YSPYTTY-YSTRAD-MEURIC, a chapelry (parochial), in the parish of YSPYTTY-YSTWITH, union of TREGARON, upper division of the
hundred of ILAR, county of CARDIGAN, SOUTH WALES, 14 miles (S.F..) from Aberystwith; containing 152 inhabitants. This
place formerly belonged to the abbey of Strata-Florida, about three miles distant, an hospitium or cell to which was
situated here; and from this circumstance, probably, and from its position near the river Meuric, is derived its name. It
is of very limited extent; but is much distinguished in history for its ancient castle, of the original foundation of
which nothing satisfactory is known; the first notice of it occurs in the history of the siege of Aberystwith castle by
Grufydd ab Rhys, when the governor of that fortress sent to Ystrad-Meuric by night, and received before the morning a
reinforcement, which enabled him to defend it against the attacks of the Welsh prince. It was partly destroyed by Owain
Gwynedd, in 1136, when that chieftain, aided by his brother Cadwaladr, destroyed several other castles in Wales, which
were held by the Anglo-Norman invaders; it was, however, repaired in 1150, by Rhys, Prince of South Wales, who, with his
brother Meredydd, sons of Grufydd ab Rhys, took it from Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd, and fortified it for themselves. In 1158
it was besieged and taken by Roger, Earl of Clare, but was retaken, in 1189, by Maelgwyn ab Rhys, who, in 1194, gave it to
Anarawd, his brother, as a ransom for the liberation of his two brothers Hywel and Madoc, whom that chieftain had made
prisoners. It did not remain long in the possession of Anarawd, for, in 1198, Maelgwyn again retook it, and kept it till
the year 1207, when, despairing of being able to defend the fortress against Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales,
from whom he expected a hostile attack, he razed it to the ground, and from that time it does not appear that it was ever
rebuilt. The chapelry is surrounded by the parishes of Lledrod, Llanwnws, and Yspytty - Ystwith, being bounded on the east
by the river Meuric, and on the south, west, and north, by the brooks Nant-y-Castell, Sychnant, and Marchnant-Vilch  and
by computation it contains 650 acres, of which about 250 are arable, and the remainder pasture of a coarse de-
scription. The surface consists of elevated and sterile hills; the soil of the arable land is sandy  the rocks are clay
slate; and the chief agricultural produce is barley, oats, and extensive potatoe crops. The turnpike-road from Aberystwith
to Tregaron passes through the place; and a fair is held on the 2nd of July for pigs, wool, and pedlery. The tithes, which
are impropnate, have been commuted for a rent-charge of £36. 7., subject to rates, averaging £3 per annum: the chapel,
which has no separate endowment, and is served by the incumbent of Yspytty-Ystwith, or his curate, is dedicated to St.
John the Baptist, and is a small plain building, consisting only of d nave. A free grammar school was founded in 1757, by
Edward Richard, who endowed it with lands and houses, now producing £86. 10., per annum, for thirty-two boys from any part
of the country, preference being given to those of this place and neighbourhood; and the grammar school of Llanvihangel-
Lledrod, adjoining, of which Mr. Richard was master, and which was endowed with rents amounting to £150. 18., for forty
boys of the upper division of that parish, was, after his decease, united to the school here, which has long been
eminently distinguished as one of the best classical academies in the principality. A very handsome school-house was
erected, previously to 1812 in the chapelyard, by subscription, in the later style of English architecture; to which is
attached an excellent library, comprising a valuable collection of books in various languages, principally the gift of the
founder. About 50 children in summer, and 100 in winter, receive gratuitous instruction in the classics, mathematics, and
arithmetic; and the institution is conducted by a head master and second master, and is visited by the Bishop of St.
David's, and John P. A. Lloyd Philipps, LS19 of Dale Castle, in the county of Pembroke; the endowment amounts to £237. 8.
per annum. There is an exhibition to St. John's College, Cambridge, belonging to the school, for the best Greek scholar.
Among the eminent persons who have been successively masters may be noticed Mr. Edward Richard; the 'Rev. John Williams,
who conducted it for forty years; and the Rev. D. Williams, late fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, an eminent divine and
critic, who distinguished himself as an impartial magistrate, an elegant scholar, and a polished gentleman. A Sunday
school, containing from 150 to 200 males and females, is conducted by the master of the endowed school and his assistants,
the expenses being defrayed by the former. There are some remains of the ancient castle of Ystrad-Meuric, upon the summit
of a gravelly hill near the village, which, though inconsiderable, denote it to have been originally a place of great
strength and importance. On one of the lofty hills in the chapelry, called FriwIlwyd, are vestiges of a Roman
intrenchment, occupying a commanding site to the north of the church; and on another hill, designated Tommen Vilwyn, is a
cairn of tolerable extent. An ancient house, styled Mynacht9, is supposed to have been the hospitium from which the
chapelry most probably derived its name. Edward Richard, founder of the grammar school, and a native of the place, was
distinguished as a profound scholar and critic, an antiquary, and a Welsh poet, and was the author of some pastorals,
which, for elegance of composition and purity of style, are unrivalled by any writings in the Welsh language; he is
thought to have been born in the year 1714, but his name does not appear in the register.