Held at:	Private collection
Reference:	TG Archive
Source:	Guest Contribution
Title:	Perambulation of the Boundaries of the Manor of Craswall
Place name:	Craswall
Date:	1847

Description:

This transcript is extracted from the Olchon Development Project local history report

 

PERAMBULATION OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MANOR OF CRASWALL.

14th and 15th October 1847.

"Presentments of the Jury and Minutes taken on the perambulation of the Boundary.

Manor of Craswall.

"The Court Leet with the Court Baron and Court of Survey of Philip Penry Williams Esquire Lord of the said Manor held at the Abbey House in and for the said Manor and thence adjourned to the Bulls Head in the occupation of David Jenkins on Friday the fifteenth day of October in the year of our Lord 1847 before Henry Maybery Gentleman Steward of the said Manor.

(signed)        Henry Maybery Steward

Names of the Jury: David Watkins, Abbey, William Prosser, David Watkins, John Jenkins, Thomas Gane, John Jones, James Jenkins, George Jones, Thomas Munkley, John Morgan, David Jenkins, George Jenkins.

"We present as follows.

 That the Manor of Craswall was perambulated and surveyed on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of October in the Year of our Lord God One thousand eight hundred and forty seven and that by what appears to us upon the inspection and perusal of the Ancient Court Rolls and Records belonging to the said Manor and by the information of several ancient Inhabitants of the said Manor and of several other persons sworn to give evidence upon this occasion we find the boundaries and limits of this Manor of Craswall begin at a Spring or Well in a field or close formerly belonging to one John Rogers Gentleman and since to Mrs Chambers the Widow of Lewis Chambers Gent and now of a Mr Chambers of Canon Froome in the County of Hereford arising under or near unto a certain Tump of Mount called Talvedwen upon a Common there called Keven Bach where a Meer Stone now stands thence Northward into a Road or Highway there leading from the Town of Hay in the County of Brecon to Longtown in the County of Hereford and continuing such road for about the space of Five furlongs and a Half to a Meer Stone at a Crossway there called Crosewalter being the Meer Stone dividing the same Manor from the Lordships of Lord Abergavenny and the late Walter Jeffreys Esq thence turning South West along the Roadway there leading from Dorson towards the Black Mountain to a place there called Bwlch Crosewalter and continuing the same Road to a Meer Stone erected near the Wall or Fence dividing Park-y-Meirch from the said Common, thence pointing Westward to an Ancient Meer Stone erected in the lands formerly belonging to Mary Andrews since in the possession of Walter Prosser aftwards of Thomas Prosser and now belonging to Mr Thomas Watkins from thence in a Strait Line to another Meer Stone erected under a Birch Tree in the Hedge deviding lands formerly of Sir George Cornewall now of the said Thomas Watkins called the Birches from Park-y­ Meirch aforesaid from thence along the Fence dividing the same lands excluding the said Mr Thomas Watkins' Birches thence through the lands formerly of Hugh Russel Gent and now of Mr Sparkes to a place called Russell's Old House exclusive now Mr Sparkes, thence over Birches Dingle and continuing along a Ditch and Bank Westward to the Eskirn Dingle South West dividing the Counties of Hereford and Brecon and also dividing this Manor of Craswall from the Lordship of Hay belonging to Jospeh Bailey Esquire M.P. to a Meer Stone on the mountain near the Top of such Dingle and from thence to another Meer Stone or Rock on the Brow of the Hill there called Y Garreg Lwyd and from thence in a Strait Line to another Meer Stone upon the Top of the same Hill and from thence turning Southward by the Fall of Water to a Rock upon a place called Troyn-y-Llech and from thence along the Top of the same Hill to an Ancient Meer Stone there, and thence continuing the Top of the Hill to another Meer Stone at a placed called Pen-y-wain Ddw fwn and thence descending and Crossing the Dingle there to a Meer Stone on Wayn fach and from thence to the White Stone on Creebarth otherwise Crib-y-Garth dividing the said Manor of Craswall from the Lordship of Olchon and from thence turning Northward in a Strait Line down the Mountain called Forrest Hean to a Meer Stone at the Bottom thereof called Jacob's Tump and from thence into and through the respective lands of the Earl of Abergavenny and the Lord of this Manor formerly in the occupation of George Brentnall and now John Jones and thence crossing the Upper Road in Forest Heane to a Meer Stone in the Hedge on the lower side of the same Road through lands of the Lord of the Manor in the occupation of George Jenkins thence entering into a Road called Heol y Dre otherwise the Town Road and going down along that Road and then entering into a piece of Meadow ground formerly in the possession of the said George Brentnall but now of Mr David Watkins and thence crossing the Lower Road into a piece of Meadow Land formerly in the occupation of James Davies but now of Thomas Gane and continuing the fence dividing the said lands from lands of the Earl of Abergavenny in the occupation of William Gane to the Whore Stone thence crossing a Road called Seth Powell's Lane to the River Monnow and up the River Monnow to the entrance of a Rivulet or Brook called Lleche and up the same Brook to a Prill of water on the East Side of a Piece of land belonging to the Abbey Farm called Croft yr Ishin and continuing the same Prill of water upwards through lands now of the said Mr Chambers to the Aforesaid Spring or Well near the said Tump or Mount called Talvedwen."

This presentment was signed by the following:-

William Prosser                           David Watkins                     John Jenkins

Thomas Gane                     John Jones                        James Jenkins

George Jones                    Thomas Munkley                    John Morgan

David Jenkins                              George Jenkins                   David Watkins

Names of those who perambulated on the 14th & 15th days of October 1847 Thomas Davies Esq

Henry Maybery Steward

David Watkins the Abbey             aged     49

William Prosser                                           44

David Watkins                                             42

David Jenkins                                              55

George Jenkins                                           27

James Jenkins                                            20

Thomas Jenkins                                         16

Aaron Jenkins                                             15

Moses Jenkins                                            12

John Evans                                                 18

Thomas Gane                                             29

(signed)                   Henry Maybery - Steward.'

 

Interpretation of the Boundaries of the Manor of Craswall, by Martin Robson Riley:

a certain Tump or Mount called Talvedwen (Tal-y-Fedwen) = 'Birch Tree End'

[Note also TM/TA 64 — Cae Bedwyn (Cae Bedwen)= 'Field of a Birch Tree'] a Common there called Keven Bach (y Cefn Bach) = 'Small Ridge'

[This appears to be the present day Cefn Hill]

a Crossway there called Crosewalter (Croeswallter) = 'Walter's Cross(roads)'

a place there called Bwlch Crosewalter (Bwlch Croeswallter) = 'Walter's Cross Pass' [Note also TM/TA 60 — Cae Bwlch (Cae 'r Bwlch) = 'Pass Field']

Park-y-Meirch (Parc-y-Meirch)= 'Open land of the Stallions'

[This may possibly have been open land where wild ponies once roamed] the Eskirn Dingle (Nant yr Esgyrn) = 'Stream of Bones'

[This being the present day Esgyrn Brook]

Stone or Rock ... there called Y Garreg Lwyd (Y Garreg Lwyd) = 'The Grey Stone' [This appears to be at the top of Hay Bluff]

a place called Troyn-y-Llech (Trwyn-y-Llech) = 'Nose of the Flat Stone (hill)' [This is probably 'Nose' in the sense of a promontory, note also Llech-y-Lladron = 'Flat Stone (hill) of the Thieves']

a place called Pen-y-wain Ddw fwn (Pen-y-Waun Ddwfn)= 'Head of the Deep Heath' [This is probably 'Deep' in the sense of expansive and 'Head' meaning top]

on Wayn fach (y Waun Fach) = 'Small Heath'

on Creebarth otherwise Crib-y-Garth (Cribarth/Crib-y-Garth) = 'Steep Hill Crest’ or 'Crest of the Steep Hill'

[It may be that original name of Black Hill was (Y) Garth or (Y) Garth Du]
Mountain called Forrest Hean/in Forest Heane (Fforest Hen) = ' Ancient Hunting Ground'

[This appears to refer to the lower slopes of Black Hill as far as the River Monnow] a Road called Heol y Dre (Heol-y-Dref)= 'Lane of the Farmstead'

Rivulet or Brook called Lleche (Nant y Llechau) = 'Stream of the Flat Stones'

a Piece of land ... called Croft yr Ishin (Crofft yr Eisin) = 'Small Field of the Bran'

[Note also TM/TA 87- Bridge Meadow, which appears to be the same field]

From this record it would seem that Talvedwen was at the end of Keven Bach, and that this ridge formed part of what, according to the TM/TA, was a hill called Vagar/Vagw'r Hill (from Welsh y Fag-wyr meaning 'the prominent Stone Wall'). It may be that this was an alternative name for Mynydd Brith, at least on the southern side. It is also interesting to note that the name Vagar Hill still applies to the ridge on the other side of Escley Brook.

Another interesting point concerns the name Y Garreg Lwyd: according to Richard Morgan's A Study of^. Breconshire Place-Names the name Hay Bluff is a modem one, and bearing this in mind it may be that the original Welsh name for the Bluff was indeed Y Garreg Lwyd.

I am also intrigued by the name Troyn-y-Llech and the fact that modem maps show a Twyn Llech in a hollow with a waterfall to the west of where I believe Troyn-y-Llech to be. As the word Twyn means 'a hillock' it seems odd it should refer to such an area, and I am inclined to wonder whether a cartographic error has placed the name in the wrong place and altered its first element from Trwyn to Twyn.

 

 

Observations:

Photographs of the original documents were converted to searchable text using OCR