BUTTINGTON, or TAL-Y-BONT, a parish, in the hundred of POOL, within the liberties of the borough of WELSHPOOL, county of
MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 2 miles (N. E. by E.) from Welshpool, comprising the townships of Clitterwood, Hope, and Trewern,
each of which separately maintains its own poor, and contain.. ing 775 inhabitants. During the Saxon era this place was
called Butdigingtune, and is remarkable as the scene of a desperate battle, in 894, between the Saxons and the Danes. The
latter, iu one of their landings under their leader Hesten, having traversed the kingdom from east to west, and finding
Alfred in pursuit of them with a numerous army, hastily retreated from the western part of England towards Wales, and,
being closely pressed by the Saxons, intrenched themselves at this village, where they were actively blockaded by their
pursuers, and reduced to such distress as to be obliged to feed upon the flesh of their horses. Impelled by despair and
famine, they at length made an attempt to force their way through the Saxon army, when a dreadful carnage ensued, by which
most of them were slain, and but few escaped to their own country. The village is situated on the road from Welshpool to
Shrewsbury, and on the eastern bank of the river Severn, which is crossed by a wooden bridge of considerable antiquity,
and, after heavy rains, frequently overflows its banks, which are here very low, and causes great damage to property. Some
of the land is very rich and valuable, particularly that lying along the margin of the Severn. The Longmynd and the
Breidden hills are partly situated within this parish: the latter are divided into three rocky peaks, called Craig Vreddin
(from Bre, an elevation, and Din, a fort, being so named from an ancient British fort which is still visible on its
summit), Cevn Cestyll, and Moel y Golva, the last of which is the loftiest and most conical. On the first of these a tall
obelisk was erected, in 1781, in commemoration of the distinguished naval services of Admiral Lord Rodney, in the war with
France, particularly his defeat of a powerful French armament, under the command of Count de Grasse, in the West Indies:
it consists of a circular pillar resting on a square pedestal, and formerly terminating at the top with a ball, which was
struck by lightning and has not been replaced; the expense was defrayed by subscription among the gentry in the
neighbourhood. The summit of this peak commands pleasing and highly diversified views of the fertile Vale of Severn and
the country bordering upon it, the richly cultivated and extensive plain of Salop, with the Cheshire hills, and the
principal mountains in North Wales. The rocky sides of these hills present a precipitous escarpment, here and there
interspersed with shrubs, whilst their bases are finely skirted with woods. On a small plain to the east, called Crew
Green, there is a large isolated rock, denominated Belin Mount, at a short distance from the adjacent hills. The living is
a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Salop, and diocese of Hereford, endowed with £1000 royal bounty, and £600
parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Vicar of Welshpool, to which parish this was formerly a chapelry, having
been separated from it, and made a distinct parish, in 1759. The vicar still enjoys one-fourth part of the great and small
tithes, and the remainder belongs to the Earl of Powis, as lessee under the Dean and Canons of Christ Church, Oxford. The
church, dedicated to All Saints, is built in the early style of English architecture. Vestiges of several British
encampments are visible on the rising grounds in this parish, which, from its situation upon the border, was doubtless, in
early times, frequently the scene of military operations. That celebrated boundary line, Offa's Dyke, runs through it to a
spot near the church, where it disappears for the space of about five miles, the channel of the river Severn probably
serving as a continuation to the parish of Llandrinio, in which it is again seen. The average annual expenditure for the
support of the poor amounts to £234. 18.