KERRY (CERI), a parish, in the upper division of the hundred of MONTGOMERY, county of MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 3 miles (E.
by E.) from Newtown, containing 2199 inhabitants. The name is of doubtful etymology. Some deduce it from Ceri, the
"mountain ash," with which the district is thought formerly to have abounded. Others consider it to be a corruption of
Caerau, "fortified places," there being remains of several in the parish and its vicinity, which, in consequence of being
situated near the English border, were the scene of frequent contests: but this is evidently erroneous, inasmuch as the
place is called by the same name so early as the sixth century, long prior to the construction of those numerous defences
which border warfare subsequently rendered necessary. The late Rev. Mr. Jenkins, an ingenious antiquary, and vicar of this
parish for many years, was of opinion that the place derived its name from some chieftain, or petty prince, of remote
antiquity, whose patrimony it was, a practice which prevailed to a considerable extent in the early ages of the Britons ;
and supposed that it might have been Geri Htr Lyngwyn, grandfather of the celebrated Caractacus. In ancient times Kerry,
or Ceri, comprehended a district containing the parishes of Kerry and MOchtrtv, the church being then called Llanvihanget
yn Ngheri, "the church of St. Michael in Kerry," and formed a comot in the province of Ferregs, coterminous with what is
now the upper division of the hundred. The first event of moment mentioned with relation to it is, that it was the scene
of a determined, but bloodless, struggle between the celebrated Giraldus Cambrensis, Archdeacon of Brecknock, and Adam,
Bishop of St. Asaph, regarding the right to the church, which, although it had for some time been considered as belonging
to the diocese of St. David's, was claimed by that prelate, who forthwith raised a strong body of men from Powys, to
assist, if necessary, in enforcing his claim. Giraldus, on being apprized of this, despatched messengers to two chieftains
of this country, Einon Clyd and Cadwallon, requesting military aid in asserting the rights of the church of St. David's,
determining to anticipate the bishop's design. Having arrived at Kerry, he entered the church, and, ordering the bells to
be rung, in token of possession, celebrated mass. Meanwhile messengers having been sent by the bishop, announcing his
approach to dedicate the church, the archdeacon commissioned some of his clergy, attended by the dean of the district, to
inform him, that, if he came as a friend, he would be kindly received; but if not, he urged him to advance no further.
The latter, however, desisted not from his purpose, and was met by the archdeacon and his clergy at the entrance to the
churchyard, where a contention arose, each party asserting his respective right to the church. The bishop, putting on his
mitre, and taking his pastoral staff in his hand, approached with his attendants, at which also the opposite party,
dressed in their surplices and sacerdotal robes, with lighted tapers and elevated crucifix, came forth in processional
order, and each began to excommunicate the other; but the archdeacon ordering the bells to be rung three times, in
confirmation of his sentence, the bishop and his party mounted horse, and hastily rode off, amid the shouts and pelting of
the crowd which so unusual an occurrence had caused to assemble. According to Mat:. thew Paris, Henry HI., having led an
army to the relief of the castle of Montgomery, which the Welsh were then besieging, and compelled them to abandon their
enterprise, advanced further into their country, and was opposed by Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, at a place corruptly called
Cridia, in the Vale of Kerry. Having employed much time in cutting down a large wood, which had frequently protected the
Welsh from previous aggressions of the English forces, he took and demolished a castellated mansion situated in the centre
of it, and thereby deprived them of one of their most important posts: observing the highly favourable position of the
place, he, with the advice of his minister, Hubert de Burgh, commenced the erection of a castle upon the site of the
former edifice: during the progress of the work, he was so harassed by the Welsh, who intercepted his convoys, and cut
off his foraging parties, that, after three months labour and considerable expense, he was obliged to abandon his design,
and agree to a truce: the conditions were that he should raze to the ground the works which he had constructed, since
called " Hubert's Folly," and that the Welsh prince should pay three thousand marks for the materials, and agree to do
homage for the lordship of Kerry. In one of the rencontres which took place at that time, William de Breos, lord of
Brecknock, was made prisoner by the Welsh. The parish, which is situated in the southern part of the shire, adjoining the
counties of Radnor and Salop, is about thirteen miles in length, varying in breadth from three to five miles, and is
divided into four parts for the separate maintenance of the poor: it is intersected by the small rivers Mule and Miheli,
which form a junction at the distance of three-quarters of a mile below the village, and includes about twelve thousand
acres of old enclosed land, and about ten thousand acres of mountainous land, lately allotted as sheepwalks to different
farms, under an act passed in 1797. The village is situated on the road from Newtown to Bishop's Castle: in that part of
the parish lying above it are the two narrow picturesque vales of the Mule and the Miheli, and below are the vale of the
Mule, after its junction with the Miheli, and that of Ceibutrach, environed on both sides by lofty ridges of hills, which
afford pasturage in summer to from twelve to fifteen thousand head of sheep. In the time of the latter princes of Wales
this district was covered with almost impenetrable woods, and in the reign of Henry VIII. Leland describes it as a forest
without deer. It has since been completely stripped of its sylvan clothing, though extensive plantations have lately, been
formed, which, in the course of a few years, will, from the nature of the soil being highly favourable to the growth of
trees, conduce greatly to embellish the scenery of the vale: the system of agriculture has also been much improved of
late years throughout the district. Petty sessions for the upper division of the hundred are held at the village, on the
last Friday in every month. The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, rated
in the king's books at £ 17. 8. 4., and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. David's. The church, dedicated to St.
Michael, is stated by Giraldus Cambrensis to have been rebuilt in 1176: it is principally in the Norman style of
architecture, and consists of two aisles, separated by eight Norman arches supported on circular and octangular columns,
and a massive square tower at the west end, surmounted by a wooden belfry: the font, which is octagonal and very ancient,
is adorned in each department with devices emblematical of the Crucifixion. A monumental tablet has been erected to the
memory of Giraldus and on the north side of the window in the south aisle there is a handsome monument, erected at an
expense of £525, to the late Richard Jones, Esq., a native of Black Hall, and the benevolent founder of the Black Hall
Institution, in this parish: it consists of a white marble bust of the founder, on one side of which is a boy writing,
and on the other a girl reading, resting on a pedestal of variegated marble. A neat marble tablet has also lately been put
up to the memory of the Rev. Mr. Jenkins, the late vicar. A chapel of ease formerly stood in the township of Gwernygo, but
no remains of the building can now be traced. There are places of worship for Baptists and Independents. The Black Hall
Institution was founded, in 1787, by the above-named Richard Jones, Esq., who had been a purser in the royal navy, to be "
free and open to all Christians, Jews, Turks, and Infidels, that will attend for instruction, that they may hear and
learn, and fear the Lord, the great Jehovah." At his decease he bequeathed to trustees funded property consisting of £1000
in the three per cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities, £1050 four per cent. ditto, and 4,1000 five per cent. Bank Annuities
(the last of which has been advanced on mortgage to the commissioners of the first district of roads in Montgomeryshire),
directing the interest to be applied in feeding, clothing, and educating poor children of this parish, and apprenticing
poor boys, and the charity to be called by the above-mentioned name. He also bequeathed 700 'three per cent. Consolidated
Bank Annuities to the same trustees, for the support of a Sunday school, established also in 1787, to be called the Kerry
Charity Sunday School on the Black Hall Institution. The income of the charity, including a former bequest, amounts to
£155. 15. per annum: there are seventy-six boys and fifty-nine girls in the day school, of whom four of each are clothed,
and two or three annually apprenticed; and the Sunday school is attended by one hundred children, who, if they choose to
stay after the performance of divine service in the morning, are provided with bread and cheese, according to the testa-
mentary directions of the beneficent founder. The school-house stands near the church, and has been extensively repaired
and improved at different times, partly by subscription, and partly from the funds of the charity. Divers small bequests
have been made for the benefit of the poor, the profits of which are distributed agreeably to the intentions of the
donors. On the hills, and in other parts of the parish, are numerous intrenchments, fortifications, and barrows, evincing
this neighbourhood to have frequently been the arena of military contentions, unrecorded in history: that in the garden
of the parsonage-house, in the township of Trevlan, consisting of a high mound of earth, encompassed by a moat, is
supposed, from its unfinished state, to be the one attempted to be erected by Henry III. The average annual expenditure
for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £1286. 3.