MONTGOMERYSHIRE, a county (inland) of NORTH WALES, bounded on the south-east, east, and north-east by the English county
of Salop, and a small detached portion of Denbighshire; on the north, by Denbighshire; on the northwest and west, by
Merionethshire; on the south-west, by Cardiganshire; and on the south, by Radnorshire; the two latter counties forming part
of South Wales. It extend& from 52° 21' to 52° 51' (N. Lat.}, and from 3° to 3° 54' (W. Loa.); and includes an area,
according to Evans' Map of North Wales, of four hundred and ninety-one thousand six hundred statute acres, or about seven
hundred and sixty-eight square miles. Within its limits are 13,650 inhabited houses, 884 uninhabited, and 33 in progress
of erection; and the population, in 1841, was 69,22* of whom 34,252 were males, and 34,968 females. At the period of the
Roman invasion of Britain, this county, in common with nearly all the rest of North Wales, was included in the territory
of the Ordovives. Under the Roman dominion it contained the station Mediolanum, considered by Sir Richard Colt Hoare and
most other antiquaries to have been situated in the vale of the Tenet, or that of the Vyrnwy; besides which there are
supposed to have been other minor establishments of this people, at Caer-Sws, in the vicinity of Newtown, and at the Gage,
near Montgomery. The Roman roads that traversed it were the Via Devana, which, from the station Nidus, at Neath, in
Glamorganshire, crossed the eastern part of it, in its progress to the station Dew, at Chester; and a branch of the
southern Watling-street, which crossed the northern part of it to Strutting., the present Curnarvon; besides which were
several vieinal ways. On the partition of the sovereignty of North Wales, about the year 87* by Rhodri Mawr, or Roderic
the Great, among his three sons, Montgomeryshire was comprised in the kiftsdom of Powys, the seat of the government of
which, originally established at Pengwern, the present Shrewsbury, was afterwards, on the native Britons being driven from
the plains of Shropshire into the mountains of the principality, by the victorious arms of the Mercian monarch Offa,
removed to Mathraval, near Meivod, in the beautiful Vale of the Vyrnwy. Henceforward this sovereignty was called
indifferently the kingdom of Powys, or of Mathraval, the extent of which, however, was still further diminished by the
invasions of the Mercians, whose warlike leader raised a conspicuous barrier between his newly-acquired territories and
those still possessed by the Cymry, which included in the Mercian kingdom the eastern part of the lands at present forming
the county of Montgomery. Numerous were the excursions made across this boundary by the princes df Powys, in their
attempts to recover their former dominions, and in predatory expeditions. During the reign of Alfred the Great of England,
an army of marauding Danes, under the command of the celebrated piratical leader named Hinting, in 894, extended its
ravages into this county, and advanced to the village of Buttington, the Butdigingtune of the Saxon Chronicle, in the
vicinity of the present town of Welshpool, where, receiving intelligence that an English army was approaching to oppose
them, they intrenched themselves on both banks of the Severn. Ethelred, governor of Mercia, two other aldermen, and the
king's thanes, residing in the strongholds which he had erected, with the people summoned from the east of Pedridan, the
west of Selwood, the east and north of the Thames, the west of the Severn, and some parts of North Wales, invested their
camp for some weeks, and reduced them to such extremity that they were obliged to eat the flesh of their horses. Roused by
their sufferings to furious action, the North-men made at last a desperate attempt to break from their prison, and,
throwing themselves upon the Anglo- Saxon, who formed the eastern part of the blockade, after a warm action, in which
several royal thanes perished, the greater number achieved their escape, and hastened eastward to the coast of Essex
without further molestation. The kingdom of Powys, after the Norman Conquest of England, became the principal object of
attack to the foreign adventurers. One of these, named Baldwyn, swore fealty and did homage to the Conqueror for this part
of Cambria, which he premised to secure by force of arms; and having partially aceomplisked his purpose, he erected a
fortress at the present town of Montgomery, then called by the Welsh, after his name, Tivt Vaidwyn, or " Beldwyn's Town,"
from which the county derives the name, which it still bears in their language, of Sir Drd Valdwyn, or Stoydd Drd Valdwyn.
This castle must, however, have soon fallen into the possession of the Welsh, since Roger de Montgomery, who for his
services had been created by the Conqueror Earl of Arundel and Shrewsbury, and had received a licence to conquer from the
Welsh to the west of the Severn, entered Powysland a few years after with a powerful body of forces, and took the castle
and town of Tr2 Valdwyn, which he fortified anew in his own right, and gave to it his own name of Montgomery, which it has
ever since retained, and communicated to the county of which it is the ancient chief town. A circumstance that facilitated
the conquests of the Norman barons in this quarter, was the subdivision of Powys between two of the descendants of Mervyn,
son of Roderic the Great, into Powys Vadoc and Powys Gwenwynwyn, the former comprising the northern, and the latter the
southern parts of the original sovereignty: these again afterwards became divided among the descendants of those two
princes. The year following the capture of Tre Valdwyn castle, the Welsh, mustering all their strength, retook it by a
coup de main, plundered the town, and desolated the surrounding country. This castle was again repaired and strengthened
by William Rufus, who, to put an end to the depredations committed by the Welsh forces under Grufydd ab Cynan and the sons
of Bleddyn ab Cynvyn, led an army into the marches, but was compelled to withdraw it with great loss, after throwing
succours into Montgomery castle. The latter, on the retreat of the English, was immediately beleaguered by the Welsh, who,
after a vigorous siege, at last took it by storm, and levelled it with the ground. The Norman arms soon afterwards again
prevailed, and this castle was rebuilt by the Earl of Shrewsbury. In 1080, Grufydd ab Cynan, laying claim to the throne of
North Wales, and landing a large army of mercenaries in Pembrokeshire, was joined by Rhys ab Tewdwr, Prince of South
Wales, and their confederated armies marched northward against Trahaiarn, the reigning Prince of Gwynedd, whom they
encountered on the hills of Carno, in this county, where they totally defeated his forces, and slew Trahaiarn himself, in
a most sanguinary conflict. In the year 1191, in consequence of various depredations having been committed by the Welsh on
the inhabitants of the marches, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the absence of Richard I. in the Holy Land, besieged
Castell Coch, now Powis Castle, near Welsh-pool, which he took after a vigorous resistance; and having left in it a strong
garrison, he returned to England. This fortress was retaken by Gwenwynwyn, prince of this part of Powysland, in 1197. That
chieftain, disapproving of the conduct of the Prince of Gwynedd, submitted to become a vassal to King John, and to hold
his territories in capite of the English crown; and, after the succession of his son Grufydd to the government, the last-
mentioned fortress was taken and dismantled by Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, in the year 1233. Henry III., having rebuilt
Montgomery Castle, committed it to the custody of Hubert de Burgh; and, while in the possession of this governor, it was
besieged by the Welsh, but relieved by an English army. A great number of Welsh, taken prisoners in one of their predatory
excursions, having been put to death by the English, Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, in retaliation, took and burned this
fortress, putting the garrison to the sword. After repeated successes obtained by the Welsh in the great revolt under
`Dwain Glyndwr, this chieftain assembled the states of Wales at the town of Machynlleth, on the western border of the
county; and by that assembly his title to the principality was solemnly acknowledged. During the civil war of the
seventeenth century, Montgomery Castle was garrisoned for the king by Lord Herbert of Chirbury, who, on the approach of
the parliamentarians under Sir Thomas Myddelton, surrendered that fortress without opposition. In a short time, the
royalist forces conducted by Lord Byron approached Montgomery, and obliged the army of Myddelton to make a precipitate
retreat% Oswestry, leaving Lord Herbert, who had thus changed sides, with a slender and ill-provided garrison to defend
the castle, the siege of which was immediately commenced by the royalists. Meanwhile the parliamentarian army, being
reinforced with troops led by Sir William Brereton, Sir John Meldrum, and Sir Thomas Fairfax, marched back to the relief
of this important post, though much less numerous than the royalist army, the latter amounting to about five thousand men,
and the other only to about three thousand. A general engagement ensued, in which the parliamentarian forces at first gave
way, but rallying with desperate valour, they at length gained a decisive and sanguinary victory, and the main body of the
routed troops was pursued towards Shrewsbury. Lord Powys, on the breaking out of the civil war, had garrisoned Castell
Clich, or Powys Castle, for the king; but it was taken by Sir Thomas Myddelton, in October 1644. Prior to the passing of
the act of the 6th and 7th of Wm. IV., c. 77, Montgomeryshire was in the dioceses of St,. Asaph, Bangor, Hereford, and St.
David's, the whole being included in the province of Canterbury; but by that act it is declared that it must, when certain
circumstances permit, form part of the united dioceses of St. Asaph and Bangor only: an arrangement, however, which is not
likely to be carried into effect, so strong a feeling having been manifested, both in parliament and among the most
influential persons in the principality, against the union of those two sees. It is partly in the deaneries of Cedewen,
Cyfeiliog, and Poole, in the arch-deaconry of St. Asaph; and partly in the deinery of Arustley, and archdeacons y of
Merionedi; and the total number of parishes is fifty-four, of which twenty-six are rectories, eighteen vicarages, and the
rest perpetual curacies. For.purposes of civil government it is divided into the nine hundreds of Cawrse, Deythur,
Llanvyllin, Lianidloes, Machynlleth, Math-ravel, Montgomery, Newtown, and Pool; and it contains the boroughs and market-
towns of Montgomery, Llanidloes, Llanvyllin, Machynlleth, Newtown, and Welshpool; and the market-town of Llanvair. A
knight is returned to parliament for the shire, and one representative for the contributory boroughs; but, for many years
prior to the passing of the act of 1832, for " Amending the representation of the People," Montgomery was the only place
that exercised the elective franchise, all the rest, with the exception of Newtown, which is a newly created borough,
having for some time discontinued to join in sending a member to parliament. The member for the shire has hitherto been
chosen either at Montgomery or Machynlleth, according as the county court was to be held at either of these two towns next
after the issuing of the writ for that purpose; and the polling-places, according to the Boundary Act, are Montgomery,
Llanidloes, Llanvair, Llanvyllin, and Machynlleth. The county is included in the North Wales circuit; the assizes are held
at Welshpool, and the general quarter-sessions at Montgomery: the county gaol and house of correction are situated at
Montgomery. The county comprises the entire poor-law union of Newtown and Llanidloes, the greater parts of those of
Machynlleth and Llanvylliu, and very small portions of those of Dolgelley, Atcham, and Clunn. A great portion of the
SURFACE consists of wild and sterile mountains: the highest of these are in the south-western part of it, in a line
extending from Pumlumon, or Plinlimmon, just within its south-western boundary, northward between LlanbOnmair and Carno,
and by LlYn Gwyddior, into Merionethshire: this is the parting ridge between the rivers flowing eastward and those taking
a contrary direction. The most extensive and fruitful vale is that traversed from south-west to north-east by the river
Severn, which has its source in the southern part of this range, and as high as Llanidloes ceases to be a mountain
torrent, taking its course thenceforward through a delightful valley, more like the large vales of England than those
stripes of cultivation by which the mountains of Wales are generally intersected. Numerous villages lie scattered beneath
the hills in this fertile district, and the deep banks of the river are successively adorned by the beautifully situated
town of Newtown, and by numerous gentlemen's seats. Below Montgomery, which lies a short distance eastward from the river,
bending northward, the vale greatly expands in front of the isolated hills of Breiddin, while the river flows beneath the
superb groves, lawns, and terraces of Powis Castle, and becomes navigable at Pool Quay, three miles below Welshpool. The
valleys to the north of the Vale of Severn are much less extensive and productive; those of the Vyrnwy and Tanat, however,
are fertile and highly picturesque, and are watered, the former by rivers descending from the parting ridge to the west,
and the latter by streams from the Berwyn range of mountains, which, commencing near Chirk Castle, in Denbighshire,
occupies the northern and northwestern parts of this county in its course southwestward to the coast of Merionethshire.
The Vale of the Dovey, which, occupying the westernmost part of the county, extends from north-east to south-west on the
western side of the parting ridge, is distinguished for its fertility. The Plinlimmon, or southern range of mountains,
begins on the northeast, with the Breiddin hills, on the eastern side of the Severn, on the border of Shropshire, and
includes the Long Mountain as far as Nant Cribba: hence it extends by Montgomery Castle, along the Kerry hills (that
occupy the south-eastern side of the county, and along the summit of which is carried the boundary line between
Montgomeryshire and the counties of Salop and Radnor, and between North and South Wales), to the Llangurig mountains, and
terminates in the naked summit of Blinlimmon, rising to the height of two thousand four hundred and sixty- three feet
above the level of the sea: this is environed by various other heights of less elevation, of which the Biga mountains form
a line of high table-land on the northern side of the valley of the Severn, which is here somewhat narrow. In the Severn
range, Breiddin hill rises to the height of nine hundred and ninety-nine feet above the level of the Severn: the Long
mountain to that of one thousand three hundred and thirty feet above the level of the sea; and Llandinam mountain to that
of one thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight feet above the same level. Two others of the most distinguished summits,
respectively called Moel-y-Golva and Cevn-y-Castell, form a group with Breiddin hill; the former, in the shape of a vast
rugged cone, attaining an elevation of one thousand one hundred and ninety-nine feet above the sea. Breiddin hill is
crowned by a lofty obelisk, erected in commemoration of the naval victories of Admiral Lord Rodney. The general character
of the Severn range is a regularity of outline, gradual slopes, and rounded summits, indicating the soft nature of the
rocks of which the hills are composed; while its surface is uniformly covered with herbage, that supports numerous flocks
of small sheep. The vegetable produce of the Berwyn range is fern and furze, or gorse, upon the lower and drier outskirts,
heath upon the loftier summits, and rashes, with a variety of mosses and alpine aquatic plants, on the wet slopes and
hollows. Many isolated hills and rocks rise in almost every part of Montgomeryshire that is not occupied by some of the
principal ranges above mentioned: of these, the Carno mountains rise in a proudly pre-eminent group, nearly in the centre
of the county. The narrow and rocky valleys generally have their sides adorned by hanging woods. In the western and south-
western districts are various small lakes, the sources of rapid streams. With regard to climate, the hills are
particularly bleak, and are for the most part exposed to the full effects of cold easterly winds. In the narrow valleys
the wind is frequently boisterous, but the climate is highly salubrious, and instances of longevity are numerous. Of the
westerly winds, which prevail, on an average, during nine months of the year, the strongest are those that blow from the
south-west and north-west: the north-west wind is here termed Gwynt y Creigiau, in allusion to the high mountains of
Snowdon and the Arens, from which it rushes into this county; the easterly wind, which prevails during most of the other
three months,. is called Gwynt Cdch y Ilwythig, or the " red wind of Salop," as it effectually checks the verdure of
spring, and converts the green blades into reddish husks. The dry argillaceous mountains have generally a thin light peaty
sou, upon a substratum of hungry light mould, tinged yellow by oxyde of iron; the Berwyn range has upon its loftier
summits a shallow peat resting upon clay or rammel, and, on springy slopes and hollows, various depths of peat. A ferny
soil, or hazel mould, is common in different places, more particularly on the sides of the inferior hills, where it
produces naturally fern, broom, and the larger 'ilex, or gorse, together with various kinds of underwood. The till, or
hungry light soil, tinged as above mentioned with oxyde of iron, is also frequently found on the slopes of the smaller
valleys. The narrow valleys, however,produce abundant vegetation of a more valuable kind, and are enlivened by rich corn-
fields and meadows: these, more especially in their higher recesses, and on their declivities having a southern aspect,
frequently possess light soils, consisting of various admixtures of sandy loam, pebbles, broken shale, peat, &c.; and in
their lower levels, free loams, well adapted for the general purposes of tillage; the last also abound in the greater
portion of the Vale of Severn, and in some parts of those of the Vyrnwy and Twat. But the finest amble land in
Montgomeryshire is on the eastern side of it, bordering on Salop, where agriculture is conducted on the more improved
systems, and the management of farms differs but little from that practised on the adjoining lands in England: the soil
here consists of strong loams, well adapted for the culture of wheat or for permanent pasture, which occupy the lower
parts of the vales of Severn and Vyrnwy, with their outskirts. The soils of the eastern parts of the county, beyond a line
drawn from the Llanymynech lime-works, at the south-eastern extremity of Denbighshire, south-westward by Gulls-field,
Powis Castle, Nant Cribb*, &a., to the border of Radnorshire, are of a brown colour. The middle, western, and south-
western parts of the county, owing to their elevated exposure and the ungenial nature of the soil, are unfavourable to the
growth of corn; so that only about sixty thousand acres are under TILLAGE, including about a third of the vale lands,
which produce a considerable quantity of grain for exportation: fallowing is practised on the strong soils of the vales of
the Severn and Vyrnwy. The kind of corn formerly of most eatensive cultivation was oats, but since the close of the last
century it has been wheat; much of the former, however, is still grown, chiefly on the uplands: the proportion of barley
to the quantity of wheat is as three to four. Rye is occasionally, though seldom, cultivated, principally on the hills,
where it is generally the first crop on the new inclosures, after paring and burning. Wheat is most often cat with the
reaping-hook, though sometimes with cradled scythes; oats and barley usually with naked scythes; and light crops of every
species of grain are now frequently cut with the naked scythe, in preference to the more tedious mode with the sickle.
Peas, which were once much grown in the valleys, are now cultivated only occasionally, and on a small scale; beans are
scarcely ever seen. Turnips are commonly raised, as also are potatoes and mangel-wurzel, by the best farmers, on kindly
soils. Hemp gardens, one of which was formerly attached to almost every cottage in the eastern part of the county, are now
seldom seen. - The most common artificial grass is red clover, to which trefoil and rye-grass are sometimes added. The
quantity of productive grazing-land is about a hundred and eighty thousand acres: those portions situated on the eastern
side of the county are almost wholly appropriated to the dairy, much of the produce of which, both in butter and cheese,
is sent to the markets of Shrewsbury, Chester' and Bridgenorth: the latter article is generally made like that of
Cheshire, though sometimes like the Gloucester cheese; annatto is used to colour it in the lowlands, but seldom in the
uplands. The principal object of the farmer, in the hilly districts, is the rearing of cattle to be fattened in more
fertile parts of the island for places requiring a large supply: the vales of Severn and Vyrnwy are almost the only
districts in which the pastures are rich enough for fattening cattle. Meadows artificially irrigated are common in
situations convenient for the purpose. Lime, as a manure, is carried to a distance of thirty or forty miles into the
county from the Porthywaen and Llanymynech rocks, near its north-eastern confines: the stone itself, and coal for burning
it, are also conveyed by the Montgomeryshire canal to Welshpool, Berriew, Newtown, and other places, where, on the wharfs,
have been erected many kilns, which, when in full employ, produce from four to six hundred bushels of lime each per day.
Among the agricultural implements, the 46 Ltunmas plough, a variety of the Rotherham plough, is the kind in common use,
and is generally lock-ironed; the Scotch plough is also much used on level land. The CATTLE of the uplands are of the
common small sort; in the vales they are of a larger and superior kind, and those reared in the vales of the Severn and
Vyrnwy are much esteemed by the graziers. The native breed of the county is short-legged and usually of a red colour, with
black faces; but a kind that has of late years become very numerous in the Vale of Severn is long-legged, and of a light
brown colour, except their faces, which are White: they are said to have been brought originally from Devon. 'The
Herefordshire cattle, with white faces, are also much in demand. The most remarkable breed of sheep is that peculiar to
the Kerry hills, almost the only kind in North Wales which produces perfect wool, that of every other being more or less
mixed with coarse long Lairs, called by the manufacturers hemp& The characteristics of this breed, which is without horns,
hardy, and comparatively tame, are, large woolly cheeks, white bunchy foreheads, white legs covered with wool, and a broad
beaver-like tail; their whole form, however, falls short of compact symmetry: the average weight of their fleeces is one
lb. and a half; and that of their carcasses, when fat, from ten to fourteen lb. per quarter: the Kerry hills, before their
inclosure, under an act of parliament obtained in 1797, are said to have generally depastured in summer about twelve
thousand of these sheep, besides horses and cattle. A black-faced and particularly fine-woolled race of sheep is bred upon
the Long Mountain, near Welsbpool, and on the other hills, on the English border, stretching thence northward to Wrexham,
in Denbighshire. The other hilly parts of the county are occupied by the small ordinary kind of mountain sheep, which
weigh from seven to twelve lb. per quarter, and yield fleeces weighing from three-quarters of a lb. to one lb. and a half.
These various breeds of sheep have in some instances been intermixed, and different varieties from several parts of
England have been introduced by individuals into the inclosed districts: among these the South Down sheep are the most
numerous. In the hilly parts of Montgomeryshire great numbers of very small and hardy ponies, commonly called merlins,
breed promiscuously, and range the mountains untrained until they are three years old, when they are brought down for the
first time, and driven to fairs like flocks of cattle or sheep: the place of sale generally exhibits a scene of great
activity and violent exertion, since each that is purchased, though most likely never before touched by man, being
immediately seized from among the untamed herd, displays all the restlessness of its wild character. Numbers of these
small animals are employed in their native districts, more particularly in conveying the produce of the manufactures of
the county to the markets of Welshpool and Shrewsbury; and they are unrivalled in the agility with which they limb the
slippery ascents of the mountains. There is also a breed rather larger than these, which are hardy, handsome, and active;
and the vales of the county have long been noted for an excellent breed of horses the superiority of which has been by
some attributea to the introduction of some blood horses from Spain into this part of the country, by Robert Dudley, Earl
of Leicester; and by others, to the circumstance 239 of a stud having been kept by Queen Elizabeth at Park, near Cer-Sws,
in the Vale of Severn. Many excellent draught horses, both for the coach and the waggon, are obtained from England.
Orchards and gardens are numerous in the vale lands on the eastern side of the county, but all attempts profitably to
establish the former in the more elevated regions have hitherto failed, the blossoms being seldom preserved from the
effects of late frosts; and even should the trees escape the paralyzing effects of easterly winds, the cold and wet, so
frequently experienced during the summer months, render the flavour of the fruit much less delicious than that ripened in
more favourable aspects: in plentiful seasons a few farmers make cider or perry for their own consumption. Montgomeryshire
has ever been distinguished for its woods, and it is still the best wooded county in North Wales, and one of the best in
the island in proportion to its extent. Its timber, a century ago, was so abundant, that the fuel of a great part of the
district consisted almost entirely of the best species, namely, cleft. The first sale of timber from the county for the
use of the navy was from Abertanat wood, on the confines of Shropshire, about the year 1730, and was followed, about 1750,
by others from the woods of Powys Castle park, Aber Naint, and Trev-Edryd; since which time Montgomeryshire has
contributed annually to the supply of the navy and for building merchant vessels. About the year 1770, the size and
quality of the Montgomeryshire oak were so well known and esteemed in the several dock-yards, particularly those of
Plymouth and Deptford, that a great competition arose among the buyers, which raised the price above that of timber of the
same kind produced in almost any other part of the kingdom: this rivalry, however, subsided about the commencement of the
present century. Owing to the constant demand upon the county, the extent of its woods gradually lessened until within the
last forty years, when planting, which before that period had been adopted by a few spirited individuals, first began to
be practised on a large scale by many proprietors. There are several nursery gardens for forest trees in different places,
and one more especially extensive near Welshpool. The extent of waste lands has been greatly lessened by the four
following inclosures: viz., that of Strata Marcella, Tir-y-Myneie.h, and 1)eythur, or Deuddwr, amounting to about two
thousand six hundred acres, under an act passed in 1788; that of Plfis Dines and Mechain Iscoed, about five thousand
acres, under an act in 1789; that of Cedewain, Hopetown, and Overgorddwr, about fifteen thousand acres, under an act
obtained in 1796; and that of the Kerry hills, about twenty thousand acres, under an act in 1797. Before the allotment of
these commons, about one-half of the county was reckoned waste, and there yet remains nearly two hundred thousand acres of
this description of land, notwithstanding that various other extensive wastes have since been inclosed, some by acts of
parliament, and others by common consent of the parties interested, such as the lordship of Arwystli, Mechain Uwchcoed,
Llanvyllin, Caer Einion Uwchcoed, and lamed, and Teirteev. Many of the uninclosed hills have a good depth of soil, and are
covered with moss, fern, and grasses to their very summits; but the higher mountains, abounding with turf, can hardly be
more advantageously applied than in depasturing in summer a hardy race of sheep, and affording fuel to a district where
wood is scarce and coal very distant. As a great part of the low lands in the manors of Strata Marcella, Tir-y-Myneich,
and Deythur, above mentioned, was subject to frequent inundations by the sudden overflow of the rivers Severn and Vyrnwy,
especially the former, a clause of the act for their inclosure enabled the commissioners to form embankments to keep the
floods within proper bounds, which, with the whole inclosure, were completed at an expense of nearly £126,000. Commencing
on the Severn, a little below Pool Quay, they are continued to Cymmerau, at the junction of the two rivers, and thence
extend for some miles along the course of the Vyrnwy towards Llanymynech: the banks have been repeatedly broken down in
different places by flood waters descending with irresistible force from the mountains. The chief articles of fuel are,
coal imported by the Montgomeryshire canal, and peat in the mountainous districts, where the former article cannot be
conveniently procured; the quantity of wood burned as fuel is now very inconsiderable, and consists merely of the waste
pieces and small branches. The MINERAL PRODUCTIONS of the county are various, though not of the first importance. The
mountains are almost entirely composed of argillaceous schistus; but in those of the Berwyn chain are ranges of primitive
rocks. Breiddin hill, however, is chiefly composed of greenish serpentine; and Moel-y-Golva, its south-western extremity,
contains some burr for millstones; but a soft shale is the chief component of the whole of the Plinlimmon range, and of
the hills as far north as the Vale of Vyrnwy, though in some places beds of a more compact and regularly stratified stone
are found and quarried for flooring, gravestones, &c. Slates, for the roofs of houses and other buildings, are obtained
only in the Berwyn range, chiefly at Llangynog, where are two extensive quarries, from which about a million of slates are
sold annually: those here raised are strong and durable, but quartzose veins pervading the whole rock from which they are
taken, they exhibit a coarser surface than others of a more homogeneous composition: the Llangynog slate resists the
action of sulphuric acid for ten days: some slabs contain beautiful cubes of mundic. It is worthy of remark, that the
strata of these quarries, and of the whole north-eastern part of the Berwyn range, dip eastward, while south-westward from
the deep ravine called Bwlch Sych, in the parish of Hirnant, about three miles to the south-west of Llangynog, they
incline westward: the slate range extends in this direction by Llanwddyn, where quarries have been lately opened in Dinas
Mowddwy, and other places more westward, in Merionethshire. The Plinlimmon mountains are not distinguished for either the
abundance or the richness of their ores: lead-ore has been raised on the Berth-lwyd estate, near Llanidloes, and at Esgair
Hir, on the border of Cardiganshire, near the copper-mine called Esgair Vraith: this latter mine is termed by early
writers the "Welsh Potosi," and is on a north and south vein of sulphate of copper, which forms a tangent with the east
and west lead vein of Esgair Hir. The largest mine in the county, however, is that of the Berwyn range at Llangynog,
producing the species of lead-ore called galena, or potters' ore; its produce for many years during the early part of the
last century was not less than four thousand tons annually. The vein, which stretched from east-by-south to west-by-north,
and was of great breadth, and one of the richest ever discovered in Britain, on being pursued eastward became quite
barren; and on the workmen following its dip westward, the work became inundated, and was consequently relinquished. Early
in the present century this mine was let on lease by the proprietor, the Earl of Powis, to a company, who, at a great
expense, drove a level beneath, and resumed the working of the original vein, which runs through a coarse argillaceous
schistus. At Craig-y-Mwyn, near Pistyll Rbaiadr, to the north of Llangynog, is an ancient lead-mine; and at Dylivau, to
the west of Llanbqnmair, is a very considerable work of the same kind. Near the site of an old British smelting-hearth, at
D61-y-Velin-Blwm, near Llanvyllin, numerous pieces of lead-ore have been found and collected by washers, to the amount of
many tons. In an angle of the county, at Coedwae, on the border of Shropshire, coal is obtained from a few pits capable of
producing about twelve tons per day; it is of a pleasant, though swift burning kind, its inflammable carbon being combined
with more maltha than bitumen. A small tract of dark-coloured argillaceous limestone extends in a south-westerly direction
from its commencement in the Porthywaen limestone rocks into Powis Castle park; this kind, however, is not burned. On
Plinlimmon mountain is found granite; also the granitell of Kirwan, composed of quartz and shale; silicious and schistose
porphyry; and great quantities of pure quarts. Barytes, united with vitriolic acid, exists at Gallt-yMaen, Llanwyddelan,
and Llangynog. Some of the most important MANUFACTURES of North Wales are carried on in Montgomeryshire, viz., those of
flannels and webs, the pieces of which, displayed on the tenters, form a singular contrast with the verdure of the vales,
through which is heard the monotonous sound of looms, fulling-mills, and other machinery. The .fiannel manufacture is con-
fined to a district occupying the middle and southern of the county, which lie contiguous to the gaervt:rn and its
contributory streams, from Llanidloes to Pool Quay, and to the Dovey and its contributory brooks from Dirias Mowddwy to
Machynlleth. Formerly the whole manufacture was performed manually by the farmers and cottagers in their own houses; but
now they are aided by machinery, great numbers of carding and spinning machines having been erected on the different
streams. Besides these, there are now also other factories on a larger scale at Newtown, Llanidloes, Machynlleth,
Wershpool, &c., some of which employ about a hundred weavers. The Montgomeryshire flannels are seven-eighths of a yard
wide, and each piece generally from one hundred to one hundred and sixty yards in length, though those of a finer sort are
sometimes as much as two hundred and forty-two yards long. They are three times bleached under the hammers of the fulling-
mill, the first time with urine, the second with fullers' earth, and the third with soap: the fullers' earth is brought by
sea from London to Chester, and thence by inland navigation. The nap on these flannels is raised by carding, and by the
adhesion of the several foldings when the pieces are laid in a particular manner for the purpose: its texture is
particularly soft, owing to the quality of the wool of which they are composed, which renders them well adapted to be worn
next the skin even of the most delicate invalid. The principal manufacturers are the wholesale venders of their own
flannels: the farmers and cottagers, who still make them after the old method, were formerly universally accustomed to
take each his own manufacture to meet the Shropshire and other drapers at the Welshpool flannel market, which is regularly
kept every alternate Thunder throughout the year; but latterly the market at Newtown has increased so as almost to rival
that of Welshpool, and a commodious market or flannel-hall has been recently erected at the former place by subscription,
under an expectation of securing the market to be held there, to the exclusion of Welsh pool. The Rochdale "stoved white
Welsh flannels" are very different from the real produce of the principality, having their warp sized in the weaving, and
being afterwards stoved with brimstone: owing to their being drawn finer in the thread than the coarseness of the wool
will admit of, they also generally appear threadbare, and the length of each piece never exceeds forty yards. One of the
three districts in which are manufactured webs, or, as they are called by the London drapers, " Welsh plains," or
"cottons,' is the town of Machynlleth, with the Vale of the Dovey, in this county: the article is a coarse kind of thick
white woollen cloth, made in pieces of from ninety to one hundred and twenty yards long, and seven-eighths of a yard
broad, two of these pieces constituting a web. The webs of this county, as of that of Merioneth, are styled "strong
cloth," to distinguish them from those of the Glyn district, near Oswestry, which are termed "small cloth," because the
pieces are about one-eighth of a yard narrower, though of the same length. The principal exports are, store cattle and
sheep; raw wool, flannels, and webs; ores of lead and copper; oak-bark for tanners; alder and birch bark for dyers; timber
for the navy, and poles for the South Wales and Shropshire collieries; slates; grain, flour, and oatmeal; and butter and
cheese. The chief imports are, coal, lime, and limestone, and groceries and other ordinary shop goods. The principal
RIVERS are, the Severn, with its tributaries the Vyrnwy and the Tenet, all of which descend eastward from the mountain
ridge running across the western part of the county; and the Dovey, or Dyvi, flowing westward from the same ridge: the
romantic Wye also has its source on the southern side of Plinlimmon, in the county, and pursuing a south-easterly course
by Llangurig, soon enters Radnorshire. The Severn rises in a powerful stream from a chalybeate spring on the eastern side
of Plinlimmon, at the distance of about a mile from the source of the Wye, whence, as a mountain torrent, it descends
eastward towards the town of Llanidloes, under the name of Havren, traversing the narrow valley called Glyn Havren. In the
early part of its course it isjoined by the streams of the Bfichwy and Gltislyn, all formed by the waters of the numerous
springs dispersed in the surrounding 'mosses, and near Llanidloes it forms a junction with the Clywedog: at this place it
loses the violence of its character, and, taking a north-easterly direction, flows through a broad and pleasant valley, by
Newtown, and within a mile and a half of Montgomery, receiving the waters of the Miwl at Abermule, and of the Rhiw at
Berriew, or Aber-Rhiw, besides smaller rivulets. From the latter place it pursues a north-north-easterly course to
Welshpool; and at Pool Quay, a little below that town, it becomes navigable, and, gradually assuming an easterly
direction, flows onward in a deep bed until, on being joined from the north-west by the Vyrnwy, it enters the county of
Salop. The Vyrnwy has its source in two branches rising in the parting ridge, one in the vicinity of Bwlch-y- Vedwen, near
the confines of Merionethshire, which flows eastward by Llanvair, below which town it suddenly turns to the north-east,
and enters the Vale of Meivod; and the other near Llanwddyn, that runs eastward till it meets the former branch at
Mathraval: after this junction it is designated the Vyrnwy, and takes a north-eastern course until near the northern
confines of the county, when it as suddenly assumes an easterly course, and, soon forming a confluence with the Tenet,
becomes the northeastern boundary of the county, and so continues to its junction with the Severn, first separating Mont-
Gomeryshire from a detached portion of Denbighshire, and afterwards from Salop: this river is navigable during several of
the winter months as high as Llanymynech, and is particularly distinguished for the abundance, variety, and excellence of
its fish, which reputation is also shared by its tributaries. The principal of these, the Tanat, which has its source in
the Berwyn mountains, towards the northern extremity of the county, is joined, a little below the village of Llanrhaiadr-
yn-Mochnant, by the small river Rhaiadr, which descends from the same mountainous district along the confines of
Denbighshire, and forms the grand cataract of Pistyll Rhaiadr: the Tanat, at this confluence, becomes the northern
boundary of the county, which it separates from Denbigh, until, gradually bending eastward, it reaches the confines of
Shropshire: here, on approaching Llanymynech, it suddenly turns southward to its junction with the Vyrnwy, near
Llandisilio, after having, for a few miles, bounded on the west a detached portion of Denbighshire. The Dovey, descending
from the foot of Aran Mowddwy, a mountain of the Berwyn range in Merionethshire, flows by the town of Dinas Mowddwy into
the westernmost part of Montgomeryshire, which it crosses through a rich vale in a direction from north-east to south-
west, passing by the town of Machynlleth, for a few miles above and below which it forms the western boundary of the
county, which it wholly quits on being joined by a small stream from the heights around Plinlimmon. The Montgomeryshire
canal, which is a continuation of a branch of the Ellesmere line to the Llanymynech lime-works, enters the county in
crossing the Vyrnwy, by an aqueduct of five arches, each of forty feet span, and twenty-five feet above the level of the
water in the river, besides a number of smaller flood arches; hence it proceeds along the Vale of the Severn to Welshpool,
and thence by Berriew and Garthmill to Newtown, where it terminates. It was formed under the provisions of an act obtained
in 1795; of a second, passed in 1815; and of a third in 1821. Its total length is twenty-four miles; the number of locks
is nineteen, of bridges fifty-five, and of aqueducts eight; and it has two feeders, one from the Severn, and the other
from the Tanat: a branch, three miles long, extends to the village of Guilsfield. The total expense of the canal was
upwards of £125,000: the chief traffic upon it consists in the importation of limestone and coal, and the exportation of
timber, grain, and the produce of the dairy. Strenuous and successful efforts have been made, since the commencement of
the present century, in the improvement of the turnpike-roads, to which an extent of nearly three hundred miles has been
added; and at the same time, since the opening of the Montgomeryshire canal, the land-carriage of lime, coal, and timber,
has been greatly reduced in the parts adjacent to that line of communication, which have also the advantage of obtaining,
by its means, materials of a more durable nature than any procured on the spot. The bridges are numerous, and those in the
more cultivated districts are generally very good ones, but those in the eastern and south- eastern parts of the county
are constructed almost wholly of wood, and are frequently in bad repair. Several of stone have lately been erected under
the direction of the county surveyor, among which may more particularly be noticed those over the Severn, of three arches
each, situated respectively at Llanidloes, Caer-Sws, and Newtown, and that over the Vyrnwy at Llanymynech. The road from
London to Montgomery, Welshpool, Dolgelley, Harlech, and Carnarvon, by way of Worcester, enters the county from Bishop's
Castle in Shropshire, and passes through Montgomery, Welshpool, and Llanvair, to Mallwyd and Dinas Mowddwy in
Merionethshire: from Mallwyd, a branch of this proceeds through Cemmes and Machynlletb, to Aberystwith. There are also
separate roads from London to Montgomery and Welshpool, through Shrewsbury. From Welshpool a is continued by Newtown and
Llanidloes to the Devil's Bridge and Aberystwith: a branch of this proceeds from Newtown through Llanwnnog and near
Llanbrynmak to the Machynlleth road near the village of Cemmes; and one runs from Welshpool by Llanvyllin to Bala, in
Merionethshire. The only REMAINS of encampments and fortifications  decidedly Roman are at Caer-Sws, the Geer near
Montgomery, and Mathraval, each being quadrangular, where also various minor relics of the Romans have been found. At Cwm-
glim-Avon, near Llangynog, are the remains of a very ancient building, fourteen yards long and seven broad, called Cubil,
supposed to have been a smelting furnace, perhaps of Roman construction, as there are several extensive mining levels of
unknown antiquity in the vicinity, and great quantities of scoria lie adjoining to it. The Via Devana entered the county
from a station at Castell Collwyn, in Radnorshire, and, taking its course northward by Caer-Sws, is still visible beyond
the latter place in the parishes of Aberhavesp, Tregynon, Llanwyddelan, Llanlligan, Llanvair, and Llanervul. The other
Roman road that crossed the county entered it from Salop, near the village of Llandrinto, in the vicinity of which, at a
place called Street, it is plainly to be seen: at Mediolanum it crossed the Via Devana, and thence proceeded by Llangynog
and Trfim-y-Sarn into Merionethshire. A vicinal way branched from the Via Occidentalis at Pennal, near Machynlleth, just
beyond the western boundary of the county, by Caer-Sws; it is visible between Newtown and Welshpool, in a direction
towards the great Roman camp called the Gaer, near Montgomery. From Caer-Sws to Meivod ran the vicinal road now termed
Sarn Swsan, vestiges of which may be traced from the former place, by Gwyn-Vynydd, as far as the banks of the Vyrnwy, near
Lly'syn: by Dr. Worthington it was traced to Street Vawr, near Coed-yClawdd, in the parish of Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, on
the northern border of the county; and thence it crossed Rhos-y-Brithdir to Pen-y-Street, and passed through Llam-Iwrch to
Caer-Vach, a small Roman camp, in its further course towards Chester. The line of demarcation raised by Offa, between his
dominions and those of the Welsh, is still called by the English " Offa's Dyke," and by the Welsh Clawdd Offa, and may be
traced along nearly the whole of its course through the county. It enters it from the south, at Pwll-y-Piod, on the road
between Bishop's Castle and Newtown, and thence proceeds near Mellington Hall, by Brompton mill and Lymore Park, near
Montgomery, and by Forden Heath, Nantcribba, Leighton Hall, and Buttington church: here it is lost for five miles, the
channel of the Severn probably serving for that space as a continuation of this famous boundary, which, however, again
appears just below the influx of the small stream designated Bele into the Severn, on the northern side of the latter
river, whence it is continued, by the churches of Llandisilio and Llanymynech, to the edge of the vast precipitous
limestone rock in the latter parish, and thence across the north-western part of Salop into Denbighshire. It consists of a
vast ditch and rampart, the latter being on the English side: in its vicinity, near Mellington Hall, is an encampment
named Gaer-Ddin; at Brompton mill, a mount; and at Nantcribba, another ancient fortifications On the summit of a high
mountain, near the village of Llandinam, is a strong British camp; and various intrenchments, supposed to have had some
relation to the castle of Mathraval, the seat of the princes of Powys, and the foundations of which may yet be traced, lie
scattered in the vicinity of Meivod. There is also a British camp, called Gardden, of a circular form, on a hill near
Llanvair, and another near Llanervul: the remains of a third may be seen at Castell Caereineon. Near Cann Office, on the
road between Llanvair and Mallwyd, is a tumulus seventy yards in circumference. On each of the two summits of Plinlimmon
is a carnedd, or large heap of stones: other monuments of the same kind are very numerous in the parishes of Llanervul and
Llangadvan, where the largest are from thirty to sixty yards in circumference; these are sepulchral. On a hill styled
Pencoed, in the last-mentioned parish, are numerous small hollows and hillocks, thought to be places of interment of the
Britons. At the period of the Reformation there were, at Llanlligan, a Cistercian nunnery, and at Ystrad Marchell, or
Strata Marcella, a Cistercian abbey. The most remarkable specimens of ecclesiastical architecture are seen in the churches
of Montgomery,. Llanidloes, Newtown, and Llanwnnog. The castles of Powys and Montgomery, the latter of which is in ruins,
are striking specimens of the fortifications raised by the Anglo-Normans to secure their conquests from the native Welsh;
there are also remains of that of Dolvorwyn, near Newtown. Powys, or Powis, Castle is the venerable mansion of the Earl of
Powis, and, being built of red calcareous stone quarried out of the adjoining park, is called by the Welsh Castell CAM, or
the " Red Castle." Among residences of a more modern date those most worthy of notice are, Aberiarth Hall, near
Machynlleth; Black Hall, near Newtown; Bad-Heilyn; B6dvach; Broadway, near Montgomery; Bronhyddonf and Brynaber, near
Llanvyllin; Br n Glas, near Llanvair; BlIngwSrn; BrInllywarch, near Newtown; Caerhowel, near Montgomery; Crosawood and
Cyvronydd, near Welshpool; Dolerw, near Newtown; Dol-llys, near Llanidloes; DOlvorgan and DOlvorwyn Hall, near Newtown;
Dyserth and Garth, near Welshpool; Upper Garthmyl; Lower Garthmyl; Glindulas and Glindwr, near Llanid loes; Min Severn,
near Welshpool; Glisgoed, near Llanvyllin; Glen Havren, near Newtown; Glyn Severn, near Llanidloes; Greenfields, near
Machynlleth; Gregynog and the Gro, near Newtown; Gun-ley, near Montgomery; Leighton Hall and Llanerchydol, near Welshpool;
Llwydiarth Hall and Llwyn, near Llanvyllin; Lymore Park, near Montgomery.; Maesmawr, and Maes Vron, near Welshpool;
Mellington Hall, near Montgomery; Nantcribba, near Welshpool; Newtown Hall, near Newtown; Penbiln, near Montgomery;
Pennant, near Berriew; Pentre Nant, near Montgomery; Pen-y-Lan, at Meivod; Rhiwport, at Berriew; Trawscoed and Trelydan
Hall, near Welshpool; Vaynor Park, at Berriew; and Vronvelen, near Machynlleth. In those parts of Montgomeryshire where
the hills consist almost wholly of shale, the houses of the gentry were formerly built of massive timber, and now most
commonly of brick made from clay found in the valleys. The ordinary houses in such districts are generally of timber,
wattle or lath, and plaster; and the roofs chiefly slated, though sometimes of shingles, or oak, split and cut into the
form of slates. There are many farm-houses and offices upon new and improved constructions. The cottages in the greater
part of the county have a very wretched appearance, and consist only of two small rooms. On the schistose hills, and in
their vicinity, where there is an abundance of flattish stones, the fences are frequently dry stone walls: hawthorn sets,
for hedges, are grown in great quantities by the nurserymen. The farmers in the low lands excel in their family fare; but
in the mountainous districts the bread has generally a large proportion of rye or barley, and cakes made wholly from
oatmeal are much used. Servants hired by the year generally commence their term of service on the 1st of May. There are
several springs, the waters of which contain a large propordon of hepatic air: two of these are in the parish of Meivod,
where also is one extremely limpid, the waters of which have been found efficacious in the cure of scrophulous and other
ulcers. Two saline and sulphureous springs have been lately discovered in the parish of Llanvair, which are much
frequented, many having derived considerable benefit from drinking the waters. Near the church of Lianervul is a well
called Fynnon Ervul, famous for its medicinal virtues; and one adjoining the church of GarthBeibio, named Fynnon Dydecho,
which is constructed so as to form a cold bath, its waters being reputed to have some efficacy in the cure of rheumatic
affections. The small river Rhaiadr, about four miles from the village of Llanrhaiadi, on the northern border of the
county., after sliding gently down a small declivity, precipitates itself over a perpendicular rock upwards of two hundred
feet in height, and then forms a second cataract as its raging waters fall into a small natural basin beneath: this grand
cascade is termed Pistyll Rhaiadr.