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attempt to levy a fifteenth there, as he had done two years before in England. In his licence to rebuild the Abbey, the King attributes this fire to his forces contrary to his wish. It does not follow that the fire extended to the church. The insurgents may well have occupied part of the monastic buildings, and the Royal forces may have set fire to them in order to dislodge the insurgents. Mr. David Lewis differed from the view taken by Mr. WillisBund, and said it was a large thing to ask them to say that the inspeximus of the foundation was a forgery.

Mr. Edward Owen followed in a similar strain. He considered the non-mention of the names of De Clare in any of the confirmations of the charter a fatal objection to Mr. Willis- Bund's theory. With regard to the statements that it was unlikely a Welsh prince would found a Cistercian house, there were several such foundations in North Wales.

Mr. S. W. Williams said it seemed to be forgotten that there were two abbeys-one at Ystradfleur, two miles from the abbey they had been discussing. This was the abbey founded by Rhys ap Tewdwr. Then came his grandson, who founded Strata Florida. He had himself inspected the site of the former abbey.

Mr. Willis-Bund replied, and the meeting shortly afterwards terminated.

EXCURSION, THURSDAY, AUGUST 16TH.

The day's work commenced with a walk round the town walls of Cowbridge, and an examination of the church.

Town Walls of Cowbridge.-A glance at the map shows the importance of the position occupied by Cowbridge, or Pontfaen, in the centre of the vale of Glamorgan, and lying probably on the old Roman military road through South Wales. The town was an appanage of the Castle of St. Quentin, and it was walled round before the thirteenth century. The most complete remains of the wall are on the south side, where a gateway is still standing. The wall, where perfect, is 25 ft. high, having a batter outside, and a walk inside the battlements 14 ft. wide.

Cowbridge Church.-The plan comprises a nave; choir under the central tower; an aisle, with an arcade of five arches, extending the whole length of the south walls of the nave and choir; and a chancel with a north aisle. The tower is of the same military type noticed at Ewenny and elsewhere; and the moulded capitals and pointed arches in the interior show that it is Early English in style. There is a fine wall-tablet erected to the memory of William Carne of Nash, 1626, in the south aisle of the nave.

The inscriptions on the communion-plate are as follow:

"Ex dono A. Bowens ux. T. Wilkins gen. Ao 1744.

Llanblethian Parish

I.H.S."

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The party now returned to the Bear Hotel, where carriages were in readiness to proceed to St. Quentin's Castle, half a mile southwest of Cowbridge.

St. Quentin's Castle.-The river on which Cowbridge is situated runs through a wide valley before it reaches the town, but below this valley suddenly contracts. At the narrowest point St. Quentin's Castle occupies the summit of the east bank of the river, whilst Llanblethian Church is in a similar position on the opposite side. References to the history of the Castle occur in Mr. J. A. Corbett's paper on the "Manor of Llanblethian", read at the evening meeting, held Tuesday, August 14th. Mr. Corbett points out that the name S. Quentin is of comparatively modern origin, for in an inquisition post mortem, made on the death of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, and Lord of Glamorgan, who was killed at Bannockburn in 1314, the fortress is called Talevan Castle. The present building is of the fourteenth century, and was commenced long after the time of St. Quentin, even if he ever held the manor, of which Mr. Corbett can find no proof. Most of the fortifications have been destroyed, with the exception of the fine gateway shown in Mr. Banks' photograph. Mr. F. R. Kempson's keen eye detected a very peculiar bit of architectural detail in the front of this gateway. Where the chamfered arch-mouldings usually produce an elliptically curved line of intersection with the splayed jambs (as in the interior of an Early English window), a small cusped sinking is substituted. The inside of the gateway now serves the ignoble use of a cowshed, and a very dirty one too. This beautiful ruin is certainly deserving of better treatment.

From St. Quentin's a drive of nearly two miles brought the party to the charming old manor-house of Llanmihangel.

Llanmihangel House. The house is approached through a magnificent avenue of ancient yew-trees, whose dark shadows must look ghostly enough in the dusk of a winter's evening, and, even with the bright midsummer sun shining through the branches, produce an effect of sombre melancholy. Llanmihangel is one of the few old Welsh manor-houses which are still inhabited; and it is greatly to the credit of Mr. Jenkins, the present tenant, that, although the interior is kept beautifully neat and clean, there has been no attempt to destroy the old appearance in any way by injudicious modern additions or alterations. The largest room in the house is panelled with oak, almost up to the top of the walls. It has a plaster ceiling, divided geometrically into recessed panels of differ ent shapes by moulded bars projecting above the surface of the rest. The fireplace, which Mr. T. M. Franklen has very kindly photographed by Mr. Jenkins' permission, is a good specimen of

sixteenth century carved stonework. The flat Tudor arch, under which a modern grate is fixed, has six coats-of-arms above it, with scrolls and inscriptions nearly obliterated.

The following notes on the heraldic devices on the chimney-piece have been contributed by Mr. Iltyd Nicholl :

:

"On the fireplace at Llanmihangel Place, which house is said to have been built by James Thomas (sheriff 1550), are five coats-ofarms that I can account for; the other one (on the left) is the griffin segreant of the Morgan family. The only connection that I can find between the families of Thomas of Llanmihangel and Morgan is that Jane Van, wife of James Thomas, was granddaughter of Sir Thomas Bowles and Maud his wife, who was daughter of Sir Thomas Morgan of Pencoyd, co. Monmouthshire. I do not see why the Morgan arms should be carved on the chimney-piece, as Maud Morgan was not an heiress or co-heiress; but there they are.

"No. 2 shield contains the paternal arms of James Thomas-Per pale az. and gu. three lioncels ramp. arg., crescent for difference. The grandfather of James Thomas, John Evan Thomas, was the first of the name at Llanmihangel; he married the heiress of Llanmihangel, Eleanor, daughter and heiress of Thomas Ddu ap Gronow, by Agnes Chichele, heiress of Llanmihangel. John Evan Thomas was grandson of Thomas ab Gwilim Jenkin Herbert, who died 1438, and of his wife, Maud, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Morley of Raglan Castle. Arms of Morley, a liɔn ramp.

"No. 3 shield is the quartered arms of James Thomas, together with the quartered arms of his wife, Jane Van. The arrangement of the quarters is not according to the present system of heraldry; but the dexter half of the husband's shield is impaled with the sinister half of the wife's quartered arms.

"No. 4. Quarterly of four. Arms of James Thomas, reversed, for sake, perhaps, of balancing shield No. 3: 1. Eleanor Ddu, being the arms of her ancestors the Cantelupes; 2. Herbert alias Thomas; 3. Morley; 4. Cradoc.

"No. 5. Cradoc. Az. semee of cross croslets three boars' heads

couped arg. Thomas Ddu ap Gronow above mentioned was grandson of Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Wilcock Cradoc.

"No. 6. Quarterly 1 and 4. Sa. a chev. betw. three butterflies displayed arg., for Van; 2 and 3. Ermine a bend gu., for Walsh of Llandough, whose co-heir married Van in the fourteenth century."

Mr. Jenkins had hospitably prepared refreshments for his guests in an adjoining room, where they had also an opportunity of admiring a curious piece of tapestry, in good preservation, representing Queen Esther supplicating mercy for the people of God of King Ahasuerus. Before leaving, the Rev. D. Evans, Rector of Llanmaes, exhibited his parish register, the oldest in the neighbourhood, and dating from 1583. In this register is the entry of the death of Ivan Yorwath, who was reputed to have died at the mature age of 180. It reads: "Ivan Yorath, buried on Saterdaye,

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