LLANIDLOES (LLAN-IDLOES), a borough, market-town, and parish, and, jointly with Newtown, the head of a union, in the upper
division of the hundred of LLANIDLOES, county of MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 26 miles (S. W.) from Welshpool, 22 (W. S. W.)
from Montgomery, and 193 (W. N. W.) from London; containing -4261 inhabitants. This parish, which is of considerable
extent, derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Idloes, an eminent British saint, who flourished about
the middle of the sixth century. The town is situated in a fertile vale, watered by the river Severn, which has its source
within the parish, and almost surrounded by verdant hills of moderate elevation, some crowned with thriving plantations,
and others richly cultivated. The scenery of the vale is beautifully picturesque, and the banks of the river are enlivened
with some pleasant villas and handsome residences: the hills that surround the town form a rich and striking contrast to
the barren heights seen in the distance, .among which the great mountain of Plinlimmon, partly within the limits of -this
parish, forms a conspicuous and interesting feature. The town occupies a favourable site on the southern bank of the
Severn, and on the turnpike-road from Shrewsbury through Newtown to Aberystwith; it .consists principally of two
spacious streets, intersecting each other nearly at right angles, and has of late years been greatly improved and enlarged
by the erection of several respectable houses and buildings. On the western side, and near the vicarage-house, there is,
in a picturesque situation, a stone bridge of one arch over the river; and within the last few years another handsome
stone bridge of three arches has been erected, at an expense of £3000, over the same river, near the place where it
receives the tributary stream of the Clywedog, which, after flowing some distance through the parish, falls into the
Severn at this place: the inhabitants are amply supplied with water. The approaches to the town are remarkably fine,
especially that from Aberystwith, which is strikingly picturesque; and the environs abound with features of rural
simplicity and romantic beauty. On the road leading from Aberystwith, having passed over a bridge about two miles from
this town, is a genteel house, called Glandulae, the grounds belonging to which are planted with a variety of fir, lime,
elm, chestnut, beech, and other trees; a beautiful trout stream passing close to the house. On the south side is Maenol, a
very handsome large house, lately erected in the Elizabethan style, and forming an ornamental feature in the scenery; and
close to the town is Glandwr, a beautiful residence lately built, having handsome grounds disposed with great taste, and
planted with trees, flowering-shrubs, and annuals. Dol Llys, in the parish, commands a delightful view of the Vale of
Severn, with the windings of the river and the rich and finely varied scenery on its banks, terminated by the high
mountains in the distance. Mount Severn, an elevated and truly romantic spot, overlooking that river, which here winds
beautifully below the house, commands an interesting view of the picturesque cottage of Nimbi- Brace, embosomed in the
trees which crown the opposite bank. There are some pleasing views to the southeast, and in many parts of the
neighbourhood are fine prospects over the adjacent country, which is richly diversified. Besides the Severn, the streams
of Clywedog, and the Dulas, water the parish, and about two miles from the town, on the road to Treveglwys, is a spacious
pool called Ebyr, extending over a surface of about fifty acres, and abounding with pike, eels, and perch; it is
frequented by wild-fowl, and during the summer season is the resort of parties of pleasure, for whose accommodation
several boats, belonging to gentlemen in the vicinity, are kept upon the pool. The MANUFACTURE of flannel has been
established from a very early period in this town, which fifty years ago was the only place in the county where that
material was made, and whence it was conveyed by packhorses to the market of Welshpool for sale. Since that period,
however, it has been outrivalled by Newtown, which, within the last twenty-five years, has obtained great eminence in the
production of flannel of a finer texture, but probably less durable, than that of Llanidloes. The manufacture of this town
has, notwithstanding, continued to increase, and there are at present six carding-mills within the limits of the parish,
and eighteen fulling-mills, and nearly thirty-five thousand spindles constantly in operation in the town and
neighbourhood, affording employment to considerably more than 2000 hands, although many of the operatives have been thrown
out of work in consequence of extensive failures among the manufacturers. All the spinning and weaving were formerly
carried on in private houses and cottages, but within the last few years eight or nine factories have been erected, in
which most of the same kind of work is now done, and three of which buildings are of a very superior character. About
three hundred pieces of flannel, averaging in length one hundred and fifty yards each, are manufactured here, and sent
every fortnight to the market at Newtown, held for the sale of them every alternate Thursday. There are several malt-
houses and kilns in the town and its vicinity, as well as tanneries and corn-mills. The market is held on Saturday, and is
abundantly supplied with wool, grain, and provisions of every -kind: the market-house, or town-hall, an ancient edifice
of timber and plaster, is situated in the centre of the town; but it is little used at present, in consequence of another
very spacious and splendid hall having been recently built, near the Trewythen Arms hotel, in the second story of which
the wool-market is kept, and below are the shambles, butter market, &c. Fairs take place annually on the second Saturday
in February, the first Saturday in April, May 11th, the Saturday next preceding the 24th of June, July 17th, the second
Saturday in September, the first Friday in October, the 28th of that month, and the Saturday before December the 16th;
and sheep fairs are also held every Thursday from the 26th of May to the 26th of June inclusive, which are numerously
attended by the shepherds of both North and South Wales. The town received its first charter of INCORPORATION from John de
Charlton, Lord of Powys, in the 18th of Edward III., and obtained other successive charters, of which the last was granted
by John Tiptoft, Lord of Powys, in the 26th of Henry VI. Under these charters, which have been lost or destroyed by
accident, the government was vested in a mayor, recorder, and an indefinite number of aldermen and burgesses, assisted by
a coroner, two serjeants-at-mace, and other officers. The mayor was elected by the burgesses annually at the court leet of
the lord of the manor, in the first week after Michaelmas, and might, if he chose to qualify, act as a magistrate within
the borough, but was not ex officio a justice of the peace: the recorder was appointed by the lord of the manor, and held
his office for life. By the act of the 5th and 6th of Wm. IV., c. 76, the corporation is styled the " Mayor, Aldermen, and
Burgesses," and consists of a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors, together forming the council of the borough,
of which the municipal and parliamentary boundaries are identical. The council elect the mayor annually on November 9th
out of the aldermen or councillors; and the aldermen triennially out of the councillors, or persons qualified as such,
one-half going out of office every three years, but re-eligible; the councillors are chosen by and out of the enrolled
burgesses annually on November 1st, one-third going out of office every year. The aldermen and councillors must have each
a property qualification of £500, or be rated at £15 annual value. The burgesses consist of the occupiers of houses and
shops, who have been rated for three years to the relief of the poor, if resident householders within seven miles; and a
valid title to be a burgess is acquirable by descent, marriage, marriage-settlement, devise, or promotion to any benefice
or office, in which case the occupancy and payment of rates by the predecessor may be reckoned. Two auditors and two
assessors are elected annually on March 1st, by and from among the burgesses; and the council appoint a town clerk,
treasurer, and other officers on November 9th. The elective franchise was granted in the 27th of Henry VIII., when
Llanidloes was constituted a contributory borough to Montgomery; and it exercised that privilege till the year 1728, when,
together with Llanvyllin and Welshpool, it was disfranchised by a vote of the House of Commons, which restricted the right
of election to the burgesses of Montgomery alone. This resolution being directly at variance with a previous one in 1680,
by which the right had been confirmed, the burgesses, by the statute of the 28th of George III., were granted the power of
asserting their claim to vote for a member for Montgomery before any future committee of the House, and of making an
appeal, within twelve calendar months, against any subsequent decision. The act for " Amending the representation of the
People" restored the franchise to the borough in 1832, in common with others in the county which had been deprived of it;
and it is now one of the five that contribute with Montgomery in the return of a representative to parliament. The right
of voting is vested in every male person of full age occupying, either as owner or as tenant under the same landlord, a
house or other premises of the annual value of not less than ten pounds, provided he be capable of registering as the act
directs: the present number of tenements of this value within the limits of the borough, which were somewhat confined by
the Boundary Act, and are minutely detailed in the Appendix to this work, is about a hundred and twenty. Llanidloes is
also a polling-place in the election of a parliamentary representative for the shire. The county magistrates and county
coroner exercise jurisdiction within the town, and the former holds a petty session for the himdred on the first Monday in
every month. A court baron for the manor of Arustley, the jurisdiction of which extends over the hundred, takes place
every third Monday, for the recovery of debts and determining of actions under the amount of £-2, by process similar to
that of the supreme courts at Westminster. The parish is bounded on the north by that of Treveglws; on the south by those
of Llangurig and St. Harmon, the latter of which is in Radnorshire; on the east by that of Llandinam; and on the west by
Llanbadarn-Vawr, in the county of Cardigan; and comprises by admeasurement 17,278 acres, of which 4078 are sheep-walks,
and the remainder inclosed land, consisting of arable and pasture. The surface being hilly, and in some parts mountainous,
the soil is various, though generally fertile, producing wheat, oats, and barley; the lower grounds, which are tolerably
well wooded with oak, fir, and other trees, are in a good state of cultivation, and the declivities of the hills afford
pasturage to numerous flocks of sheep. The rateable annual value has been returned at £7532. In 1816 an act of parliament
was obtained for improving the common and waste in the vicinity, called the " Arustley Inclosure Act," under the
provisions of which considerable portions of land in this parish have been inclosed, and are now under cultivation. Lead-
ore has been found, and some mines were formerly worked, but not with sufficient advantage to remunerate the adventurers,
and they have consequently been discontinued: the hills abound with a coarse kind of slate, and in the vicinity are some
quarries of stone of very good quality for building. The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at X4.
3. 4.; present net income, £151, with a glebe-house; patron, Bishop of Bangor; impropriators, Dean and Chapter of Bangor,
Sir W. W. Wynne, Bart., and the Vicar of Llangung* The church, dedicated to St. Idloes, was originallY founded towards the
close of the fifth, or at the beginning of the sixth century; of the original building the tower only is remaining. The
present structure consists of a nave and aisle, the latter of which was built about two hundred years since, and is
separated from the former, by circular clustered columns, the capitals of which are decorated with palm leaves, and by
finely pointed arches; the roof of the nave is of carved oak, ornamented with figures of cherubim holding shields charged
with armorial bearings, exquisitely carved. According to tradition, these were brought hither from the abbey of Cwm Hir,
in the county of Radnor, and the date upon one of the shields (1542) corresponds with the time of the dissolution of that
establishment. An elegant screen from the same monastery formerly separated the chancel from the nave, but it was removed
in 1816, when the chancel and south wall were rebuilt, and has not been restored; at the same time the church was new
pewed, the expense of both having amounted to £1600; and a new set of bells was hung in the tower, in 1825, at a cost of
£200. The area is very spacious, and there is a small gallery; the sittings, of which about thirty are free, accommodate
550 or 600 persons. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, all
appropriately fitted up. Five day schools are carried on, of which one, commenced in 1831, is attended by about 70
children, and is partly maintained by subscription and partly by small payments from the children; and the remaining four
contain about 100 children, who are instructed at the expense of their parents. In the parish are also eight or ten Sunday
schools, in one of which, supported by subscription, are from 400 to 500 males and females, belonging to the Established
Church: some of the rest appertain to Calvinistic Methodists, and contain 800 males and females, many of whom are adults;
three to the Wesleyans, and are attended by 300; two to Particular Baptists, by 160; and another also to dissenters,
by 150: all are conducted by gratuitous teachers. The Rev. Dr. David Lloyd bequeathed a rent-charge of £2. 12., to be
apportioned out in bread on Sundays to the poor; and Catherine Lloyd left £100, with which, and its accumulated interest,
two properties, called Ty'n-y-Vron, and Crowlwm, were purchased; the one containing 29f acres, to which a subsequent
inclosure allotment of 21 acres was added, and the other 101 acres, afterwards increased by an allotment of 1 acres; the
whole now producing a rent of £33. 15., which sum is distributed in small amounts periodically among the poor, with the
exception of about £3 per annum, appropriated to the education of four children: a rent-charge of £14 by the Rev. Dr.
Jenkin Bowen, of Welford, Gloucestershire, and another of £2. 10. by Evan Glynne, of Glynne, are also distributed among
the poor. Within the limits of the parish is partly included the lofty mountain of Plinlimmon, or, more properly,
Pumlumon, " the five-peaked mountain," which is the highest in the several chains of which it forms the centre; and from
this place the ascent to its summit is usually made. The sides and summit are, like the adjacent hills, entirely destitute
of wood, and present a barren and gloomy aspect: the summit is formed of two small heads, on each of which is a carnedd,
that on the highest peak being pyramidal, and perhaps intended as a beacon. Scattered around are patches of coarse grass,
intermixed with heaps of loose stones and fragments of rock in the wildest confusion. From the highest points, which are
frequented by numerous birds, such as herons, cranes, snipes, ravens, and plovers, is obtained a fine prospect of vast
extent, comprehending on the south the hills of Cardiganshire and Radnorshire, on the west Cardigan bay and St. George's
Channel, on the north Ceder Idris, and part of the Snowdon range of mountains, separating the counties of Carnarvon and
Merioneth; on the north-east the Breiddyn hills in Montgomeryshire, and on the east part of the counties of Hereford and
Salop. This mountain derives a considerable degree of interest from its giving rise to the rivers Severn, Wye, Rheidiol,
and Llyvnant, of which the first is secondary only to the Thames in commercial importance, while the Wye and the Rheidiol
surpass all other rivers in Britain for the picturesque beauty of their scenery. The Severn, here called by its ancient
British name of Havren, rises on the northern side of the mountain, in a strong chalybeate spring, and is quickly joined
and increased by numerous other springs rising near its source, and by several mountain torrents, before it reaches the
town of Lanidloes. The Wye rises from two powerful springs on the south-eastern side of the mountain, and-, after a long
circuitous course, falls into the Severn below Chepstow. The RAeidiol has its source in a pool called Llygad Rheidiol, and
falls into the Irish Sea at Aberystwith; and the Llyvnant issues from a pool called Glib Lyn. At Melin Velindre, on the
route to Plinlimmon, is a romantic cataract; and near a sheep-farm called Blaen Havren the Severn rolls its waters over a
lofty ledge of slate rocks, in which they have formed gullies of various picturesque shapes.