Gwerglodd beillieid, which is an artificial work, formerly covering about half an acre, but now much silted up.

The Vyrnwy, which is one of the largest tributaries of the Severn, and which, at its junction with the latter river near Melverley, rivals if it does not exceed it in size, is the main boundary of the parish on the north side. This river, which rises in the Berwyn mountains, above Llanwddyn, and there fills the beautiful artificial lake which supplies the city of Liverpool with water, is joined about two miles above Meifod by the river Banw, or Afon Llanfair, and a short distance above Llandysilio by the river Tanat.

The well-wooded and picturesque stream flows through the parish in a series of extensive deep pools, connected by fords and shallows: a favourite resort of anglers from all quarters. It never could have been navigable above Llanymynech Bridge, but may have been used in time of high water for floating down timber. From Llanymynech to the Severn the river was navigable for small boats, and great quantities of slates were sent down the river to Bristol. The river is now crossed by two substantial stone bridges, an iron railway bridge, and an aqueduct. Up to the end of the eighteenth century, when the only means of crossing was by ferry boat, or by the deep and at times dangerous fords, communication with the other side must have been difficult and often dangerous, and was no doubt frequently interrupted by floods.

Except the river Vyrnwy, there are no streams of any importance in the parish. The Rhysnant Brook, which forms part of its southern boundary, falls into the Mardy Brook, in Llandrinio, and follows its course to the river Severn.

1 The derivation and meaning of this word are not quite clear. Some suppose the name to mean "serpentine," or "winding," referring to the course of the stream. The Rev. Walter Davies (Gwallter Mechain) says that as no Welsh word begins with v, the name is probably an inflection of Maranwy, i.e., the Salmon River.

2 Pennant, 1784; vol. ii, p. 381.

Nant-y-Felin rises in Bryn Mawr and falls into the Vyrnwy, after a short course of about a mile; Sarnwen Brook drains part of the village on the east side, passes through Rhos Common and Haughton, and falls into the Vyrnwy in Llandrinio.

The parish is in the Hundred of Deytheur, in the deanery of Pool and the diocese of St. Asaph, and is divided into four townships, namely Domgay, Haughton, Rhandregynwyn, and Rhysnant.

The church is dedicated to St. Tysilio, and was probably an offshoot of the mother-church at Meifod. St. Tysilio, the patron of the church, was a son of Brochwel Ysgythrog1, Prince of Powys (A.D. 617), and his mother was Arddun, daughter of Pabo Post Prydain ("the pillar of Britain "). Arddun, called Benasgell ("with the winged head"), was sister of Dunawd, the father of Deiniol or Daniel, abbot of Bangor Iscoed, who founded Bangor, in Carnarvonshire, after the massacre of the monks at the former place about A.D. 613.

St. Tysilio was bishop, and is supposed to have been the immediate successor of St. Asaph, whose first cousin he was. The title of "saint" does not imply that Tysilio was a canonised saint; as the system of canonisation did not come into use till the end of the 10th century, under Pope John XVI. The term was used to mark a man's orthodoxy, and the recognition. and acceptance of his writings by the Church. Cynddelw, a bard of the twelfth century, who wrote a poem in his praise, extols his rank and ancestry: "of pure descent, and noble is he born."

Browne Willis, in his Survey of St. Asaph, gives a list of nine churches which owned Tysilio for their patron saint, and there were probably several others which he has not enumerated. The second church at Meifod, situated near his father's castle of Mathraval, was dedicated to him, as also the church at Llantysilio, near Llangollen, in Denbighshire. The Cistercian

1 Brochwel, the Impetuous or Bold.

Nunnery at Llanllugan, in this county, which like all Cistercian establishments was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was originally a church which owed its origin to the British saint, Tysilio. The church near the Menai Straits in Anglesey, with the wonderful compound name of Llanfair-pwll-gwyngyll-goger-chwyrn-drobwlltysilio-gogo-goch, although dedicated to St. Mary, is referred to as being near St. Tysilio's cave. This name may be translated as follows: "St. Mary's Church, by the White Hazel Pool, opposite the Whirlpool, close by the red cave of St. Tysilio ; " or as others translate it, "The Cave of St. Tysilio the Red." The geology of the place confirms the former as the correct reading. Still the latter reading is supported by the coincidence that several saints who were connected in one way or other with Anglesey were known by some appellation referring to the colour of their hair or complexion; as, for instance, St. Cybi or Kebius, patron saint of Caergybi (Holy-head) is called "Du," (the Black), and Melyn (Tawny). St. Seiriol (or Cyril), of Penmôn, was known as "Gwyn" (the Fair).

There is some uncertainty about the exact date of St. Tysilio's birth and death. St. Asaph died in 596; and if Tysilio immediately succeeded him as bishop, he must have been a man of at least middle age at the beginning of the seventh century. The 8th November was observed in his memory, and the village wakes were held on or about that day.

The orthography of the names of churches dedicated to St. Tysilio varies considerably, as Llantisilio, Llandisilio, Llandyssilio, and so forth; but, as in accordance with the usual mutation of Welsh initial consonants in compound words, the T becomes D, the inhabitants of this village maintain that their spelling "Llandysilio " is the correct one.

The earliest mention of the parish occurs in the

1 Built by St. Tysilio in 630 (Mona Antiqua restaurata). 2 Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, vol. iii, p. 165.

"Norwich Taxation" of A.D. 1254, in which it follows "Ecc'a de Llant'new" (Ecclesia de Llandrinio) as "Cap'lla de Llantesilyan," and is taxed 'i ma: dec.' (thirteen shillings and fourpence); the next, in the "Lincoln Taxation," made in the twentieth year of Edward I. This king, on the pretence of raising money for another crusade to the Holy Land, obtained in 1288 a grant of the tenths of ecclesiastical livings from Pope Nicholas IV for the term of six years; and this valuation was made by order of the king to enable him to claim the tenths to their full value. Edward, who was often short of funds, more probably required and used this money for the purpose of building fortresses in the newlyoccupied Principality of Wales, and for the expenses of his expeditions to Scotland. As was to be expected, Edward abused this convenient method of obtaining supplies, and he and the Pope were soon quarreling about the matter.

This "Taxatio" is interesting to us, as showing the wonderful changes which have taken place since that time in the relative value of money, land, and houses.

Llandysilio, or as it is there called "Landisylian," is mentioned as a rectory and vicarage. The value of the rectory is put down at £4 6s. 8d., and the tenth at 8s. 8d.; the value of the vicarage at £3, on which no tenth was levied.

This valuation of 1291 was one of lasting importance, as all tenths and taxes were regulated by it for the space of nearly 250 years. In the Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII, made in 1536, there is no mention of Llandysilio; and we must conclude that at some time. or other between 1291 and that date the parish had been annexed to Llandrinio. The net valuation of Llandrinio in 1535, probably including Melverley as well as Llandysilio, was £24 16s. 9d. and the king's tenths thereon £2 9s. 8d.

For the names of the rectors of Llandrinio, so far as

1 Montgomeryshire Collections, xxi, 331,

they are known from 1291 to 1632, I must refer the reader to the list given by the Ven. Archdeacon D. R. Thomas in his history of that parish (Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. xxviii, pp. 195 to 197).

Dr. George Griffith was appointed rector in 1632, and he also held the rectory of Llanymynech, to which he had exchanged from Llanfechain in 1634.

During the stormy period of the Commonwealth, he was deprived of his benefices, but continued to reside at Llanymynech, where he still remained an active and faitful champion of the cause of the Church, till the Restoration in 1660, when he was consecrated bishop of St. Asaph; but on account of the impoverishment of the see he was allowed to retain the rectory of Llandrinio, including Llandysilio and Melverley, together with his other preferments. These livings continued to be held in commendam by the succeeding bishops of the diocese, up to the year 1846, when, on the death of Bishop Carey1 they were again separated from the bishopric, and restored with their own endowments, in accordance with the provisions of the Acts 6 and 7 William IV, c. 77, and 3 and 4 Victoria, c. 113.2

The names of the bishops of St. Asaph who held the livings in commendam, from 1660 to 1846, will he found on pp. 198 and 199 of the Collections, vol. xxviii, above referred to.

In considering the church founded in the seventh century by St. Tysilio, we are naturally inclined to enquire whether this was the first religious building erected on the spot, or whether it was not the con

1 Died 13th September, 1846.

2 By these Acts and some subsequent statutes the Ecclesiastical Commission was established as a corporation, and its sphere of action defined. The object of the original Acts was to carry into effect the recommendation of commissioners previously appointed by the Crown, one of which, bearing especially on the present case, was to "make a new distribution of the revenues of the bishops, and entirely prevent the necessity of commendams."