LLANHAMLULCH, or LLAN-AMLLACH (LLAN-AMMWLCH), a parish, consisting of two divisions, Lower and Upper (the latter of which
constitutes the hamlet of Lrechvaen), in the hundred of PENCELLY, union of BRECKNOCK and county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES,
3 miles (S. E. by E.) from Brecknock; and containing 324 inhabitants, of whom 211 are in the township, or Lower Division.
The name of this parish, signifying the "church on many flat stones," is in allusion to the strata of the rock on which
that edifice is built, and the numerous fragments of slate with which the churchyard abounds. The greater portion of the
parish, together with the advowsen of the living, formed part of the possessions of Sir John Walbeoffe, one of the
companions of Bernard New-march in his conquest of the ancient principality of Brecknock, and remained in the hands of the
de-. scendants of that family till it became extinct: in the reign of James I., the manor and living became the property
of the Powells, with whom they have since continued. The parish, which comprises only about eleven hundred and thirty
acres, is beautifully situated on the north bank of the river Usk, and on the great turnpike-road from London to Milford,
which passes through the village: on the west it is bounded by the BrS7nych brook. The lands are chiefly arable; but there
are some good meadows near the Usk, affording excellent pasturage for cattle.' The soil, composed of clay and gravel, is
tolerably fertile, and the inhabitants are principally employed in agricultural pursuits: of the annual value of the
rateable property in the whole of the parish, the return amounts to £1820. The surrounding scenery is richly diversified
and highly picturesque: the river, in many parts of its winding course, forms a beautiful feature in the landscape; and
the distant views embrace many objects of romantic grandeur, among which are the Brecknockshire Beacons and the Sugar Loaf
and other mountains in the county of Monmouth. Peterstone Court, a spacious and well-built mansion, is situated near the
site of the old residence of the Norman family of Walbeoffe, in grounds ornamented with a stately avenue of elms and a
small group of oak trees. The Brecknock and Abergavenny canal, which opens a communication from these places to Newport,
and thence, by the Severn and the Bristol Channel, to most parts of the kingdom, passes through the eastern part of the
parish for nearly a mile, and is carried over the river Usk, by a handsome stone aqueduct of four arches, into the parish
of Llanvrynach. The Hay railway, from Brecknock to the rich agricultural districts of Herefordshire, runs through the
northern part of the parish. The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at £6. 1. 8.; patron, Rev. Thomas Powell:
the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £255, subject to rates, averaging £26. 8. 2i.; and there is a glebe of
40 acres, valued at £40 per annum. The tithes were charged by a member of the family of Walbeoffe with the payment of nine
shillings annually to the priory of Malvern, which, upon the dissolution of that establishment, was paid to the crown. The
church, dedicated to St. Peter, and supposed to have been originally founded 14 one of the Walbeoffes, was, with the
exception of the old tower, rebuilt by a parochial rate in 1802, and is a neat plain edifice, consisting of a nave and
chancel, whereof the latter was formerly filled with raised tombs, which, since the rebuilding of the church, have been
placed on a level with the pavement: the tower is embattled, and is a fine specimen of the later style of English
architecture, though not elaborately ornamented, and from every point of view forms a highly interesting object. The
churchyard is remarkably picturesque, and is adorned with some fine yew trees, several of which, though of great age, are
flourishing in full vigour. The old parsonage-house appears to be of very ancient date, probably coeval with the
settlement of the first Norman family, for besides the Norman arches that constitute the doorways, and the stone mullions
of the windows, several stones have been found in the walls, ornamented with the Norman or Saxon scrolls, and on one of
them is an inscription in the Saxon character, of which the word "Meridic" is legible. In the hamlet of Llechvaen was
formerly a chapel of ease, which fell down about a century since, and has not been rebuilt; the central situation of the
parochial church, and its sufficiency of accommodation, rendering it unnecessary. There is a very small day school; and a
Sunday school, in which 30 males and females are instructed gratuitously by Calvinistic Methodists. The Peter-stone estate
is charged by Miss Walbeoffe with the yearly payment of £2. 8., which is regularly distributed among the poor; and a
bequest of £3 per annum, by the same lady, is charged on lands in the parish of Llanvrynach, for apprenticing a child from
this place every second year with a premium of £6. On a farm called Mannest, within the parish, and crowning the summit of
an eminence that overlooks the villages of Llanbamllech, Llanvigan, and Llanvrynach, and commands a very extensive
prospect over the picturesque and fertile Vale of Usk, are the remains of a cist-vaen, under an aged yew tree, and
surrounded with stones apparently from a dispersed cairn, under which it had been concealed for many ages: at what period
it was opened is not known. It consists of three upright stones, two forming the sides, about five feet in length, and one
at the end, about three feet wide: the whole height does not exceed three feet from the ground. By some writers this relic
has been supposed to be of Druidical origin, and by others to be the remains of a hermit's cell: by topographers it is
usually designated TS% Illtyd, or St. Illtyd's hermitage. The crosses and characters appear to be nothing more than the
rude efforts of pilgrims and visiters to leave some memorial of themselves behind, by inscribing the initials of their
names, and other devices, on the stones of the monument. The parish was anciently crossed by the Roman Via Julia Montana.