, Marquis Camden. The Priory house, which is the property and
occasional residence of this nobleman, and in which Charles I., on his flight from the disastrous battle of Naseby, and
George IV., on his return from Ireland in 1821, each spent one night, is a spacious and ancient structure. In the
immediate vicinity is Frwdgrech, the seat of Samuel Church, Esq., an elegant modern mansion, surrounded by extensive
grounds, which are disposed with great taste: on the east a lofty eminence, crowned with thriving plantations, slopes
down to the house, from which the ground rises on the south-west into the stupendous heights called the Beacons, the
summits of which, while the sun is shining brightly on all the country around them, are frequently enveloped in thick
mists, and showers often descend upon them and the intermediate vales, when others in the vicinity are perfectly dry: to
the north are the luxuriant woods about Pennoyre, the seat of J. L. V. Watkins, Esq. Lower down upon the Usk, about a mile
from the town,. stands Dinas, the property and residence of John Lloyd, Esq., who erected it in 1826, in a style
resembling that which prevailed in the reign of Elizabeth: it occupies a remarkably picturesque situation near the
extremity of a lofty mountainous ridge, beautifully clothed with trees, the grounds commanding a fine view of the fertile
and richly-cultivated Vale of Usk. In the vicinity are also several ancient mansions, now no longer inhabited by families
of distinction: of these, Hoelvanog, more correctly Aelvanog, signifying "the lofty brow," and Newton, both in the parish
of St. David, were in the possession of the Havards: this family were also owners of Pont Wilym, an ancient seat situated
nearly on the opposite side of the town, and now occupied as a farm-house; and Court Sion Young, situated at a short
distance on the road from Brecknock to Battle, of which there is now scarcely a vestige. The hamlet of Venni V&ch, in the
parish of St. John, which contains the site of the ancient Roman city and British capital of Brycheiniog, now called " the
Gaer," occupies a situation of extreme beauty under the richly-wooded hill of Venni, not fax from the banks of the Usk,
and embraces delightful prospects of a smiling, fertile tract, bounded by a noble range of lofty mountains: it contains
several small cottages of superior neatness, and a handsome farmhouse. The ancient station was situated on an angle
between the rivers Yseir and Usk: the defensive mounds are still visible, enclosing a quadrilateral area of about eight
acres, extending in length, from east to west, six hundred and twenty-four feet, and in breadth, in a transverse
direction, four hundred and fifty-six. The foundations of the walls encompassing it are still entire, and in some places,
especially on the north and south sides, portions of the walls are remaining, from three to six feet high, and seven and a
half in thickness, having the facing still perfect, consisting of square stones, a foot in diameter, and the intermediate
space filled with rubble and cement, the whole being similar to those of Caerlleon and Caerwent, in Monmouthshire. A farm-
house and offices have been built with the ruins of the ancient wall, the remains of which are now in many places
overgrown and almost concealed with underwood. The entire area was, some years ago, covered with fragments of bricks; and
both here and in the vicinity some coins and numerous other Roman antiquities have been discovered, including many
fragments of figured stones, urns containing ashes, and other relics. At a place called Pen y Crilg, or " the summit of
the hill," about a mile from " the Gaer," and the same distance north-west from Brecknock, is another British military
work of the same class, and one of the most curious and best preserved remains of the kind in the principality: its form
is oval, its longest diameter being six hundred feet, and its shortest four hundred and thirty: the area is surrounded by
three ramparts, raised to the height of about eighteen feet. On a hill opposite, called Slwch, and sometimes Pen cevn y
Gaer, or " the Camp Ridge," is another British camp, similar in form, but not of equal dimensions, encompassed by a double
foss, in some places nearly destroyed. There are other vestiges of British intrenchments in the vicinity, but much
inferior in extent to the above. Of the numerous Roman-roads that converged to-this point, the only vestige is a causeway
leading from " the Gaer," in a line nearly at right angles with the course of the Yscir, which is conjectured to have been
a branch of the Via Julia: it appears to have been originally about forty feet wide, raised above the surface of the
ground adjacent, and constructed of large round pebbles of various sizes, which might have been collected from the beds of
the neighbouring rivers. Though much dilapidated and overgrown with brushwood, it may still be easily. traced; and upon
it is a remarkable stone, first introduced to public attention by the eminent Welsh antiquary, Mr. Lhuyd, in his
communications for Bishop Gibson's edition of Camden's Britannia, which is an undoubted relic of Roman antiquity. It is
about six feet high, and has sculptured upon it, in bas relief, the figures of a man and woman, about three feet in
height, popularly supposed to represent two females; and hence it is called Maen y Morwynion, or " the Maids' Stone." It
bears a Latin inscription partially obliterated, of which various readings have been given by different antiquaries; but
the only words now legible are CONJUNX EJUS H. s:zirr; from which it is conjectured to have been erected in memory of
some Roman citizen and his wife. In addition, it may be mentioned that the Via Julia Montana anciently crossed the site of
the town of Brecknock, in the direction of the street called, from this circumstance, the Struet; and that; about two
miles to the south-east of the present town, the remains of a Roman bath were discovered in 1783, in a field in the parish
of Llanvrynach, in the account of which place they are described. The celebrated Sir David Gain, who attended Henry V. to
the battle of Agincourt, resided at Newton, in the parish of St. David. He displayed the greatest gallantry during that
action, in which he is said to have saved the king's life, by the sacrifice of his own and those _ of his son-in-law and
one of his kinsmen, and was knighted by that monarch on the field of battle, while expiring of the wounds he had received
in the engagement. Dr. John David Rhys, author of Lingue Gyniraece Institutions, or Institutes of the Welsh or Cymraeg
Language, resided here during the latter period of his life, in a cottage called Clyn-hir, under the Brecknock Beacon, and
near the small lake L13311 Cwm Llwch. Among the distinguished natives of this place were, Dr. Hugh,Price, founder of
Jesus' College, Oxford, who was the son of a tradesman of this town, took his degree of "Doctor of the Canon Law" at
Oxford, in 1525, was subsequently prebendary of Rochester and treasurer of St. David's, and, dying in 1574, was buried in
the church of St. John the Evangelist; the late unrivalled tragic actress, Mrs. Siddons, who was born here on July 14th,
1755, whilst her parents were on a professional tour; and Mr. Theophilus Jones, the industrious and sagacious author of
the History of Brecknockshire, whose father was the Rev. Hugh Jones, successively vicar of Llangammarch and Llywel, in
this county, and prebendary in the collegiate church of Brecknock. In the grammar school connected with that establishment
Mr. Theophilus Jones received his education, on the completion of which he was articled to a solicitor, and for many years
pursued that profession, having been appointed deputy-registrar of the arch-deaconry of Brecknock. Having embraced the
design of writing the history of his native county, he retired from business, and devoted himself with great ardour to the
prosecution of his undertaking, for the accomplishment of which he visited every part of the county. The first volume of
his work was published at Brecknock in 1805, and the second and last in 1809: he died in 1812, and was interred in the
parish church of Llangammarch. Brecknock gives the inferior title of earl to Marquis Camden. The average annual
expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to 41540. 17., of which the proportion of St. David's parish is, 4180.1.
for the upper division, and £179. 17. for the lower, and that of St. John's is £492. 2., exclusively of the chapelry of
St. Mary, the average annual expenditure for which is £688. 16.