LLANVYLLIN (LLAN-FYLLIN), a parish and borough and market-town, and head of a union, in the lower division of the
hundred of LLANVYLLIN, county of MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 20 miles (N. N. W.) from Montgomery, 12 (N. w. by N.) from
Welshpool, and 183 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 1949 inhabitants. This place, which derives its name from the
dedication of its church to St. Myllin, appears to have been of very inferior importance prior to the time of Edward I.,
during whose reign several privileges and immunities were granted to its inhabitants. In 1644, Charles I. passed one night
in the place, and on the following day dined at Brithdir, whence he continued his route through Mochnant to
Cevnhlrvynylld, proceeding along the tops of the mountains to Chirk Castle. The TOWN is pleasantly situated in a fertile
valley, on the road from Shrewsbury to Bala, and is intersected by the small river Abel, which, uniting with the Cain,
flows through the parish, and, pursuing its course through the adjoining one of Llanveehan, falls into the Vyrnwy at
Llansantfraid: it has been greatly improved within the last few years, and a neat bridge has been erected over the Abel,
which flows along the principal street; but, from its retired situation at a distance from any great thoroughfare, it
possesses very little commercial importance. The trade is principally in malt, for the making of which there are several -
kilns; and some tanneries are carried on to a moderate extent. All the waste lands in the parish have been inclosed by act
of parliament; but many hundred acres still remain uncultivated. Between this town and Bodvach there was formerly an
extensive turbary, from which the inhabitants were partly supplied with fuel; but it was converted into fertile
meadows, at a considerable expense, by Bell Lloyd, Esq., father of the present Lord Mostyn, and on part of it has been
erected a beautiful cottage, called the Vownog. The surrounding scenery is pleasingly varied, and in many parts highly
picturesque, and from the higher grounds are obtained some fine views over the Vale of Cain, and other valleys in the
vicinity, eminent for the beauty of their scenery: Bodvach, the seat of Lord Moetyn, and Llwyn, the property of William
Humphreys, Est, have each extensive plantations. The market, which is well supplied with corn and provisions of every
kind, is held on Thursday in a convenient area under the town-hall; fairs take place annually on the Wednesday next
before Easter, May 24th, June 28th, August 10th, October 5th, and December 8th, for horses, cattle, and wares; and sheep
and pigs are exposed for sale on the day preceding each of the fairs, except those of August and December. The inhabitants
received their first charter of INCORPORATION from Llewelyn ab Grufydd ab Gwenwynwyn, in the time of Edward I.; which was
ratified by Edward de Charlton, Lord of Powys, in the 6th year of the reign of Henry V.; by Henry Gray, Earl of
Tankerfield and Powys, in the 26th of Henry VI.; and by Queen Elizabeth in the 5th of her reign; and invests the
burgesseswith power to take, imprison, and try thieves and other malefactors, and in the event of their escape, to pursue
them in any direction, for a distance not exceeding a league from the town; and any stranger residing within it, and
paying scot and lot for one year, could claim his freedom. This charter was extended and confirmed by Charles II., in the
25th year of his reign, at which period the government of the borough became vested in two bailiffs, a high steward, a
recorder, and fifteen capital burgesses (including the bailiffs), assisted by a town-clerk, two serjeants-at-mace, and
other officers; the burgesses, steward, and recorder to form a common council; and the style of the corporation to be
"the Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Llanvyllin, in the County of Montgomery." The bailiffs are chosen annually,
one by the lord of the manor, and the other by the burgesses at large, and both are justices of the peace within the
borough, of which the jurisdiction is co-extensive with the parish; the steward, recorder, and town-clerk are appointed
by the lord of the lordship of Powys; the coroner by the steward and bailiffs; and the serjeants-at-mace by the bailiffs
alone. The borough was made to participate, in the 27th of Henry VIII., in the elective franchise, as a contributory
borough with those of Llanidloes, Machynlleth, and Welslipool, in the return of a member for the county town of
Montgomery. This privilege was confirmed by a resolution of the House of Commons, in 1680, but was afterwards denied by
another resolution, in 1728, which disfranchised these boroughs (in consequence of the inhabitants refusing to contribute
towards defraying the expenses of the member, namely, thirteen shillings and fourpence for each borough), and confined the
right of voting exclusively to the burgesses of Montgomery. These resolutions, however, being in opposition to each other,
the burgesses, by an act of the 28th of George III., were empowered to assert their right of voting for a member for
Montgomery before another committee of the House, and of appealing within twelve calendar months against any future
decision. By the act of 1832, for " Amending the representation of the People," the elective franchise has been restored
to Llanvyllin, which, with Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Montgomery, Newtown, and Welshpool, unites in sending a member to
parliament: the right of voting is vested in every male person of full age, occupying a house or other premises of the
annual value of not less than ten pounds, provided lie be capable of registering as the act demands: the number of
tenements of this value within the limits of the borough, which were extended by the act, and are minutely detailed in the
Appendix to this work, including an area of about five hundred acres, is sixty. Llanvyllin is also one of the polling-
places in the election of a knight for the shire. The freedom of the borough is inherited by the eldest sons only of
freemen, on their attaining the age of twenty-one, or conferred by gift of the bailiffs and capital burgesses. The
bailiffs, steward, and recorder, or any two of them, of whom the capital bailiff or steward must be one, are empowered by
the charter of Charles to hold general quarter-sessions of the peace within the borough, in as ample a manner as the
justices of the peace in and for the county; but this privilege is not now exercised. Petty-sessions both for the borough
and for the hundred are held in the town-hall every Thursday; and courts leet and baron take place twice in the year,
within a month of Easter and Michaelmas; but the court baron does not at present exercise the jurisdiction to which it has
a claim in the recovery of debts. The town-hall, situated in the principal street, is a neat building of brick, containing
in the upper story a commodious room, forty-five feet long and twenty wide, and affording underneath a convenient and
sheltered area for the use of the market; it was erected in 1789, at a cost of £1500, defrayed by the sale of waste lands
under the provisions of an act obtained for that purpose upon the destruction of the old town-hall by fire, in 1775. A
lock-up house, consisting of two rooms for the confinement of prisoners, and an apartment for the residence of the
constable, was built in 1829, on ground purchased and presented to the county by theRey. D. Hughes, rector of the parish,
and a most indefatigable magistrate. The parish comprises about 8000 acres, of which 200 are woodland, and of the
remainder about three-fifths are pasture, and two-fifths arable, the latter producing all the ordinary grains and green
crops; the rateable annual value returned for the whole parish amounts to £6779. The LIVING is a rectory, rated in the
king's books at £10. 13. 64.; present net income, £485, with a glebe-house; patron, Bishop of St. Asaph. The church,
dedicated to St. Myllin, is a neat edifice of brick, erected in the year 1704, upon the site of a more ancient structure,
which, having fallen into a dilapidated state, was taken down; the walls of the body of the edifice as well as of the
tower, which is also of brick, and contains a fine peal of six bells, are embattled, and surmounted with pinnacles; a
number of neat pews afford accommodation to about 100 persons, and there are free-seats for 160. There are places of
worship for Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. Mrs. Vaughan of Llangedwin, in 1720, bequeathed the sum
of £1116. 10. in the lottery funds, to be invested in the purchase of land for the foundation and endowment of charity
schools for twenty boys and ten girls of thisplace, and for twelve boys of the parish of Llanvihangel, to be annually
clothed: this sum, after having accumulated to £1220. 10., was laid out in mortgage on several estates in the county of
Montgomery, belonging to Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, Bart., and produces an income to the charity of £61 per annum. Mrs.
Mary Strangeways, of the parish of Melbury, in Dorsetahire, daughter of Mrs. Vaughan, bequeathed £400, with which a
tenement was purchased in Llaethbwlch, now producing a rent of £60, for the support of the same schools, to which also was
subsequently added, a bequest of Henry Thomas, Esq., in 1713, who left £100 towards establishing a school, which, from
accumulated interest, yields £8. 10. per annum. There are at present in the schools, which, since the year 1820, have been
conducted on the National plan, 60 boys and 60 girls, of whom 20 boys and 10 girls are annually clothed; the school-room,
which was erected by subscription in 1820, is situated near the church, and in consideration of Mrs. Seddon's granting £20
towards the building, the vestry agreed to pay £2 per annum to the mistress for educating four orphan girls. The salary of
the master is £35, and that of the mistress, £26. 10.; and the clothing of the boys and girls, amounts to about £28 per
annum. There are two other day schools, where children are instructed at the expense of their parents; and five Sunday
schools, conducted gratuitously, in two of which are about 60 males and females, who attend the Established Church; the
others appertain to dissenters, and consist of about 90. Edward Lloyd bequeathed a rent-charge of £6, or a portion of
land, the produce of which he directed to be distributed in money and bread. Charles Edwards, in 1717, left £50; Lewis
Evans gave £20; Mrs. Jones, Holborn, £20; John Morris £10, and a piece of land, producing £1 rent; Evan Price, in 1787,
£200; Griffith Morris a; Anne Wynn £10; and John Griffiths, in 1722, £10: also for the benefit of the poor. The poor law
union, of which the town is the head, was formed February 15th, 1837, and comprises the following 22 parishes and
townships; namely, Llanvyllin, Hirnant, Llanvihangel, Llangynog, Llanwddyn, Meivod, Pennant, Llandisilio, Llandrinio,
Llansantfraid (hundred of Deytbur), Garth-Beibio, Llanervyl, Llanvair-Caereinion, Llanadvan, Llangyniew, Llanvechan, and
Llansantfraid (hundred of Poole), in the shire of Montgomery; Llanrhaiadr-ynMochnant, in the counties of Montgomery and
Denbigh; and Llanarmon-Mynydd-Mawr, Llangedwin, Llancadwaladr, and Carreghova, in the county of Denbigh. It is under the
superintendence of 27 guardians, and contains a population of 20,445. A new poor-h9use has been lately erected, about half
a mile from the town, on the left side of the road leading from Llanvyllin to Shrewsbury. In the hamlet of Bodyddon, in
the parish, at a place called the " Street," are some remains of a Roman road; and in the same division of the parish are
also an ancient British encampment, and a well named Fynnon Coed-y-Llan, which is supposed to have been the well of St.
Myllin, who is said to have resided near the spot. There are vestiges of several intrenchments in other parts of the
parish, also the remains of a house, built in 1599, in which Lord Castlemain, ambassador from James II. to the pope, is
said to have been concealed for some time after the Revolution by a family named Price, to whom he fled for an asylum:
the altar-piece of the chapel in the house, and an exquisitely carved book-case, removed from the mansion, are now at
Brtnaber, near Llanvyllin, to the owner of which the remains above-mentioned belong. Thomas Price, a member of the same
family, a man of learning, and fond of antiquarian researches, formed a valuable collection of manuscripts, which is
thought to have been deposited in the Vatican Library at Rome. There are several gentlemen's seats within the parish and
in its vicinity, among which, in the hamlet of that name, is Badvach, a handsome mansion beautifully situated on the banks
of the river Cain, and surrounded with thriving plantations; the grounds are tastefully disposed, and present much
interesting scenery, commanding a fine view of the church and town of Llanvyllin. Near the town, on the other side, and at
the entrance of the well-wooded Vale of Abel, which is watered by the river of that name, stands the splendid residence of
Llwyn. The Rev. Thomas Richards, who was appointed rector of the parish, in 1718, by Bishop Wynne, published a folio
volume of Latin Hexameters upon the death of Queen Caroline, consort of George I., which he dedicated to Bishop Maddox,
clerk of the closet to Her Ma,jesty; he was an elegant scholar, and is said by Dr. Trapp, professor of poetry in the
University of Oxford, to have been the best writer of Latin verse since the time of Virgil. At DOI y Velin Blwm, near
Llanvyllin, many tons of lead have been procured from the imperfectly reduced scoria of some ancient British smelting-
hearths.