YSTRAD-VELLTEY (YSTRAD-FELLTAY), a parish, composed of the Lower and Upper divisions, in the union of NEATH, hundred
of DEVYNOCK, county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES, 15 miles (S. W.) from Brecknock; containing 882 inhabitants, of whom 414
are in the Lower, and 268 in the Upper, division. This parish is beautifully situated in the sequestered Vale of the
Mellte, from which it takes its name, and on the turnpike-road from Brecknock, through Pont Neath Vaughan, to Neath and
Swansea. It is chiefly remarkable for the romantic beauty of its scenery, and the numerous and highly interesting objects
of natural grandeur which it comprehends within its comparatively narrow limits. On the confines of the county of
Glamorgan, but within this parish, is the small but picturesque village of Pont Neath Vaughan, situated on the Lesser
Neath river, over which there is a neat stone bridge, connecting the shires of Brecknock and Glamorgan. At this village,
which may be regarded as the head of the district, fairs were formerly held on the first Saturday after the 12th of March,
the Saturday before the 5th of July, the Saturday before the 26th of August, September 21st, and November 14; but now only
two take place there, one on the 12th of May, and the other on the 14th of -November, for cattle. At Craig-y-Ddinas, in
the parish, and in its immediate neighbourhood, is found an abundance of fire clay of the very best quality, some of which
is conveyed down the Neath canal, which penetrates as high as Abergwrlych, in this vicinity, to be used in the furnaces
near the town of Neath, and for exportation. The annual value of the rateable property has been returned at £3371, of
which £1686 is for the Lower, and £1685 for the Upper, division. The LIVING is consolidated with that of Devynock; and
the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £270, which is divided in three equal portions between the
impropriators, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, and the vicar of Devynock. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is an
ancient edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel, with a square tower, and is situated in the centre of the village,
which is very small. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists: a day school, consisting of
35 children, is partly supported by endowment and partly by payments from the parents; and two Sunday schools, one of
which appertains to Calvinistic Methodists, are gratuitously conducted, and contain about 30 males and females. David
Walter, or Gwalter, of Maes Gwalter, in Devynock, charged the tenements of Vyle and Heol Vawr, in this parish, with the
annual payment of £5 each, one for apprenticing a child of this place annually, and the other for the instruction of 10
children, five of this parish, and five of that of Penderin. Morgan Llewelyn, in 1630, left three tenements, called
respectively Tir-Pen-y-Graig, Tir-Pw11-y-Gelynen, and Tir-yr-Ynysvor, the two former in this parish, and the latter in
Vainor, the rents of which, now amounting to £22. 10., he appropriated for distribution among the poor. Sir David
Williams, of Gwernyvet, Knight, in 1612, bequeathed, among numerous other charities, a small sum for distribution of bread
among the poor and for preaching a sermon on Whit-Sunday, chargeable on the great tithes of Gwenddwr; and the produce of
the bequest has so much increased, that £6. 8. 6. are now received; the original gift of £1. 10. is annually distributed
in bread, and the surplus in money. Margaret Lewis, of Brecon, in 1733, bequeathed a house and a smith's shop; and
Griffith Morgan, of this parish, charged the tenement of Tir-Gorov-Nedd with the annual payment' of £3, for the benefit of
the poor. The Sarn Lleon, or Sarn Helen, enters the parish at its north-eastern extremity, in a line parallel with the
turnpike-road from Brecknock, and, after intersecting the small Vale of Mellte, again continues its course for nearly a
mile and a half parallel with the turnpike-road, after which, taking a west-north-westerly direction, it crosses Cwm Nedd
Vychan towards Blaen Nedd. At a short distance from that place is an old stone, on the edge of which is an inscription in
Roman characters, very much defaced, of which only the words HIC IYCIT are legible, and in which the first part of the
letter H is wanting, and the A in the second word is reversed. Mr. King, in his ArchEeologia, states that a gold coin of
Vespasian had been found near this place. Close to the village is an artificial mound, but nothing has been recorded
either of its origin or history. The river Mele,  in the summer, when the water is low, runs through a confined rocky
channel, till it arrives nearly opposite the village, when it enters a small whirlpool on its southern bank, and
disappears; its course for nearly half a mile is concealed by stones, till it reaches a cavern a little below Porth yr
Ogov, or "the mouth of the Cave." This remarkable cavern is entered by a horizontal aperture, twenty feet high and about
fifteen yards wide, leading into a spacious apartment with a vaulted roof, from which hang stalactites and other
calcareous concretions, which, on the introduction of lights, exhibit brilliant and splendid reflections, of numberless
hues; the floor is strewed with large masses of broken rock, scattered about in all directions, and in many parts
presenting almost insurmountable obstacles to the progress of the visiter. Through this cavern the river - Mellte pursues
its course, rushing over the rocky fragments which impede its flow, and near the centre of it precipitates itself from a
very considerable height into a deep abyss, where the roaring of the cataract and the darkness of the cavern tend to
excite a sensation of awe. At the distance of a few hundred feet the river reappears, and, in time of floods, bursts out
with prodigious force, forming a series of cataracts of uncommon grandeur and unrivalled beauty. From a projecting cliff,
on the eastern side of the vale, the river, just above its confluence with the Hepste, rushes with violent impetuosity,
and descends in one unbroken sheet, forming a magnificent cascade, of which the noise is tremendous; and such is the
violence of its fall, that it loses every appearance of water, and assumes that of heavy spray and .foam. From this point
the river struggles through a deep channel, obstructed by projecting rocks pn each side of its precipitous banks,
diverting its current into a variety of fantastic directions, in a course of nearly three miles, till it falls into the
river Neath, or Nedd Vechan. There are several other cataracts in the immediate vicinity, some of which are beautifully
picturesque. Near the junction of the counties of Brecknock and Glamorgan is a fine cascade, called 'Sgwd Einion Gam,
formed by the Pyrddin, which, after emerging from a narrow glen, falls from a height of nearly eighty feet down an abrupt
precipice, of which one side is richly clad with verdure, and with trees and shrubs that have taken root among the
stratifications of the rock, and the other is naked, dreary, and rugged. At a small distance below the confluence of the
Pyrddin with the Nedd Vechan is a singularly picturesque fall, styled 'Sgwd Gwladis: though the breadth of the sheet of
water, and the elevation from which it falls, are less than the others, the appearance of this cataract is infinitely more
romantic, and the scenery around it more striking.