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circular cells or cyttiau. Some of them were singularly perfect, and one, near the present north-western entrance to the fortress, is still covered with its roof, but we could not penetrate within, and we did not feel ourselves justified in attempting to remove the stones. . . . . On Moelfre is a carnedd, covered with turf, about 17 ft. in diameter. It had been opened in former days by a passage made from the east. . . . We kept a look-out for Pennant's Druidic Circles and some Meinau Hirion, but we missed one of the circles and the great Maen y Campian or stone of the games [Pennant, iii, 119]. The term Meinau Hirion, of the Ordnance Map, is incorrect there are no isolated upright stones or stone pillars at the spots indicated in the map, but there are carneddau and circles. Of the latter kind of British monuments there are three at this spot; two rather perfect, but the third only to be traced by small stones and an embankment. This latter circle is 20 ft. in diameter. The second of the circles is a double one: the inner consisting of eleven large stones, some 8 ft. high and 3 ft. square, much weathered, with smaller stones placed between them. The outer circle is much broken in, but the inner one is nearly complete, and within this, again, there is a trace of a still smaller circle, not concentric, but touching the inner circumference, as if it had been the foundation of a circular dwelling house. Close to this large circle is to be traced an old roadway, like a trench, coming from the direction of Conwy towards Llanvair Vechan, at the south-western foot of Penmaenmawr. It passes by the northern side of the circle, and may have been a British roadway.”

Mr. Lowe illustrated the relation of the surface vegetation to the underlying rocks, showing how no grass grew on the volcanic rocks, while elsewhere the green turf was visible.

Tea was provided at Red Farm, and a charming stroll through the Fairy Glen, which had suffered much from the drought, brought us in due course to Dwygyfylchi for the drive through the Sychnant Pass to Conway and thence by train to Abergele, which was reached a few minutes before 8.

EVENING MEETING.

The Meeting which was held in the Church House, owing to the day's exceptionally heavy work, commenced at the late hour of 9.30 instead of 8.30 as arranged.

Archdeacon Thomas, who again presided, remarked that they had had a full and heavy day's work. Indeed, he hardly remembered a Meeting of the Association with so heavy a programme as the one on the present occasion. They could congratulate themselves on the fact that they had been favoured with splendid weather throughout, and the Local Secretaries, who mapped out the excursion programme, must have had "a tip" on this point.

On the motion of Sir Edward Anwyl, seconded by Mr. Glascodine, the following were cordially thanked for permission to view various

objects of interest :-Mrs. Rowley Conwy (Rhuddlan Castle), The Cambrian Academy (Plas Mawr, Conway), the Mayor and Corporation of Conway (Conway Castle), the proprietors of the Fairy Glen, the Countess of Dundonald (Castell Cawr), the Vicar of Abergele for the use of the Church House, the Rectors and Vicars of the Churches visited; also to the following for their hospitality :-Mrs. Wynne Finch, of Voelas; Colonel Hon. H. Lloyd Mostyn, of Bodysgallen; and Mrs. Watts Jones.

On the proposition of Professor Lloyd, seconded by Mr. Aneurin Williams, the following were also thanked for helpful addresses and services rendered :-Messrs. Willoughby Gardner, G. A. Humphreys, W. Bezant Lowe, and Harold Hughes.

The Chairman mentioned that a considerable number of local archeologists had taken a very keen interest in the gathering, and had rendered splendid services on the Local Committee. The Association were deeply indebted to them, and equally valuable were the energetic efforts of the Local Secretaries, Canon C. F. Roberts, Mr. W. J. Evans, and Mr. John R. Ellis, and the Treasurer (Mr. G. T. Evans), with whose arrangements they had not one fault to find.

Canon Rupert Morris asked permission, as a Local Secretary of the Association thirty-seven years ago, to move to the Local Officials a very hearty vote of thanks.

This was seconded by the Rev. G. Eyre Evans, and enthusiastically passed.

Canon C. F. Roberts, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said that though he had been connected with the Association for twenty years, this was the first opportunity he had had of serving it, and he was very pleased that the week's gatherings had been so successful.

Canon Jones, on behalf of the Local Officials, thanked the Members for their kind appreciation, and said that they had been amply rewarded in the knowledge that the arrangements for the visit had been considered satisfactory.

Archdeacon Thomas referred to the "marvellous fort on Penmaenmawr, the perilous condition of which they all very much regretted, and said he was of opinion that the Association should make a grant towards excavating a few of the circles on the spot before they were demolished.

Mr. C. E. Breese, who said he was a great believer in the efficacy of the spade, moved that they devote £15 to that object as an emergency grant; this was seconded by Mr. Cunnington, and the grant, which it was explained was an emergency grant," was unanimously voted. Mr. Harold Hughes had undertaken to superintend the work, assisted by Mr. Cunnington.

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Mr. Bezant Lowe then gave an illustrated lecture on "Pre-historic Remains on the Penmaenmawr Uplands." He said that with the exception of the hill fortresses no detailed examination had been made of the district about which he proposed to say a few words, and the little that had been done showed the potential possibilities

of the area. The district under review, which was mainly above the 800 ft. contour line, was bounded roughly as follows:-By the sea from Conway to Gorddinog, half way between Llanfairfechan and Aber; on the east by the Conway Valley; on the west by a line drawn from Gorddinog up to the entrance to the Anafon Valley; and on the south by the hills extending from Foel Dduarth to Bwlch y Ddeufaen (the Pass of the Two Stones), and thence by the line of the Roman road to Ro-wen. The remains might be roughly classed under the following heads :-(1) The Cromlechau; (2) the Tumuli and Cistvaens; (3) the Stone Circles; (4) Meini Hirion; (5) Hut Circles and Hut Circle Villages; (6) the Fortresses and Minor Forts.

The lecture, which was fully illustrated with a new series of views, the lantern being worked by Rev. D. R. Griffiths, will be printed at length in Arch. Camb., the first portion being given in the present number. After a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Lowe, the Chairman brought the meeting to a close, expressing his wish that they would all live to meet again next year at Cardiff. It had been a week full of pleasure, enjoyment and instruction.

EXCURSION V.-SATURDAY.

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On Saturday the Cambrians, reduced to twenty-five, visited Abergele Church, where the chief points of interest were explained by the Vicar. He pointed out that it was known as a double church," having two equal bodies, a feature peculiar to the Vale of Clwyd churches. The great length of the Church was also noted, and it was suggested that this was owing to the very extensive parish it had to serve. Another feature was the five doors which formerly existed-two now in use and three which had been closed. The most ancient portion was the west end, with its massive masonry. One door on the south side in the nave had been known as the priest's door," the incumbent entering that way from the old vestry, which formerly stood in the churchyard, and over which the priest lived, that being the first vicarage.

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Questions were asked as to why there should have been two doors on the north side, and it was explained that it was supposed there was at one time a very large population to the north of the Church, as evidenced by the stone in the churchyard, which stated that a man was there buried who resided three miles north of the Church, and which is now under the sea. Archdeacon Thomas said no doubt one door was used as an entrance to the chantry.

The tower was of the Tudor period. The west door was Early English. In the windows of the vestry are some fine pieces of ancient glass, dating from the fifteenth century, consisting of heads of saints and bishops.

Attention was called to several portions of consecration crosses, Perpendicular font with 1663 top, a violoncello formerly used in the

choir, a loving cup, which the Vicar had recovered, supposed to have been used at funerals, and, when filled with spiced wine or ale, handed around to the mourners. The old grave-stone, fixed now in the churchyard wall, is evidence of the encroachments of the sea upon the parish. It is crumbling away, and the inscription has suffered from indiscriminate "rubbing

Yma mae'n gorwedd
Gwr oedd ei annedd

Yn mynwent Mihangel
Dair milldir i'r gogledd.

Parc y Meirch was next visited. It is a height 2 miles S.E. of Abergele-a very good example of a promontory fortress. The site is a tree-covered rocky promontory over 500 ft. high. projecting sideways into the Vale of Clwyd from the highlands of the west side. It overlooks the lowlands far and wide, and it was evidently selected for the sake of the ready-made defences of steep slopes and rocky crags. The neck of the promontory alone needed strong fortification, and across this neck, therefore, the makers of the fortress constructed a massive rampart with a ditch outside it. The area within the fort, six acres in extent, would form a safe refuge for a large number of people. The main entrance was from the south-east, but the site is obscured by trees and vegetation. Undoubtedly this was one of the hill forts of the early inhabitants, and though its modern name is Parc y Meirch (park of the horses), its original and full name was probably Din Orben, the name long borne by the township in which it stands, and also preserved by the farmhouse just below the fortress. In 1867 some remarkable bronze horse trappings, of Late Celtic work, were unearthed at the foot of the hill, and described in Archeologia, vol. xliii, by the late Mr. H. R. Hughes of Kinmel.

In the course of the examination of the remains some fragments of pottery were picked up which, in the opinion of the majority of the antiquaries, were at least 200 years old, and had been produced in Belgium. One piece had been riveted. Bones of deer and some sharpening stones were also found. Dr. Boyd Dawkins said he thought they dated back to the Bronze Age, but it had probably been occupied during the Roman period, and probably also on and off right down to the Commonwealth. noticed that the two ramparts were unusually far apart, and some of the party concluded that one of the ramparts was the work of a much later period than the other, some going so far as to say they thought it had been made at the time of the Norman conquest of England.

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A short visit was also paid to Faerdref, an old farmhouse with high chimneys, stone mullions, and interesting windows of the fifteenth century. Noticeable were the huge timbers of the roof, wainscoting, and ceilings, with a grand display of fine old oak, a partition of oak running across the breadth of the house on the ground floor" [B.EJ]. The first occupant was Gruff. Holland ap Davydd ap Robin Holland (fifteenth century), whose great-grandson,

Piers Holland, married the heiress of Kinmel, d. 1552. It was originally approached by an avenue of old sycamores and handsome gateway. The name implies that it was the residence of the Maer or Steward of the Lordship of Dinorben.

In Kinmel Park are the remains of a cromlech, Y Garreg Wen, possibly the grave of King Cetin

Bedd Cetin unben | Yn aelwyd Dinorben.

Dinorben Vawr is an Elizabethan house, with fine oak floors and beams. Mention is made by De Beckele in his Survey of a decayed manor in 1334. It is possibly the same as the house occupied by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, 1194-1240, who signed a grant there, still

extant.

WE are much indebted for details in this lengthened record to the excellent reports in the Manchester Guardian and the North-West Coast Pioneer. The representative of the last-named paper, Mr. J. Polkinghorne, very kindly lent photographs taken by him, and Mr. B. Evans Jones was indefatigable in taking "rubbings" and making notes of the many objects of interest seen during the excursions.

The two maps on pages 42 and 43 have been reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Map, with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.

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