On Saturday morning, in spite of the wetness of the day, about sixty of the members of the Congress started in carriages for Gumfreston and St. Florence, en route for Carew and Upton Castles. Arrived at Gumfreston, they were received at the church by the Rector and by Mr. Edward Laws, who had acted throughout as local secretary and cicerone. Here Mr. Charles Lynam read a paper upon the structural peculiarities and historical associations of the church, for which he received a special vote of thanks. The sanctus bell, the piscina, and the baptistery were much admired. From Gumfreston the party drove through drenching showers of rain to St. Florence, where they minutely inspected the church, which, like its neighbour they had just left, is an excellent specimen of the usual Pembrokeshire church, with heavy walls and stone roof, and low depressed arches of early date in the chancel and transepts. The vicar, the Rev. Eric Rudd, here showed to the party the remains of a holy water stoup and of a stone cross which had not long since been unearthed in the immediate neighbourhood. Mr. Brock also made some remarks upon the fabric, and the parties inspected the remains of an old Flemish house close by. From St. Florence they drove on to Carew Castle, which was the principal attraction in the day’s programme. Less in size than, and not equal in situation to, Manorbeer, Carew Castle—which, by the way, is generally styled Carey in Pembrokeshire—is not inferior to it in historic interest. It was the original fortress of the ancient Princes of Wales when they were independent of the British Crown, and, as the home of the earlier of the Tudors, it holds a high rank among the historic castles of the Principality. It passed, by the marriage of an heiress, to one of the Geralds or FitzGeralds, who was castellan of Pembroke Castle, and it is famed in comparatively recent times as having been the place where one of the Welsh lords, Sir Rhys ap Thomas, received Henry of Richmond when he landed in these parts on his way to win the battle of Bosworth Field. Here, therefore, the party were glad to lunch, being hospitably entertained, by the courtesy of Mr. Charles Allen, in the ruined and windowless, but, happily, not roofless chapel. The outlines of Carew Castle are so familiar to the Cambrian traveller that we need not attempt to describe them in detail; sufficient to say that it stands at the extreme end of one of the many “tentacles” of Milford Haven, which washes the bases of its northern and western towers. The great “Edwardian” banqueting hall, with its fine flight of stone steps externally, still frowns down upon the visitor in the quadrangle, reminding him of many details of Ludlow and Berry Pomeroy. On his right are the remains, roofless, of the state apartments, very magnificent in their decay, not unlike those of Kenilworth. Of the chapel but little is to be seen externally, though it is interesting enough in its interior details. “The inner face of the western side of the Castle Court,” writes Murray, “is the most modern of the whole, and is said to have been built by Sir Rhys ap Thomas, in a rich form of late Perpendicular architecture; it proclaims by its style that it was erected during the reign of one of the Tudors. It must have been a structure of great magnificence, though now reduced to a mere shell.” This wing was evidently built without any view to defence, though placed in connection with the towers at either end rising out of the water. On the whole, it is not in so good a condition as Manorbeer, and is not so well looked after or so tenderly “preserved.” The party inspected also, under the guidance of the Vicar, Carew Church, and were shown the remains of a small disused chapel, near at hand. Mr. Loftus Brock here offered a few remarks on the details of both these interesting structures, the church having, unlike the rest of those the party had lately visited, a Perpendicular tower. Near the Carew Arms Hotel the party were shown an old wayside cross, the inscription on which, in Runic characters, has long defied the efforts of scientific inquirers. Mr. E. Laws, however, announced that it had been lately found to be a brief record of the name of the person who erected it, and that it belonged to a date when the Welsh were in close contact with the Irish. He stated that the ornamentation of the cross, which is a megalith upwards of 12 ft. in height, is generally like that to be seen on the crosses in the Isle of Man and in Ireland, in spite of some local differences of detail. In the course of the afternoon the party, having been refreshed by their luncheon, went on to Upton Castle, where they were received by an Oxford professor of modern history, Mr. Henry Halford Vaughan, formerly fellow of Oriel College. This gentleman explained to them the details of the structure, and showed them his library. He also accompanied them to a disused church or chapel in his grounds not far from the castle, where Colonel Bramble showed and commented upon the effigy, in stone, of a member of the great Pembrokeshire family of Malefort or Mallefort. At the conclusion of their inspection of the antiquities and curiosities of Upton, the party drove across the country, along deep shady lanes, to Pembroke, where the train was waiting to take them back to Tenby in time for the evening meeting. On this evening the Mayor took the chair, and a paper was read by Mr. E. Loftus Brock, F.S.A., upon “The Historical Evidences of the Extent of the Ancient British Church in Wales.” Mr. E. Laws said that it would be more correct to call this Church Cwmric than British, and the discussion was continued until a late hour.
On Sunday the members of the Congress attended Divine service at the parish church at Tenby, where the rector, the Rev. G. Huntington, preached before them an eloquent sermon, most appropriate to the occasion, from the words of Jeremiah (vi. 16), “Stand ye in the old paths ... and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”[51]
In spite of a very wet morning on Monday, the members of the congress, to the number of nearly forty, proceeded, according to their programme, by special train to Pembroke, where Mr. E. Laws and Mr. Loftus Brock had promised to conduct them over the ruined fabric of the castle. Its site and exterior appearance need scarcely be described, so well are they known to tourists; but it may be well to say that as at Manorbeer there is no history, because there were no events in the existence of the castle, here the castle has a long and varied history, figuring in the early wars which ended in the reduction of Wales under the English yoke, and also in the Great Rebellion, when it was held for the King, and was captured by the Parliamentary leaders, Oliver Cromwell himself having a hand in its reduction. The castle stands on a rocky peninsula, which is formed by two creeks of Milford Haven, which wash it on the north and west. It thus occupies a very strong position, and though there is no actual proof of its having been occupied as a fortress by the Romans, yet there is every probability that such was the case. Soon after the Norman Conquest, however, it appears to have been fortified by Walter de Montgomery, and from that time down to the early part of the fifteenth century, when Henry VII. was born within its walls, it had a large share in the making of Welsh history. The castle, it is needless to add, though well fortified by nature, was still more strongly fortified by art, and, indeed, was at one time regarded as almost impregnable. The outer defence consisted of a double entrance, the inner one at right angles to the former, in front of which was a drawbridge and a moat, now no longer in existence. The first, or outer court, by far the larger of the two, was divided from the inner court or “bailey” by a wall, which can still be traced. Near the juncture of the two stands the Norman keep, which, unlike that of most similar structures, is circular instead of square. It is upwards of 70 ft. in height, and its walls at the base are nearly 17 ft. thick; it has a stone roof or covering of a conical or dome-like shape, reminding the visitor of the tower at the north-west angle of Windsor Castle. It is of five stages, and a stone staircase in the wall led up to the “first floor apartments;” but, alas! the floors are all gone. Some fine, semi-Norman windows still remain in situ. In the lower “bailey” is the old castle well, and near it a sally-port, which would stand the besieged in good stead in case of being reduced to their last shift within the walls. Near the central keep are the remains of the walls of other large apartments, but their actual use is uncertain, and the archæologists could throw little or no light upon them. Not far to the east are the walls of what once was a magnificent banqueting-hall, but there the devastation wrought by the hand of time is so extensive that it is almost impossible to decide which was the upper end of it, and where were the servants’ seats and the entrance to the buttery and the kitchen. As for the chapel, two chambers were shown to the members of the congress, but so many objections were found to each that they were inclined to believe that it could never be found except by farther excavations. The company, in spite of the drenching rain, were able to “walk round the battlements and tell the towers thereof,” and to inspect the entrances of the dungeons and of the large cavity in the northern wall known as “The Wogan”—a place which, it is thought, may have served as a second sally-port, though others think that it was the receptacle of a second well. Before leaving the party were shown by Mr. E. Laws some of Oliver Cromwell’s cannon-balls of stone, which he was forced to have made on the spot in great haste in order to carry on the siege, as his store of ammunition which he had intended to use against the castle had been sunk by a storm in the depths of the Bristol Channel. They were also shown the chamber in which, if the local tradition is to be believed, Henry of Richmond, afterwards King Henry VII., was born. Returning to the principal entrance, the party assembled in the room above the gateway to hear from Mr. Loftus Brock a short description of the fabric, its history and archæology; and Mr. Brock, on behalf of the members, tendered his best thanks to Mr. Cobb and to the local committee for the care which they have bestowed on the preservation of the fabric from further decay. Leaving the castle the party then walked round the outer walls by the side of the river, and so made their way across the bridge to Monkton. Here they had before them a great treat, for they saw together, under a single roof, the strange commixture of a parish church with a monastic priory chapel, the latter having been added to the former by the Benedictine monks when they were removed thither from the castle scarcely a century after the Norman Conquest. It appears that they divided the two structures, which appeared respectively as a nave and a chancel, by a wall, which still remains in situ, at once separating and connecting them. The monastic church is of the Decorated style, with an east window not unlike one of the windows at Tintern Abbey. Close by it, and running parallel to it on the north, is the Lady-chapel, of about the same date. These are both now roofless, but it is hoped that the former may, ere long, be turned to good account, and be restored so as to form a chancel to the nave, which alone now serves as the parochial church. The chief obstacle to this is the wall built across them at their juncture, and which is said to be “too good to destroy and yet too bad to keep.” Possibly, as suggested by Mr. Brock, the upper part of it might be removed, and the lower part pierced, so as to form a sort of light screen which shall offer no impediment to the voice. On leaving the church and chapels the party were conducted over the scanty remains of the old monastic buildings, which are still distinctly traceable in the field to the north. They afterwards paid a hasty visit to the vicarage-house, which was once, they were told, the prior’s residence, and which has every appearance of having once been fortified. In its basement is a lofty, vaulted chamber, above which is a fine dining-hall, with its buttery-hatch as complete as it was four centuries ago.
As soon as luncheon, of which they partook at an inn in the town, was over, the whole party returned by special train to Tenby in time for the concluding meeting, which was held in the Town-hall, and was presided over by the Mayor. Here Mr. De Gray Birch read an interesting historical paper upon the Charters of Tenby, which he showed was variously spelt from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. He said that, as compared with those of other towns, the Charters of Tenby were both early and curious, and, though they were not in so bad a state as many others, they had suffered severely from neglect and from injudicious repairs, by exposure to damp, and by the absence of light and fresh air. Their value to the Town, he added, was incalculable, and their loss or further decay would be equally to be regretted. Votes of thanks were passed to the Mayor, to Mr. Edward Laws, to the Rector of Tenby, to the readers of papers, and to the various other gentlemen who had assisted in forwarding the interests and success of the congress, which then broke up, so far as Tenby was concerned; the archæologists intending to leave early on Tuesday for Haverfordwest and St. David’s, where they would examine the cathedral and the old episcopal palace, under the guidance of the Bishop and the Dean. An account of this portion of the proceedings will appear in our next number.
PROVINCIAL.
Bucks Archæological Society.—On August 11, the members of the above Society visited Buckingham, Maid’s Moreton, and Stowe House, making the Buckingham district the point for the annual excursion. The Vicar of Buckingham read a paper on the history of the Parish Church. Castle House was then inspected, the residence of Major Hearn, who gave a description of the place. The company then proceeded to Maid’s Moreton, where the church was the object of the visit, and at which place the pages of the parish register were searched with much interest. On the arrival at Stowe House the Duke of Buckingham received the company, amounting to 150 visitors. After luncheon, his Grace read a paper on the history of the place. Some interesting points in Stowe Gardens were visited, but time would not permit of a lengthened survey of the place. The annual meeting of the Society was afterwards held. The Society promises more animation in future.
Cambrian Archæological Association.—The thirty-ninth annual Congress of this Association began on Monday, August 18, at Bala, under the presidency of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. The report was adopted. On Tuesday an excursion was made to Castell Carndochan, Caergai, and Llannwchllyn Church. At the first-named place the Rev. W. Hughes, the local secretary, read a paper in which he referred to the leading objects of the day’s excursion. “Llannwchllyn,” he remarked, “was derived from its position above Bala Lake: Llan-nwch-y-Llyn, ‘the church above the lake.’ ” In early times, he said, the word “Llan” was not only applied to churches, but it also signified the spot surrounding the church. The existence to these days of so many Llans bearing the names of Welsh saints, such as Llandudno, Llandewi, Llandaff, and Llandrinio, showed the independence of the early British Church of the Church of Rome, and that she had a noble army of saints and martyrs to boast of long before Augustine came over from Rome, A.D. 596, to preach the Gospel to the pagan Saxon. The parish of Llannwchllyn was one of much archæological interest, not the least point in which was that the historical River Dee rose in it under the hill called Duallt, and not at Pantgwn, as was sometimes supposed. Llannwchllyn Church was dedicated to St. Duniol, and besides the cathedral of Bangor and the parish church of Hawarden, is the only church in North Wales that bears the name of the first Bishop of Bangor. The old church was taken down in 1872, and was “restored” at a cost of about £17,000. Plas Rhiwaedog, an old restored palace of Owen Tudor, the head of the six tribes of North Wales, was visited on the way back to Bala. It is now the property of Mr. Price of Rhiwlas, who has retained in it the old oak furniture and some of the oak mantelpieces, on one of which is the date 1699. On the porch is an inscription, with the date 1664. At the evening meeting, held in the County-hall, Bala, the Rev. Canon Thomas gave a résumé of the investigations of the day, and read a paper descriptive of Merionethshire 600 years ago. Mr. R. Pryce Jones (Ruthin) read portions of a paper giving a history of Rhiwaedog, the palace of Owen Tudor as it has been called, in which he traced the pedigree of the resident family from 60 B.C., when the head was called Beli Mawr, King of the Britons, and from whom Billingsgate was named, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, down to Colonel Edward Evans-Lloyd of Moel-y-Garhedd, the present descendant of the family.—Wednesday’s excursion was through the Vale of Llangollen, where the party inspected another Roman mound, Tommen-y-Mur, near Maentwrog-road, and then other objects between Maentwrog-road Railway-station and Dolgelly, the route between these two places being by road. The church at Llanelltyd, with its inscribed stone, Cymmer Abbey, and Dolgelly Church were also visited.—The excursion on Thursday was eastward among the Berwyn mountains, and the antiquities in the district around Llangollen were also examined. After visiting Llantysilio Church, the travellers reached Valle Crucis Abbey. The stone fragments have been carefully collected and placed as nearly in their original positions as practicable on the carefully-shaven turf which now takes the place of the paved floor of the abbey. In the restoration of the chapter-house a curious plan was adopted for preserving a memorial which is believed to have no proper connection with the abbey itself. This a monumental slab on which the vine, Maltese cross, &c., are carved, which is built into the south wall over the central one of three recesses, and bears the following inscription: HIC IACET TARVRVET. The rest of the inscription appears to have been broken off with a portion of the stone in order to make it fit into the recess. This stone had been used as a mantelpiece in a neighbouring house, but why it was removed to its present position is unexplained. As to the foundation of the abbey, doubt is still entertained among archæologists. Dugdale, on the authority of Leland, ascribes it to Madoc ap Griffith Maylor, Prince of Powys, assumably about 1200. Looking from the west front towards the north is to be seen, a few hundred yards away in a clump of trees on a slight mound, a broken pillar, which has been the source of much controversy. This is Elisey’s pillar, and is evidently of the remotest antiquity, though bearing at present a modern inscription. The wear and tear of many centuries has almost obliterated the original inscription, but traces of letters are still to be detected. There is evidence that the cross was certainly in existence before the foundation of the abbey, which is spoken of as being “near the cross.” Castell Dinas Bran, which is locally known as “Crow Castle,” was next visited. It stands on the summit of a conical hill 600 ft. high, and its broken walls and jagged turrets, as seen from below, form a striking feature in the landscape. It must have been impregnable against any attack when fortified in the days of rude warfare. Its early history is somewhat obscure. It was in 1200 the residence of Madoc ap Griffith, the founder of Valle Crucis, from which it is distant only two or three miles. Madoc, it appears, became a traitor to his king, and when he afterwards gave in his submission it was readily accepted, for the probable reason that the Sovereign was aware of the impregnability of his castle, to which he had retired. Llangollen Church has recently been “restored.”—The excursion on Friday was in the direction of Corwen. Commencing at Llangar Church, a short drive from Bala, an inscribed stone in the town was noticed. It bore the inscription Cavoseniagii, but its interpretation is a matter of controversy. Next came Tomen-y-Castell, another of those mounds common in the district; in this case it appears to have been placed as a means of defence and observation on an important part of the Roman road leading from Caergai towards Deva (Chester). Caer Creini was next visited—a fine stone-breasted outwork. At Rhug Chapel attention was called to some good carving in the roof. Caer Drewyn is a large fort with stone ramparts. Corwen Church was then reached. This is another restored church, but here a fine effigy of a former priest is untouched. Llangan Church, also restored, has a good screen and a portion of a pastoral staff, ascribed to the founder, Dorfel Gadarn. Caerbont was next visited. This is mentioned by Mr. Hartshorne as belonging to the type of forts of the dry stone-walling period. In the evening the concluding meeting was held at the County-hall, Bala, when the Rev. Canon Thomas read a paper on the “Ecclesiastical History of Merionethshire.”—A small local museum of antiquities was formed during the week at the Calvinistic Methodists’ College, Bala. It contained some numismatic specimens and a few rare books, among them poems of Phillipe and Catherine ap Howell. A curious almsbox was shown, so contrived that an arrangement of teeth prevents the abstraction of coins placed therein. Some painted iron crosses, said to be from Cymmer Abbey, were also shown, the date said to be Henry VIII., but bearing the appearance of more modern origin.
Somerset Archæological Society.—The annual meeting of this society took place on August 26 and two following days, in the neighbourhood of Shepton Mallet, Lord Carlingford, as president-elect, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and Mr. E. A. Freeman taking part in the proceedings. Lord Carlingford, in his inaugural address, said it was most interesting to work their way through ages to the time when the oolite of Doulting was converted into the Abbey of Glastonbury and the Cathedral of Wells, and also into those humbler and charming sacred edifices which stood around them. He greatly sympathised with an eminent architect who at a meeting of the Archæological Institute last year said in regard to church restoration that the good which had been done had been mixed up with an amount of evil and destruction. The effort to bring about restoration to some architectural style or pattern selected by the restorer had led to much useless and mischievous change and destruction. The true word was not restoration, but preservation, and that idea ought to be present to the mind of everyone dealing with an ancient building. As a preventive there should be created and fostered an historic sense, an historic feeling in these matters. He knew no other safeguard, except that of the sense of respect and reverence and tenderness for the work of their forefathers—the desire that not only the years of their own lives, but the generations of men should be bound each to each by natural ties. The members afterwards examined the parish church of Shepton Mallet, and then proceeded to Doulting, where they inspected the quarries, the old tithe-barn and church, and St. Aldhelm’s Well, and on the return journey made a halt at Beacon Hill, where a mound on the summit, crowned by a rough upright stone, was the object of considerable curiosity. The Rev. H. M. Scarth said that such mounds were frequently found near Roman roads. At the evening meeting the following papers were read: “The Malet Family,” by Mr. Arthur Malet; “The Prebendary of Dinder,” by Canon Church; and “Extracts from Wills Relating to the County of Somerset,” by Mr. A. J. Monday.—On the second day an excursion was made to Leigh-on-Mendip, Mells, and Kilsmersdon, the churches and other objects of interest at each place being duly examined and commented upon. In the evening Mr. Scarth read a paper on “Roman Cookery;” among the other papers read were: “The Romans in Bath,” “Ham Hill,” and “The Penn Pits.”—The concluding day was devoted to Radstock. Mr. E. Green, the hon. secretary, read some notes which had been prepared by Mr. McMurtrie, on the Roman road through Somerset, which in its course from Bath to Ilchester passed through the parish of Radstock. The church, with its Norman font and early porch, was afterwards visited; the party also inspected the Fosse-road, here seen exactly as used and left by the Romans, a section having been cut through, and the surface cleared.—A museum of local antiquities, lent for the occasion, and arranged by Mr. W. Bidgood, the honorary secretary of the society, was open during the Congress.
Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society.—The members of the above Society held their annual meeting at Shaftesbury on August 6, 7, and 8. At the afternoon meeting on the 6th, the President, Mr. Nevil Story-Maskelyne, M.P., presented to the Hon. Secretary, Rev. A. C. Smith, an album, enclosed in a case of woods from Syria and Egypt, in recognition of his long-continued services to the Society; and especially in the matter of his recent great work, “An Archæological Map of the Hundred Square Miles around Abury.” Some historical notes on the River Thames were followed by a paper on “Shaftesbury, or Shaston,” written some years ago by a former rector, and now read by Rev. J. B. Wilkinson. The foundation of the fortified abbey by Alfred; the final burial in state of Edward the Martyr; the death of Cnut; the imprisonment of Elizabeth, wife of Robert Bruce, here were mentioned, as also the ancient custom of the Mayor annually visiting the wells below the town with a decked broom, a calf’s head, loaves, &c. After the annual dinner, a conversazione was held in the Town-hall. Canon Jackson, F.S.A., read a paper on “Cranbourne Chace.” Its boundaries extended from Shaftesbury to Salisbury, and to Ringwood, the forest being divided into certain “walks.” The history of the Chace, and the various law-suits occurring from the time of John to its disestablishment, were mentioned, and the habits of the deer-stealers, both of high and low birth, described minutely and illustrated by contemporary accounts, sketches, weapons, &c., from Rushmore. On Thursday the Society visited the circular encampment called Castle Rings, on the edge of the high land, overlooking the vale of Wardour, and close by a half-excavated barrow, of large size, was inspected. Tisbury Church was next visited. Here the curious low western porch, the fine roof of the nave, and the later (restored) roofs of the aisles, the marks of the originally very low roof of the south aisle, and the one remaining window, and the east window, with inserted tracery, attributed to Sir Christopher Wren, were all carefully inspected. At the rectory were exhibited several objects of interest, notably one of the few folios of Shakespeare of 1625, and a large and beautiful cup of silver gilt, given to Lord Boteler by Elizabeth, for his kindness to her in her retirement. The beautiful site of (the so-called) Fonthill Abbey—that ephemeral erection of the last century, and the splendid collection of enamels, &c., in the mansion of Mr. A. Morrison, were enjoyed on the way to East Knoyle, where Mr. A. Seymour had provided luncheon for the party, and Mrs. Seymour had laid out many pieces of rare and valuable embroideries. At Pytt House, Mr. V. F. Benett-Stanford exhibited several autograph letters from Charles I. to his “Dear Nephew” (Rupert), found amongst papers in the lumber room, probably preserved by Prince Rupert’s secretary. The party then passed on to Hatch House, which has been lately repaired. Wardour Castle was thrown open by Lord Arundel, who in person conducted his guests round the rooms, pointing out such objects of interest as the peculiar “Hagar and Ishmael,” by Barteli; the “Tobit,” by Gerhard Douw; and the two full-length Reynolds’; the portrait of the lady who defended the castle against the Parliamentary army; the so-called Glastonbury cup—a wooden-covered flagon, carved with the twelve apostles under round arches, probably no older than the Renaissance. A hasty inspection of the fine ruin of the original castle brought this expedition to a close. In the evening “Local Geology” was expounded by the Rev. T. Perkins, who also threw open his observatory; and a paper on “Gnostic Amulets” was read by Rev. W. F. Short, who exhibited a considerable variety of antique seals, gems, &c. The last expedition of the Society took them to Tollard-Royal Church. Here the ownership of arms upon the shield of a knight was the subject of much controversy. General Pitt-Rivers led the way to the Larmer Tree, a spot of much historic importance as the “mere” of three parishes and two counties, and a place of assembly from prehistoric times down to the disafforesting of Cranbourne Chace. The museum at Farnham, made by General Pitt-Rivers for the instruction of his agricultural neighbours, is a model of what such collections should be in clearness of arrangement and labelling. The General met the party at a group of barrows in Handley Wood, and explained his excavations there; he then entertained the Society at Rushmore Lodge; gave an interesting and well-illustrated lecture on the various excavations of barrows, pits, and camps, which he has carried out; and, finally, pointed out the remarkable features of the great Winklebury Camp, with the square pit-dwelling and the neighbouring Saxon Cemetery that he had discovered and excavated. With this the meeting closed.
