NEVIN, or NEVYN, a parish and borough and market-town, in the union of PWLLHELI, hundred of DINLLAEN, county of CARNARVON, NORTH WALES, 20 miles (S. W. by S.) from Carnarvon, and 270 (W. N. W.) from London, by Carnarvon; containing 1656 inhabitants. The origin of this place is not accurately known; but from some remains of strong intrenchments, evidently of Roman construction, near the harbour called " Porth yn llyn," or 46 Porth Dinneen," about a mile from the present town, on a narrow headland jutting out into the sea, and which protects it from the violence of westerly winds, it Is supposed to have been a port frequented by the Romans. Of its early history little is recorded previously to the final subjugation of Wales by Edward I., at which time it appears to have been a place of some importance, and to have been selected by that monarch, in the year 1284, for the celebration of a triumphant festival in honour of his entire conquest of the principality. Probably with a view to conciliate the affections of the Welsh, or to amuse or flatter their military spirit, Edward, upon this ow". sion, resolved to hold a round table, in compliment to their renowned hero Arthur, the supposed founder of that custom, and a grand tournament, which was attended not only by all the English nobility, bat also by some of the most distinguished knights from foreign countries, who took part in the proceedings, in which Edward himself acquired great distinction. The concourse of persons assembled upon this occasion is by all writers represented as very great; and traces of the circular earthwork within which the military feats took place may still be seen on the road to Edern. In the reign of Edward III., Edward the Black Prince, in the twelfth year of his investiture with the principality of Wales, granted the place to Nigel de Lohureyn, in reward for his faithful services and gallant conduct on the field of Poictiers; and by charter, dated at Caraaraaa, made the town a free borough, bestowed upon the burgesses a guild mercatory, and two annual fairs and a market, and endowed it with all the privileges enjoyed by royal boroughs, together with the fiber. ties and customs heretofore conferred upon New-borough, in the county of Anglesey. Early in the present century, a scheme was projected for the improvement of the place and neighbourhood, by bringing a new line of road across the Traeth Mawr from Merionethshire to Porth-Dinllaen, close to the town, by building a pier and constructing a harbour here, and by making the port a station for the packets to Ireland, in lieu of Holyhead. For this purpose an act was obtained in 1806, under the provisions of which a company was incorporated for carrying the plan into effect; but on a second application to parliament for further aid, after some progress had been made in the work, the undertaking was abandoned. The TOWN is situated on the shore of St. George's Channel, at the base of the Eivl mountains, and near the bay of Nevin, which is separated only by a small headland from the broad, sandy, and secure bay of Porth-Dinllaen: the houses are irregularly built and of mean appearance, and the streets are neither paved nor lighted, but the inhabitants are abundantly supplied with good water from a large well in the centre of the town, the stream from which runs parallel with the greater part of the main street. The surrounding soenery is boldly varied, chiefly of mountainous character; and the coast in the neighbourhood is abrupt and rocky, being occasionally broken by several creeks, with secure anchorage for boats and small craft during the fishing season; among these may be noticed Towyn, Colman, Gwy. Ian, and Y . Though good roads from Carnarvon and Irrdeanmadoc have been made to the town, affording a facility of intercourse with those places, there is neither any manufacture carried on, nor any trade except what arises from the situation of the place upon the sea-shore, and which consists only in shipping eggs, poultry, and pigs, in exchange for coal, to Liverpool, with which a regular communication is kept up by means of steam packets. The market is held weekly on Saturday, but is very ill attended; and fairs occur on April I 1th, Aug. 18th, and October 20th: the rateable annual value of the parish is £1564. The GOVERNMENT of the borough, by charter of Edward the Black Prince, which was confirmed by Richard IL, in the sixth year of his reign, is vested in a mayor, deputy mayor, two bailiffs, a recorder, serjeant-at-mace, and borough constable, with an indefinite number of burgesses; under the title of " The Mayor, Bailiffs, and Burgesses of the town and borough of Nevin." The mayor, who holds his office for life, and the bailiffs, who are chosen annually, chiefly for the purpose of superintending the collection and expenditure of the rents of the corporation, are appointed by the freemen at large; the recorder is elected by the mayor. Previously to the year 1812 the burgesses possessed a right, sanctioned by time as well as by documentary evidence, to a common of 250 or 300 acres of poor land, which was of very great value to inhabitants of limited means, as pasturage for sheep, and for the purpose of cutting turf; but at that period an act of parliament was passed for the inclosure of waste lands in the neighbourhood, under the provisions of which this tract was allotted to various parties, without reserving more than a very inconsiderable portion to the freemen; thus increasing the poor rates, and deeply wounding the feelings of those who had so long held the property, and regarded it as in some degree a means of obtaining a livelihood. The evil, however, has been inflicted more through the ill execution of the act than in consequence of the measure itself; since ample power was conferred upon the commis. sioners for carrying it into effect, to allot to the burgesses such lands as should he a perfect satisfaction for all their rights. Nevin is one of the ancient contributory boroughs within the county, which, with Bangor, recently added, return a member to parliament: the right of voting was formerly in the burgesses at large, in number about forty-five, but is now, by the act of 1832, for " Amending the repre, seatation of the People," vested in the resident burgesses only, if duly qualified according to its provisions, and in every male person of full age °eau pying, either as owner or as tenant under the same landford, a house or other premises of the annual value of ten pounds and upwards, provided lie be capable of registering as the act directs; and the number of tenements of this value, within the limits of the borough, which comprises about nine hundred acres, and is co-extensive with the parish, is seven. teen: the freedom is obtained only by gift of the corporation at large. The borough has no separate jurisdiction; but a court leet is held at Michaelmas, at which the jury present nuisances, trespasses, &c.; and every fortniglit, on Saturday, a civil court is held: the grand jury at Michaelmas consists of burgesses, thirteen in number, a foreman, and twelve Jurors, who are summoned by the serjeant-at-mace under the direction of the bailiffs. The LIVING is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of Charles Wynne Griffith Wynne, Esq., owner of the great tithes: the tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £215. 4. 5., of which £190. 4. 5. are payable to the impropriator, and £25 to the incumbent, who also has lands, purchased with £800 royal bounty, and let at £48. 10. per annum, and receives £16. 18. 10., the produce of £400, parliamentary grant. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, was rebuilt in 1827, at a cost of about £370, defrayed by the landholders of the parish, and is a neat plain edifice. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Metho, dists. A day school, conducted on the National system, contains about 120 children, who are partly taught at their parents' expense; and there are five Sunday schools, appertaining to various denominations of dissenters, and affording gratuitous instruction to about 590 males and females. A sequestered vale in the vicinity of the town is supposed to have been the retreat of Vortigern, after his expulsion from the throne of England, who is said to have occupied a castle here, which, according to monkish writers, was destroyed by lightning, himself having been killed on the occasion. Tradition still points out a small verdant mound as the site of this residence; and near it is a tumulus, now covered with turf, called Bedd Gwrtheyrn, or "Vortigern's grave," in which, on being opened some years since, was found a stone coffin containing the bones of a tall man, thought to have been the remains of that unfortunate king. This vale, which from that circumstance is termed Nant Gwrtheyrn, is embosomed in lofty mountains, by the rugged declivities of which it is inclosed on every side, except towards the sea: and across the bwlch or hollow by which it is approached from the interior of the mountains extends a large rampart of loose stones. Dr. Johnson was once a visiter here with Mrs. Thmle, who was born and bad property in the neighbourhood, and it is said that this circumstance gave him the idea of the "happy valley," in " Rasselas." Near Cevn Am- %%deb, an ancient seat to the south of the town, are the remains of a large cromlech, designated by the common people Coeten Arthur. Between the coast at this place and the. English border there appears to have been a chain of military posts, originating near the town, and passing near Tremadoc into the shire of Merioneth, continued thence by Bala, entering the county of Denbigh above Pistyll Rhaiadr, and proceeding to Old Port near Oswestry. Within two miles is the beautiful mansion of Madryn. Bri) nodol, a good house, four miles from the town, pleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, as seen from the sea, commands an extensive view of a large tract of level country, bounded on one side by a chain of mountains, in the foreground of which Bodvan and Carn Madryn are conspicuous, and beyond them the whole range of the lofty mountains of Snowdon.