LOUGHOR, or CASTELL-LLYCHWR, a borough and parish, in the union of LLANELLY, hundred of SWANSEA, county of GLAMORGAN,
SOUTH WALES, 7 miles (W. N. W.) from Swansea, 50 miles (W. by N.) from Cardiff, and 211 (W.) from London; containing 851
inhabitants, of whom 570 reside within the limits of the borough. This place, which derives its names from its situation
on the river Llychwr, or Loughor, the latter of them signifying "the fortification on the river Llychwr," is supposed by
many to have been the Leucarum of Antoninus; and this opinion is corroborated not only by the similarity of the names,
and the discovery, at various times, of numerous relics, among which may be mentioned a coin of the emperor Trojan, found
in the bed of the river, about two hundred yards westward from the town, within the last few years; but also by the
direction of the Roman Julia Strata, which from the station Nidus, at Neatli, passed westward through this town, and near'
a place in its vicinity still called Mlle, or " the field of battle," where, at some remote period, a conflict is thought
to have taken place, of which no particulars have been related. Loughor wag anciently designated Tre'V Avanc, from the
great number of beavers abounding it the neighbouring rivers; Avanc and Aflhzc, being the old Welsh, or Celtic, mime of
the beaver. Few historical events in connexion with it are recorded; the castle is said to have been erected by Henry
Beaumont, Earl of Warwick, who, in or about the year 1099, entered the country of Gower, and having made himself master of
considerable territories, built this fortress and the castles of Swansea, Penriee, and Llanrhidian. In 1150, Meredydd and
RI4s, sons of Grufydd ab Rhks, attacked and lain waste the country of Gower, and made themselves masters of the town and
castle of "Aberllychwr," the former of which, according to Warrington, they levelled with the ground, after plundering the
inhabitants, and the latter they completely dismantled. In the reign of Edward II. the castle was granted by that monarob
to Hugh le De-spencer, by whom it is supposed to have been rebuilt; but it seems never to have regained its original
importance, nor the town to have entirely recovered from the desolation it had previously suffered. The parish is situated
on the western confines of the county, and is bounded on the west by the river Loughor, which separates it from the county
of CarMarthen, and here discharges itself into the Bristol Channel; this river is fordable for two hours before, and two
hours after, low water. it is I.ounded on the north by Llandeilo parish, on the soulli by Llanrhidian, on the east by
Llangyvelach, and on the southeast by Swansea, and comprises by .1dmeasurement 3029 acres, of which 1029, consisting of
289 amble and 746 pasture, are within the limits of the borough, and of the remaining 2000;cores, 700 are arable and 1300
meadow: the surfai 4 is undulated, and the chief produce wheat and oats. The present TOWN, though of very small extent,
And mostly of rather mean appearance, contains a few genteel residences, of which one, called the Sanctuary, is supposed
to have been anciently part of the manor of Millwood, or St. John, near Swansea, and the property of the knights of St.
John of Jerusalem. The river Loughor flows on the northern side of the town, and the Llyw, which falls into the former a
short 182 distance south-south-westward from the church, ram on the southern; and as the tide regularly flows and ebbs in
these rivers twice in every twenty-four hours, the air is rendered salubrious, and the situation of the town is
consequently deemed. remarkably healthy. An act of parliament was obtained a few years sinee for erecting a bridge over
the Loughor, and for constructing a turnpike-road from the town to Carmarthen, which improvements have greatly contributed
to its prosperity. The entire parish, which is divided into two parts, called respectively the parish and the borough,
abounds with mineral wealth; and several veins of excellent coal, of considerable thickness, extend entirely through it,
in a direction from east to west, and have been worked to a depth of from twenty to forty fathoms. The Broad Oak Colliery,
within the limits of the borough, is at present partially in operation; chemical works are also carried on; and formerly
there was a manufactory for zinc: on the western bank of the river, immediately opposite the town, are the remains of the
Spytty copper-works, which have not been in use for some years. The river, called, from the bridge to its mouth, a
distance of twelve miles, the Berry, is navigable at high tides for vessels of two hundred tons' burthen; and during
spring tides there are from eleven to fourteen feet of water in the wharfs here, productive of great advantage to those
engaged in the trade of the place, which is principally, carried on with Ireland, the coasts of Devon and Cornwall,
France, &c. There is no market; but fairs for the sale of live stock are annually held on the first Monday in June and
October 10th. The GOVERNMINT of the town, which is a borough by prescription, under the title of " The Portreeve,
Aldermen, and Burgesses of the borough of Longhor," is vested in a steward, portreeve, recorder, twelve aldermen, and an
unlimited number of burgesses, assisted by two serleants-atmace, a layerkeeper, an ale-taster, and two haywards. The
steward and recorder are appointed by the Duke of Beaufort, lord of the borough; the portreeve is annually chosen from
among the aldermen at Michaelmas, and, having qualified at the quarter-sessions for the county, may act as a magistrate
within the borough; and the serjeants-at-mace, layer-keeper, &c. are elected at a court leet, and sworn in before the
recorder and the portreeve going out of office. Loughor was formerly one of the contributory boroughs which, with Cardiff,
returned a member to parliament; the right of voting was in the aldermen and burgesses at large, in number two hundred
and twelve, of whom forty-five are resident. By the act of 1832, for " Amending the representation of the People," it has
been included in the newly-formed district composed of the boroughs of Swansea, Aberavon, Renvig, Loughor, and Neath, to
send a representative to parliament; and the elective franchise is vested in the resident burgesses only, if duty
qualified awarding to the -proVisions of die act, and an every male person of full age occupying, either as owner or as
tenant under the 4aele landlerd,,a house or other premises of the annual .value of at least ten pounds, provided he be
capable of register-ling as the act demands: she number of,tenements of this value within the limits of the borough, which
were not altered by the act, is thirty. The freedom is inherited by all the sons of a freeman, acquired by servitude of
seven yews' apprenticeship to a resident freeman, by marriage with a freeman's daughter, or by 'gift, in which -latter
iustance it is conferred by a Jury of twenty-four bur, gooses, chosen indiscriminately ,from the burgesses at large, of
whom the portreeve for the preceding year is always the foreman. The freemen formerly exercised a right of common on the
waste lands of the borough; but in 1833 an.act of parliament was passed for inclosing those grounds, amounting to about
600 acres; under the provisions of which, after setting apart a sufficient portion of the property to be sold to defray
the expeuse,of the act, one4otirteenth part in value of the ,waste was to be allotted to the lord of the borough., ond the
remainder to the portreeve, aldermen, and burgesses; the right ofthe lord to the mines being reserved to him. The con.
poration are empowered by prescriptive right, recognized by statutes of the 34th and 35th of Henry VIII., to hold a court
of record, every third Monday, for the recovery of debts to any amount; but this privilege does not appear to have been
exercised within the last 50 years, nor is there evidence of any process to hold to bail having ever issued from the
court. A court baron was once held monthly, before the portreeve, recorder, and a jury of six burgesses, for thereoovery
of debts many amount within the limits of the borough. The LIVING is:a rectory, -rated in the king's books at £9. 10. 5.,
and in the patronage of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted fora tent-charge of £210; and there is .a glebe of eight,
acres, with a glebe-house. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, and situated within the limits of the borough, occupies
the summit of an eminence commanding.an exr tensive prospect over the surrounding country; it is a small modern
structure,,of neat appearance, containing about 300 sittings, which, ,though approprWW to the different estates, are all
,free, except those in the chancel. At a place called Geoft-,yCope' was formerly. a ,chapel of ease, as the; name and
ancient maps indicate, but,nothing.is nowivisible, beyond an undulated fern of theground,Ibeneath which probably the
foundations are concealed. There;is a small;place,of ,worship for Welsh Methodists. An excellent school under the
superintendence of the rector, is conducted [partly on the Infant system, where ,75 children are daily instructed, neatly
third,of them; gratuitously; iu an English and Welsh Aunslayschool are 100 persons connected with the Church; and
another school, belonging -to the Methodists, contains a farther .pamber. No charitable trusts have ever been ismfided
to the corporate body, and the only one in the out-parish was one of £10,supposed to have been the gift of William John,
the nterest of which used to be 'distributed among the poor till the sum two, many years ago, expended i on the repairs
of the roads, since which no interest has been paid. Of the ancient 'made there are some IINIdAaNtl, consisting
principally of a large square tower, thought to have been the keep, and still in -a tolerable state of preservation; it
occupies the summit of an artificial mount, which is considered to have been originally thrown up by the Romans,and is
surrounded by a .double intrenohment. The remains of an old watevicourse, also conjectured, to be of Roman construction,
by which water for the supply of the garrison was .conveyed from the small river Llyw, are plainly discernible to this
day. Traces of the Julia Strata may be seen upon the Carmarthenshire hills on the western Nide of the river Loughor,
pointing directly to this place '  and there is preserved „ within the grounds of the rectory, a large stone rudely
wrought, which may have been a Roman milliary, though by others it is supposed to have belonged to the sanctuary of the
Knights of St. John before alluded to. In the vicinity of Cadle, and near the boundary of the parish, are two small square
encampments of Raman 04n, en a common designated Mynydd CAM GoCh. The ancient town, which was destroyed by the .sons of
Grufydd ab 11.14/, is said to have occupied an eminence to the south-east of the castle,; and the Site still retains the
name of the _Borough,: at It short distance to the south, on the marsh, stood the old church, the site of which is
:still called Story Mihangel. The strata in the coal districts in the parish furnish.specimens of fossilized vegetable
remains, among which are fern, acorns, leaves of various trees, pine and oak timber, ikc., which substances have been
found in that state at ,a depth varying from seventy to eighty .feet below the surface. A celebrated -performer on the
violin, named Hugh, who is reported to have ,composed ,many of the most popular airs in the " Beggars Opera," was a native
of this place.