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eyther conquerid the same from the Welshmen ar hadd yt by the kinge gift being first conquerid by the king or yeldid to him by composition & that apereth in this mapp being compasid about wth 1 coller.

(f. 20 b.) Endorsed. 1610. 8 Maij. Wales.

What yt was at the conquest how the princeipaly tye was made & how yt was subduid.

A subscription for the mapp of Wales.

II.

(F. 46 b.) (17 July '98.) You shall find many decayed townes in Wales & the cause is for that all the townes in wales were built for maunteyning of the Lordes marchers garrisons wch thei were dryven to kepe there of Englishmen & Normans and when so many townes were builded in wales, as ys to be seene, thei were all well inhabited whiles the contrey was disobedient as ys said before but when the contrey grew to be civell & peaceable then such of those townes as stoode convenient eyther to serve as a throwfare or a convenient place for a markett towne or ells hadd som good port or harborow fytt for trading by sea those townes fell to some good trade & so florished & dothe yett vphold them selves in som Resonable welth, the rest being placed in wild & obscure places vnapt for any trade fell into Ruinne & vtter decaye.

besyde the cause of the decaye of townes aforesaid Owen Glindwr in his warres dyd burne spoyle diuerse townes wch then were Inhabyted by englishmen and Rased them to the grounde that thei were never Reedifyed nor never cold be able to Recouer theire former estate as some for example

Welsh poole in Montgomeryshire

new Radnor

grismonds
the haye
Caeresarose1

endorsed: Of the decaye of townes & Castells in Wales.

1 Blank in MS.

2 The earlier part of this tract was published in Arch. Camb., 3rd Ser., vol. xiii, p. 133. The above is a later addition by George Owen in his rough hand.

3 Grosmont.

4 Caersws.

146

REPORT OF PORTMADOC MEETING.

(Continued from page 78.)

ROUTES OF THE EXCURSIONS.

EXCURSION NO. 1.--TUESDAY, AUGUST 18th
LLYSTYN GWYN AND CRICCIETH.

Route.--Members left the Town Hall at 9 A.M., and proceeded by carriage north-west through Dolbenmaen to Llystyn Gwyn (near Brynkir Railway Station); then south through Llanystumdwy to CRICCIETH; and east back to PORTMADOC.

The following objects of interest were visited :

Penmorfa (Church of St. Beuno).

Gesail Gyfarch (Inscribed Stone).

Dolbenmaen (Church and Mound).

Brynkir Hall (The Property of Mr. R. M. Greaves),

Ystum Cegid (Cromlech).

Llystyn Gwyn (Inscribed Stone).

Rhos-y-Lan (Cromlech).

Llanystumdwy (Church).

Criccieth (Church and Castle).

:

Ystumllyn (Ancient Historic House, the Property of Colonel O. Lloyd J. Evans).

The members were hospitably entertained to LUNCHEON at Brynkir Hall by kind invitation of R. M. Greaves, Esq., and to TEA at Ystumllyn by invitation of Colonel O. Lloyd J. Evans.

EXCURSION NO. 2.-WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19th.
HARLECH AND CWM BYCHAN.

Route. Members left the Town Hall at 9 A.M., and proceeded by carriage south through Harlech to LLANBEDR; then east through Cwm Bychan to the ROMAN STEPS; returning again to LLANBEDR, and taking the train from Pensarn Station back to PORT MADOC,

The following objects of interest were visited:--

Glyn Cywarch (Ancient Mansion, the Residence of Lord Harlech).
Harlech (Castle).

Harlech Ty Eiddow (An Old Church converted into Cottages)
Llanfair (Church).

Cym Bychan (Roman Steps).

Llanbedr (Church and Stone, with Incised Spira!

The members were hospitably entertained to LUNCHEON in the courtyard of HARLECH CASTLE by the kind invitation of the President, R. H. Wood, Esq., and to TEA at WERN GRON FARM by Randal Casson, Esq.

EXCURSION NO. 3.—THURSDAY, AUGUST 20th.

TRECEIRI AND LLANGYBI.

Route.-Members left the Town Hall at 9 A.M., and proceeded by carriage west through Criccieth and Chwilog to FOUR CROSSES ; then north to LLANAELHAIARN; returning through Llangybi and Criccieth to PORTMADOC.

The following objects of interest were visited :

Llanaelhaiarn (Church and Inscribed Stone).

Treceiri (Ancient British Fortress).

Llangybi (St. Cybi's Church and Well).

The members were hospitably entertained to LUNCHEON in the Board School-Room at LLANAELHAIARN by kind invitation of J. E. Greaves, Esq., the Lord-Lieutenant of Carnarvonshire; and to TEA at GLASFRYN by kind invitation of Mrs. Williams-Ellis.

EXCURSION NO. 4.-FRIDAY, AUGUST 21st.

BEDDGELERT AND NANT GWYNANT.

Route.-Members left the Town Hall at 9 A.M., and proceeded by carriage north through the Pass of Aberglaslyn to Beddgelert (making a détour south-east from Prenteg to HAFOD GARREGOG and the BRIDGE OF ABERGLASLYN); then north-east to HAFOD LWYFOG in Nant Gwynant; returning again through Beddgelert to PORTMADOC.

The following objects of interest were visited :—

Hafod Garregog (Once the Residence of the Welsh Bard, Rhys Goch O Eryri). Bwlch Gwernog (Ancient Road and Hut-Circles).

Beudy Newydd (Camp).

Ty Mawr (Old Chapel).

Beddgelert (Church).

Muriau'r Dré (Hut-Circles).

Hafod Lwyfog (Old House belonging to Colonel Mainwaring).

LUNCHEON was provided for the members at Beddgelert, and they were hospitably entertained to afternoon TEA at HAFOD LWYFOG by Colonel Mainwaring.

NOTES ON OBJECTS OF INTEREST SEEN DURING THE EXCURSIONS.

Prehistoric Remains. The earliest of the prehistoric antiquities visited were the cromlechs at Ystum Cegid and Rhos-y-Llan, situated in the comparatively low-lying country to the north of Criccieth. We are indebted to the kindness of Mr. J. E. Griffith, F.L.S., for the use of the photographs here reproduced. Megalithic structures of this class are now generally admitted to be sepulchral chambers of the Neolithic period. In Wales, as in Denmark and elsewhere, cromlechs or dolmens are generally found at no great distance from the sea-coast. There do not seem to be any cromlechs along the north coast of Wales between Chester and Bangor, but following the coast-line round beyond this they will be found to occur at pretty frequent intervals. First come the Plâs Newydd cromlechs on the Anglesey side of the Menai Straits; further along the north coast of Carnarvonshire is the Clynnog Fawr cromlech; and on the south coast of Carnarvonshire are several cromlechs in the neighbourhood of Pwllheli and Criccieth. On the coast of Cardigan Bay there are groups of cromlechs between Harlech and Barmouth, more particularly near Cors-y-gedol; but beyond this there are none until we come to north Pembrokeshire. Lastly, there are also cromlechs along the south coast of Wales at Manorbier, Arthur's Stone in Gower, and at St. Lythan's, near Cardiff. The cromlechs at Ystum Cegid and Rhos-yLlan, seen during the Portmadoc Meeting, are not specimens of the first importance, although of considerable size. The capstone of the one at Ystum Cegid is 15 ft. long by 11 ft. 6 ins. wide by 1 ft. 3 ins. thick. These Megalithic monuments have been described by the Rev. E. L. Barnwell in the Arch. Camb., 3rd Ser., vol. xv, p. 135.

The ancient British hill-fort of Treceiri1 was visited under the most unfavourable conditions, in pouring rain. This was the fifth time the members of the Association have made the ascent, the previous occasions having been from Carnarvon in 1848, 1877, and 1894, and from Portmadoc in 1868. The practical spade work done by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould and Mr. R. Burnard, F.S.A., in the course of last year has been the means of putting an end to the futile guesses as to the probable age of the fortress made in the past by ingenious antiquaries. The antiquities found during the excavations of the huts within the fortified area belong to the Late-Celtic period, and cannot be much older than the beginning of the Roman occupation of Britain. The exploration is to be continued this year when, no doubt, equally interesting results will be obtained.

The hut-circles inspected in the neighbourhood of Aberglaslyn and in Nant Gwynnant are of the same class as those which may be seen by thousands on the mountains and moors of Wales, Cornwall, and Devon. This kind of dwelling was probably in use from the 1 See Arch. Camb., 3rd Ser., vol. i, p. 25; 3rd Ser., vol. ix, p. 86; 4th Ser., vol. ii, p. 66; 4th Ser., vol. xii, p. 243; and 6th Ser., vol. iv, p. 1.

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CROMLECH AT YSTUM CEGID, NEAR CRICCIETH. (From a Photograph by J. S. Griffith, Esq., F.L.S.)

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