HAY, a parish and markettown, in the hundred of TALGARTH, county of BRECKNOCK, SOUTH WALES, containing 1959
inhabitants, of which number, 1709 are in the town of Hay, 15 miles (N. E. by E.) from Brecknock, and 154 (w. by N.) from
London, on the road through Hereford to Brecknock, Carmarthen, and Milford. The Welsh name of this town is Tregelli,
variously rendered Hazelton, " the town in the hazel grove," or simply " the town in the forest," and probably derived
from its proximity to the extensive forest of Travele, Traneley, or Traneleia, so frequently mentioned in ancient grants,
though no longer in existence. Its present legal name is supposed to be a modernized Norman translation of the Welsh
appellation, having been derived from the Norman word haier, to enclose, and anciently written Haia. Leland and Camden are
of opinion that the town was once occupied by the Romans: the former writer states that Roman coins, which the country
people called Jew's money, and also the foundations of ancient buildings, had been discovered here; but these relics have
long since disappeared, not even the memory of them being now preserved on the spot; and modern writers commonly
ascribe to it a Norman origin. On the conquest of Brecknock by Bernard Newmarch, that powerful leader, in his division of
the newly-acquired territory granted the manor of Hay to Sir Philip Walwyn, who, in the opinion of some writers, erected
here a castle for his own residence and the security of his domains, but does not appear to have long remained in
possession; for, by a grant made by William Revel, to the Benedictine priory at Brecknock, of the church of St. Mary " at
the Hay," it is said to be given with the consent of his lord Bernard Newmarch, who was present at the dedication, and to
whom the entire domain seems now to have belonged. The manor of Hay henceforward descended with the other possessions of
this nobleman; and all accounts concur in stating that the castle was at last re-erected by his great grandson on the
female side, William de Breos, some even considering him its sole founder, while, according to the vulgar tradition of the
place, the same was effected in one night by the prodigious strength of his wife, Maud de St. Valeri, more familiarly
known among the Welsh peasantry by the name of " Moll Walbee." Many other marvellous tales are related of the exploits of
this lady, whom authentic historyproves to have been a woman of masculine courage and understanding. On the attainder of
William de Breos, the manor of Hay, with the other possessions of that nobleman, was forfeited to the crown, but was
shortly restored, with the rest, to his son Giles, Bishop of Hereford: this prelate was succeeded in these
possessions by his younger brother Reginald, who had married a daughter of Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, and, with his father-in-
law, joined the confederacy of the English barons against King John, who, highly incensed at this conduct, advanced at the
head of an army into this part of the marches, in 1215, laid waste the country, and plundered the castle of Hay. This
fortress was afterwards entirely demolished by the Welsh, but, in 1231, was rebuilt by Henry III., who, having no other
immediate object to accomplish, employed upon this work the army which he then commanded in person in the marches. In
1233, it was taken by Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales, together with all the other castles belonging to the
English in the ancient territory of Brycheiniog, except that of the borough of Brecknock. In 1263, it was taken by Prince
Edward, afterwards Ed: ward I., who being himself taken prisoner, with his royal father, in the following year, the
confederate forces of Llewelyn ab Grufydd and the English barons, under Simon de Montford, regained possession of it, and
set it on fire. The decay and ruin which characterized this place in the reign of Henry VIII., when visited by Leland, and
even down to a much later period, are ascribed to the frequent irruptions made by Owain Glyndwr into the marches; and it
appears, from an instrument dated at Devynock, in September 1403, that many of the inhabitants of this lordship were
suspected of favouring the cause of the Welsh chieftain. After the death of the last Duke of Buckingham of the Stafford
family, the castle of Hay was restored to his son, the Lord Stafford: it afterwards, by some irregular means, became the
property of James Boyle, as part of the possessions of the priory at Hereford, to which it had never belonged, and, in the
reign of James I., descended to Rowel Gwyn of Trecastle, by marriage with Mary, granddaughter of Boyle; and this
gentleman, it is supposed, erected on the site of part of the castle a mansion still standing, which appears, from the
style of its archi, tecture, to have been built in the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, or in that of James I.
On the death of Mrs. Gwyn, in 1702, it was let in apartments to different families. The town is pleasantly situated on the
southern bank of the river Wye, which here separates the counties of Brecknock and Radnor, but immediately below enters
that of Hereford, and is bounded on the east by the small river Dulas, which falls into the Wye at this place, after
separating for some distance the counties of Brecknock and Hereford. It consists of one principal thoroughfare, extending
nearly parallel with the Wye) and of several other streets diverging from it in dd. ferent directions: one of these leads
north-westward to the church, another south-eastward round the castle, a third due east to the market-place, and a fourth
northward to the same point. The whole is now being paved by a rate, producing about 90 per annum; but it is not lighted
or supplied with water by any artificial means, enjoying an abundant supply of the latter from the Dulas. Within the last
twenty or thirty years its improvement has been steadily progressive: the streets in many places have been widened, and
divers unsightly obstructions removed; old houses have been modernized, and new ones of a highly respectable character
built, among the latter of which is an excellent inn and posting-house. The principal remaining evidence of the ancient
rudeness of the buildings is the market-house, which it is intended shortly to pull down and re-erect. At the extremity of
one of the streets is a bridge over the Wye, partly of stone and partly of wood, replacing a handsome stone bridge of
seven arches, destroyed by a flood in 1795, and some remains of which form part of the present structure: toll is taken
on this bridge under the authority of an act of parliament obtained in the 29th of George II., which grants that privilege
for a term of ninety-eight years, from the first day of August, 1763, at the expiration of which the bridge is to be toll-
free. The air is remarkably salubrious; the environs compiehend much of the beautiful and picturesque scenery which
adorns the banks of the Wye; and from the higher grounds in the parish are some fine views over the adjacent country,
which abounds with objects of interest and with features of pastoral beauty. A woollen manufactory is carried on in the
town, which affords employment to between seventy and eighty persons, chiefly in making fine Welsh flannels, and flannel
shirting for the colliers and miners in the more southern manufacturing districts. The situation of this place, in the
centre of an extensive and fertile agricultural district, on the confines of three several counties, is highly favourable
for trade, although little use has hitherto been made of its natural advantages. The Wye, however, is only navigable to
its vicinity after excessive floods, and then only for flat-bottomed barges, which are occasionally used for the
conveyance of timber hence to Chepstow, when the annual fall in the vicinity is greater than the consumption. This town
and its neighbourhood enjoy the advantage of obtaining coal and lime on moderate terms from the confines of the counties
of Brecknock, Glamorgan, and Monmouth, by means of the Hay railway, constructed early in the present century, extending
from the head of the Brecknockshire canal, at Brecknock, to Eardisley and Kington in the county of Hereford, the waggons
on which return laden with agricultural produce to the southern mining districts. The market, which is abundantly supplied
with grain, and with provisions of every kind, is on Thursday; and fairs, which are well attended for the sale of cattle,
pigs, hardware, &c., are held annually on May 17th, the second Monday in June, August 12th, and October 10th. In the reign
of James I., a market, in addition to the present, was held weekly on Monday, but it has since that period been
discontinued. The town was anciently a borough by prescription, and a bailiff is still appointed, but he does not exercise
magisterial authority. It is wholly under the jurisdiction of the county magistrates; and the borough court of record for
the recovery of debts has long been disused. The lord of the manor holds a court leet and court baron annually, at the
former of which is elected the bailiff, whose duties are now confined to billeting soldiers and receiving the tolls of the
market and fairs. These tolls being formerly uncertain, and exacted at the will of the lord in an arbitrary manner, gave
rise, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I., to frequent disputes, which in several instances were not terminated
without loss of life. After various complaints the attorney-general, at Michaelmas term in the 6th of James I., filed an
information against Howel Gwyn, then lord of the manor, to show by what right he exercised such arbitrary authority. This
cause having been settled by the payment of a sum of money, a new grant was made to the lord, in which his brother-in-law,
James Tomkins, was included; but a second information was filed, in Hilary term, in the 4th of Charles I., in which they
are charged with imprisoning several persons, and extorting large sums, by way of toll, from those who frequented the
market and fairs: these tolls are, however, now fixed and certain. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the
archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £7. O. 5., endowed with £200 private
benefaction, and £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of Arthur Mactuunara, Esq. The ancient parish church, dedicated
to St. John, and situated in the centre of the town, was, in 1684, in sufficient repair to be used as a school-house,
though it had long ceased to be appropriated to the performance of divine service. In 1700, part of this building fell
down, since which time the whole has been removed, and the site is now occupied by a small prison, or lock-up house. The
present church is dedicated to St. Mary, and is situated at the western extremity of the town, overlooking the Wye: it is
a small edifice, in the early style of English architecture, with a square tower at the west end; and consists of a nave
and chancel, containing only four hundred sittings, of which forty are free. The pointed arch over the principal entrance,
and that separating the nave from the chancel, are enriched with numerous mouldings, and with the toothed ornament: the
font is also adorned in the same style. This is the church given to the Benedictine priory at Brecknock by William Revel,
as above stated; but the general appearance of the present edifice shows it to be of a later date than the reign of
William Rufus, in which that grant was made. The sacramental chalice, which is of silver, bears the inscription " Our Lady
Paris of the Haia," and is apparently of very great antiquity. In the churchyard, which is of very small extent, and
commands a fine view over part of the Vale of Wye, is an effigy of stone, much defaced, which is generally supposed to
represent some female, and, according to the common tradition of the county, was placed there in memory of their
celebrated townswoman, Maud de St. Valeri, or Waleri, wife of William de Breos; but, according to Mr. Jones, it was more
probably designed to commemorate one of the monks of Brecknock, to whose monastery the church and its dependencies were
attached. Between the churchyard and the town is a deep moat communicating with the Wye, which river flows under the
northern side of the cemetery. An ancient chapel, which Leland notices as being situated in the environs of the town, has
long since wholly disappeared. There are handsome places of worship for Baptists, and for Wesleyan and Welsh Calvinistic
Methodists. In the year 1827, National schools were established for children of both sexes, and school-rooms erected at an
expense of £527, of which, £213 was raised by voluntary subscription, and £150 was granted by the parent society in
London, the deficiency being supplied by the Rev. Humphrey Allen, curate of the parish, to whose indefatigable exertions
the poor are chiefly indebted for the benefit of this excellent institution. The girls' school is for the present
discontinued, but about fifty boys are now instructed in the other: the salary of the master it: £47 per annum, of which
£12 is paid by the Governors of Christ's Hospital, London, under the will of the late William Pennoyre, Esq., who left it
to be paid to a schoolmaster for instructing poor children of this parish, together with 42 per annum for the purchase of
books: the master is appointed by the Governors of Christ's Hospital. There are also three Sunday schools, one connected
with the established church, and the other two with the Welsh and Wesleyan Methodist congregations, in which a great
number of children are instructed by gratuitous teachers. An almshouse for six aged persons was founded here by Mrs.
Elizabeth Gwyn, daughter and coheiress of Thomas Gwyn, of Hay Castle, Esq., who died in 1702, bequeathing a house, lately
built by her in the Water-gate of this town, for the residence of six of the most poor and helpless inhabitants of the
town and parish, to be appointed by the lord of the manor, the churchwardens, and the overseers; and endowed it with a
tenement called Pen y Wern, in the parish of Disserth, in the county of Radnor, and £100 to be invested in purchasing
other land, which was accordingly very profitably laid out in the purchase of a small tenement called Brtnrhyd, adjoining
that of Pen y Wern; and the rents of both, now amounting to £28 per annum, are appropriated to the maintenance of the
almspeople, as also is the interest of £400, vested in three per cent. stock, the amount of a single sale of timber cut
from the estate, and that of a further sum of £670, arising from a second sale of timber, which was recovered for the
parish by Mr. James Spencer, solicitor of this town, in whose hands it still remains, this gentleman paying for it an
annual interest of five per cent. The present trustees of Mrs. Gwyn's charity are, six of the principal inhabitants of the
town, with the churchwardens and overseers for the time being: the inmates of the almshouses are usually chosen from
among the most deserving female objects of charity. Several other bequests have been made to the poor of this parish,
which, however, have been lost: viz., £2. 10. per annum, charged on the estate of Lord Hereford; ten shillings per annum,
charged by William Watkins, of Pen yr wrlodd, on his estate; and thirteen shillings and fourpence, charged on a tenement
in the borough of Brecknock by James Watkins; with other small donations. Near the western entrance into the town a
remarkably neat stone building, in the Elizabethan style of architecture, comprising six small cottages of four rooms
each, is now in progress of erection, at the expense of Miss Martha Harley, of Bayswater, in the county of Middlesex, who,
it is said, intends to endow them as almshouses. The town was anciently surrounded by a wall, and, when visited by Leland,
three of its gates and a postern were still standing. Near the church is a mound, noticed by the same antiquary as having
probably been thrown up for some " fortres of bataille," which was once, perhaps, the site of a prison for the lordship of
Hay. There are likewise some remains of the castle, consisting chiefly of a fine old gateway, beautifully mantled with
ivy, affording evidence of the ancient grandeur and importance of this fortress, together with some walls, which are
supposed to be portions of the castle erected by Henry III., and are now incorporated with the more modern edifice,
erected on part of the site in the reign of Elizabeth or James I. In the reign of Henry VIII., some ruins of a gentleman's
house in this town were pointed out to Leland as the remains of the mansion which had been the residence of Sir Elias
Welwyn, who, in the year 1282, conducted the English army across the river Wye near Balkh, in pursuit of Llewelyn ab
Grufydd, the last Prince of Wales of native British blood, whose melancholy death immediately ensued. At a short distance
from the town, within the limits of the parish, stands Oakfield, a substantial modern mansion, the seat of Henry Allen,
Jun., Esq. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor of the town and parish is £ 653. 2.