DEVYNOCK (DEVYNOG), a parish, in the hundred of DEVYNOCK, county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES, 9 miles (w.) from Brecknock,
comprising the hamlets of Cray, Glyn, Maescar, and Senni, each of which maintains its own poor, and containing 2031
inhabitants. The name of this extensive parish, which anciently formed part of the great forest of Devynock, is, according
to the historian of Brecknockshire, derived from the same British root as that of the English county of Devon, both names
being equally descriptive of the face of the country, which is every where varied by deep valleys and extensive hills. By
other writers, and perhaps upon equally good authority, the name is derived from the dedication of its church to St.
Dyfnog, an eminent British saint, who flourished towards the close of the sixth century. The whole of the parish, which is
bounded on the north by the river Usk, is comprehended within the lordship or manor of Devynock, which was held as a fief
nntlPr the crown by the lords marcher of Brecknock, and was subject to the arbitrary operation of the forest laws, which
were enforced with unrelenting rigour under the lords marcher and their successors. This extensive district was designated
the " Manor of the Great Forest," or of the " Great Forest of Devynock," within the county of Brecknock; and the whole,
or at least a considerable part of it, having been acquired by the successors of Bernard Newmarch in the lordship of
Brecknock, formed no part of the lordship marcher, but was held by them separately under the crown of England. Under the
feudal laws all the tenants of the manor were compelled to bring their corn to be ground at the lord's mills, of which,
within the limits of the manor, there were, within the last twenty-five years, no less than seven remaining; four of them
were in this parish, and situated respectively at Devynock, Cray, Glyn-Tawe, and Senni: this custom, however, is not now
observed with the same strictness as formerly. On the banks of the river Senni was anciently a small castle, from which
the farm on which it stood is still called Castell Dti, or " the Black Castle:" this fortress, which was of Norman
origin, is supposed to have been the residence of the constable of the forest, an office held at one time by a descendant
of Sir Reginald Aubrey, one of the companions of Bernard Newmareh, serving also as a keep, or prison, for the confinement
of mountain robbers, who frequently made predatory incursions into the vale, and also for the punishment of offenders
against the forest laws. During the insurrection of Owain Glyndwr against Henry IV., that monarch, on visiting the
principality, is said to have staid for some time at this castle, where he mused a proclamation of pardon to be drawn up,
which received the royal signature at Devynock, September 15th, 1403, and is still extant. Upon the attainder of the last
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, in the reign of Henry VIII., this extensive district was subdivided into the manor of the
Great Forest of Devynock, and that of the Little Forest, both of which, at no remote period, were held by different
tenures under the crown; and, with the exception of the lands of the latter division, which, reserving the manor, have
been sold to different purchasers, within the last twenty-five years, are now the property of Sir Charles Morgan, Bart.,
of Tredegar. The present appearance of this district forms a striking commentary upon the tenour of an ancient document of
the 9th of Elizabeth, reserving "all wild beasts and fallow deer, all woods, underwoods, and timber trees, &c.," in this
now desolate tract of country, where for miles not a single tree of any kind is to be seen, where even the fences are of
stone, and where the only animals to be found are a few mountain sheep, ponies, and small hardy cattle. The village is
pleasantly situated at the extremity of the Vale of Senni, and is intersected by the river of that name, which flows
through the parish, and empties itself into the river Usk near Rh$d y Briw. It is sheltered by some abrupt eminences, two
of which, being richly clothed with wood, add greatly to the beauty of its appearance. The surrounding scenery is
agreeably diversified, and in many places highly picturesque; and the views from the higher grounds comprehend many
interesting features, and much variety of character. Coal, culm, and limestone are found in abundance in. the southern
part of the parish and the adjacent district; and a tram-road from Gwain Clawdd, in the parish of Ystmdgynlais,
intersecting an extensive limestone district, traverses it from south to north, and terminates near Rb9d y Briw, in the
Vale of Usk. This road, which was constructed at the expense of John Christie, Esq., of London, connects those parts of
this and the adjoining parishes which border upon Glyn-Tawe, being the chief seat of the mineral works in this part of
Brecknockshire, with the centre of the same county. The great road from London to Milford passes through the northern part
of the parish, running nearly parallel with the course of the Usk. Fairs are held on April 16th, May 9th, August 12th,
October 6th, and December 5th. The living is a vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of Ystradvelltey annexed, in the
archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at if, 14. 14. 4i., and in the patronage
of the Bishop of Gloucester, who is impropriator of one-third of the great and small tithes, under the charter, as is
supposed, of Bernard Newmarch, by whom they were granted to the abbey of St. Peter, in that city, the church of which, on
the foundation of the bishoprick, was made the cathedral church. Another third, which was anciently the property of the
priory of St. John, in Brecknock, now belongs to Penry Williams, Esq., and the remaining third belongs to the vicar, who
is patron of the three perpetual curacies of Llan llid, Llan Illtyd, and Callwen. The church, dedicated to St. Dyvnog, and
situated at the northern extremity of the village, where it forms an interesting and prominent feature in the view, is a
spacious and venerable structure, principally in the later style of English architecture, with a well-built tower at the
western end, having on its southwestern angle an inscription in ancient Saxon characters, which has not been
satisfactorily decyphered: the body consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle; the nave has been thoroughly repaired,
if not entirely rebuilt, and the whole of the interior is appropriately fitted up for the performance of divine service. A
curious custom prevails here, by which the parish clerk is entitled, on the death of any inhabitant, to certain garments
of the deceased, which is more fully detailed in the account of the parish of Llywel, where it is also observed. There are
two places of worship each for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists. A free school for the.gratultous instruction of
all children of this parish and of the hamlet of Ysclydach, in the parish of Llywel, and five almshouses in the village of
Devynock, were founded by Sir John Davy, of Aldermanbury, in the city of London, who, in 1624, bequeathed for their
support A 40 per annum, charged upon his advowson of Abernant, in the county of Carmarthen: the almshouses and
schoolroom, with a house for the master, were erected in 1626, and have regularly, since that period, been appropriated to
the purposes of the founder's will. Of the A 40 per annum left for their endowment, £ 13. 6. 8. is paid to the
schoolmaster, who has also a house and garden rentfree; £ 10 is annually given in equal portions towards apprenticing
three of the scholars; £ 10 is divided in equal shares among the five inmates of the almshouses, and the remainder is
reserved for the necessary repairs of the premises. The concerns of this charity are under the superintendence of twelve
trustees, consisting of the vicar and eleven of the most respectable inhabitants of the parish. The Rev. Mr. Watkins, who
died about ten years ago, bequeathed A 3 per annum for the augmentation of the schoolmaster's salary; and the rent of a
farm called Pathegau, in the hamlet of Glyn, bequeathed by an unknown benefactor, and now producing about £ 20 per annum,
is distributed among the poor of the parish. Lewis Havard, by will in 1716, charged two tenements in Glyn Tawe, with the
annual payment of ten shillings to the poor of the hamlet of Maescar, and the like sum to the poor of the hamlet of Senni.
David Gwalter, of Maesgwalter, in the year 1723, bequeathed A 3 per annum, to be paid out of the tenement of Maesgwalter,
for apprenticing two poor Children of the hamlet of Senni, or, in default thereof, of the parish at large, not
participating in Sir John Davy's charity, and to be nominated by the occupier of Brawn farm. The same benefactor also left
five houses and gardens, adjoining Maesgwalter, one of which was to be divided into two, for six poor persons of the
hamlet of Senni, or, in default of such, for poor persons of the parish at large: these houses having been suffered to
fall down from neglect, the ground has been taken possession of, and built upon; and the intention of the testator has
thus been frustrated. On the mountain adjoining Llywel, on the western confines of the parish, were formerly two monuments
of supposed Druidical origin, one of which, now destroyed, consisted of seven stones, said to have been arranged according
to the configuration of the Pleiades, and called Meini'r pedair Gawres, " the memorial stones of the four heroines ;" but
to whom these monuments were erected is not known, neither has any traditionary account of them been preserved; they have
been incorporated in the 'wall of a sheepfold. The other monument, which still remains, near the road 'from Trecastle to
Tavern y garreg, is called Cerigdnon, or the " Black Stones:" they are arranged in the form of a circle, and are said to
resemble the stones called the Hurlers, in the parish of St. Clare, in the county of Cornwall. Two Rofnan roads traversed
this parish: one passed by its northern confines, from the Camlais to the Senni, in its course from Bannium, near the
present Brecknock, to Maridunum, the modern Carmarthen: the other, called the Sarn Helen, anciently forming the great
road from Deva, now Chester, to Nidus at Neath, entered this parish from the Vale of Senni, proceeded in a direction
across the forest to a great stone called " Maen Llia," and thence declined into the Vale of Ystradvelltey. Maen Llia,
which is about eleven feet high, is by some antiquaries supposed to have been a Roman milliary, but by others to have been
erected as a guide to travellers in traversing the forest: it is situated at the distance of a few hundred yards from the
present turnpike road leading from Brecknock, over the Great Forest, to Neath; and within fifty yards of the old Roman
road. Numerous carneddan, or heaps of sepulchral stones, are scattered over the hilly parts of the parish; and barrows are
frequently found in the valleys. A golden angel, of the time of Henry VII., was dug up about twenty-five years ago, in the
north-eastern extremity of the parish. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor of the whole parish
amounts to £ 827.7.