BRITISH MOUNDS AT WELSHAMPTON.

SIR,-While it is undecided whether the mounds lately brought to light in Oxford, on the site of the Angel Hotel, are of British origin or not, it may, perhaps, be worth while to call attention to similar ones in this neighbourhood. These were noticed in Archæologia Cambrensis for July 1874, as being upon a Roman road at a point where it crosses the village of Welshampton (Salop). Of the two that were there formerly, one was removed in 1873 to make way for a new house. It was found to consist almost entirely of gravel, and its height was the same as that of the one still left, which may be roughly given as twelve feet above the road. There were no remains found of any kind. The present village of Welshampton is not on the original site, as the adjoining New-ton Mere and Old Hampton, not far distant, show. The earlier name of this ridge is probably preserved in an outlying street called the Bal-mur, with a Hol-mur a little further on. If the first of these words means the "wall of the high-place", the second will, perhaps, answer to the Northumbrian "Hole i' th' wall". There are no other traces of dwellings at this place as far as I am aware.

At the north end of Croes-mere, some two miles distant, there are a few stones, and a conformation of ground which closely resembles that of the Picts' houses in Orkney; also, near the village of Burlton (Salop), there are a succession of rings, which one might compare to the lower half of Picts' houses, extending to a considerable distance over old pasture, and throughout an enclosure which can be proved to have been forest for centuries, and is thought to be identical with a Domesday" silva" in that place. The hill that rises above these curious depressions, which seem to resemble those at Worlebury, near Weston-super-Mare, is called Pic Hill. As this word occurs in Bangor Isycoed, with a Tower Field close by, it would seem to indicate a Saxon tower so placed as to keep guard over a British village or town.

I remain, Sir, yours faithfully, Hanmer: Jan. 12th, 1877.

SKENFRITH CHURCH.

M. H. LEE.

SIR,-The altar-tomb on which Mr. Parker lectured at Skenfrith was that of John Philip Morgan of Y Wern, brother of Sir Richard Morgan of Blackbrook. He died 1557. The arms on the tomb are at head, quarterly, 1, 4, barry ... (of six, arg. az. ?) on six inescutcheons (sa. ?), a lion rampant (arg. ?),-doubtless Cecil of Allterynnis, or Baker of Abergavenny, a branch of the Cecils; 2, 3,... three castles triple towered ...; probably Howel of Caerleon, i. e., the arms assigned to the branch of the South Welsh royal family who held Caerleon in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

...

...

At the foot (?) is a shield ... on a chevron ...; between three spearheads, three roses leaved No colours distinguishable, but doubtless a d fferenced shield of Caradog Fraichfras, to denote his descent from Maenarch. Jones' Breconshire makes the family spring from Turberville, without reason I consider.

Yours very truly,

THOMAS WILLIAMS.

THE LLANWINIO STONE.

SIR, The unusual manner in which the reviewer of Hübner's Inscriptiones Brittania has thought proper to go out of his way to throw doubt on the existence of this relic, leaves me no option but again to quote the facts which I had the honour to communicate to. the Society of Antiquaries in the year 1867, and which were described in their volume of Proceedings for that year, at p. 446, accompanied by three illustrations.

It is there stated, on the authority of seven persons whose names and residences are there given,1 that it was discovered in 1846, at Llanwinio Carn, when making foundations for a new church; and the foreman who brought me the model from which the engraving was cat, assured me that they concurred in its accuracy. Why he did so, I know not; but he led me to understand that the original had been destroyed, perhaps to enhance the fee I should give him for his nicely executed model in oak. So the matter rested until Hübner's valuable work appeared, and the Annual Meeting of the Cambrian Archæological Association was notified to come off at Abergavenny in August last. This induced me to make further inquiries about the Llanwinio Stone, and I was rewarded by the information that the original had been secured by the late Mr. Ab. Adam, and removed to Middleton Hall, where, on going over, I found it stowed away against the wall of some outlying sheds. With the assistance of some labourers it was soon brought out to the light of day, and aided by the Revs. J. Lawrence and the Vicar of Llanon, careful rubbings (by the grass and black-lead processes) were made, and eventually exhibited in the Hall at Abergavenny. On that occasion I drew the particular attention of those archæologists who were partial to that class of antiquities, Messrs. Barnwell, Westwood, and Rhys, to these particular rubbings, and to my good. fortune in having rediscovered the original. To Professor Westwood I presented the set, duly certified with date, locality, etc., and amongst his valuable collection at Oxford they will doubtless remain. Whatever may be the difficulties in the way of making the Ogham and Latin versions of these inscriptions fit one another, I am only anxious about the fact of their bona fide existence; and though I might scornfully have answered the categorical questions at p. 246, "What has become of the stone? Does it still exist? If so, where ?"

The co. of Carmarthen erroneously printed as "Carnarvon".

By saying "Go and see," I have now, I trust, placed the truthfulness of the masons of Llanboidel beyond all dispute.

Swansea.

28 Oct. 1876.

GEO. GRANT FRANCIS, President of the Royal Institution of South Wales.

[We are glad to take this opportunity of doing justice to Mr. Grant Francis, as he feels himself aggrieved by the notice; but we would remind him that the review of which he complains was written before the Abergavenny Meeting, and whilst the whereabouts of the stone was still enshrouded in mystery, and the original had not been seen probably even by himself.-EDITOR.]

Miscellaneous Notices.

TENBY. PROPOSED MUSEUM.-We are glad to be able to state that an active movement is being made to establish at Tenby a local Museum for the safe deposit and exhibition of objects of interest found in the neighbourhood. The number of such objects, both natural and artificial, and the multitude of visitors, combine two elements which should secure it a permanent interest that might, in the absence of either one, be wanting. "The Museum is to be essentially local, i.e., to be confined strictly to objects found in Pembrokeshire, a preference being given to those found in the immediate neighbourhood." And it is intended to contain sea and land shells, fossils, minerals, antiquities, and any other objects of real interest. But every specimen will be submitted to competent judges before it is admitted, and care will be taken to prevent its becoming in any sense a repository for rubbish or valueless objects. The following gentlemen have undertaken the charge of the collections: Rev. C. M. Phelps, shells and birds' eggs; Mr. F. Walker, zoology; Mr. E. Laws, prehistoric antiquities; Dr. Lock, botany; and Mr. J. Romilly Allen, geology and mineralogy. Such collections, scientifically arranged so as to illustrate the local history, will be of much more than a passing interest. They will possess a high educational value, and we heartily wish the movement the success it deserves. We would suggest further that it should contain a collection of all books and pamphlets bearing on the history and topography of the county, and copies of all plans and drawings that have at any time been published of its historical buildings and other remains. The sum required to carry it out is so exceedingly modest that there ought to be no doubt of its establishment; and we are glad to know that the Corporation have promised an annual subscription of £10 towards its expenses.

We have received the prospectus of a proposed Shropshire Archaological Society, to be formed on the basis of the Spalding Club,

Powys-Land Club, and other well known Societies, and to have for its object the printing, etc., of the historical, ecclesiastical, genealogical, topographical, geological, and literary remains of Shropshire. These headings include such subjects as the following:-1. Records of monastic remains, parochial churches and chapels, castles and mansions, etc., including notices of tombs, inscriptions, furniture, seals, stained glass, etc., with such illustrations as may be deemed desirable. 2. Materials for a parochial history of Salop, with extracts relating to manors, manorial customs, tenures, etc. 3. The natural history, flora, and geology, of the district. 4. The folk-lore, customs, traditions, ballads, etc., of the county. 5. Notices, plans, and surveys, of the British and Roman roads, by-ways, and remains. 6. Extracts from the Herald's Visitation of Salop, and reports of Shropshire MSS., whether in public or private hands. 7. Deeds, charters, and other contents of muniment rooms, with facsimiles of seals, etc. 8. Autograph letters, civil war tracts, and other documents relating to the civil war, broadsides, election and other squibs, etc. 9. Notices of distinguished worthies, with pedigrees of Shropshire families. 10. The antiquities generally of the district. It might also be made the medium in which reports of the various geological, scientific, or field-clubs in the county could be recorded." Papers on Shropshire subjects, read at club-meetings, would also find an appropriate place in the volumes of the Society. Other objects might easily be named, and which will, no doubt, occur to the reader. Few counties possess materials of more varied interest, or in greater abundance, than those which this Society proposes to handle, and we believe there is no lack of willing and able writers to do them justice. Mr. Eyton's invaluable work on the early history of the county makes the proposed movement both easier and more necessary, and we look forward with interest to any further light that it may have to throw on the history of the Marches and the struggles of the border-land. Our own Association, indeed, may regard with no little satisfaction these its younger sisters,-may we not rather say children ?-of Powys-land and Shropshire; and it welcomes with a cordial greeting a movement whose object is to illustrate the history of the county which has the ancient Pengwern for its capital.

THE interesting old church of Llangurig, in Montgomeryshire, the history of which parish has been so well told by Mr. Edward Hamer and Mr. H. W. Lloyd, is, we are glad to hear, about to be rebuilt by Sir Gilbert Scott at the sole cost of our valued contributor, Mr. J. Y. W. Lloyd of Clochfaen, who has given £3,000 for that object. The new church is to be in the Decorated style, and will be a pious memorial of a long line of ancestors who lie buried beneath its shadow.

THE Memoir of the Life and Times of Bishop Morgan (the translator of the Bible into Welsh, 1588), written by Mr. T. W. Hancock,

and now ready for the press, will contain, among other subjects of great interest, an English translation of Morgan's Latin Epistle to Queen Elizabeth, by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone; and a Welsh translation of the same by the Rev. Evan Evans (Ieuan Brydydd Hir), from a MS. in the British Museum; a Synopsis of Morgan's own Revision of his Translation as prepared by him for a second issue; the Act, 5th Elizabeth, 1562-3, calling for a translation of the Scriptures for Wales, now fully printed verbatim from the Tower Rolls; the Patent granted to William Salesbury and John Waley, "for vii yeres, to imprint the Byble in the Walshe or Brittishe tonge", etc.

The work will be illustrated by drawings and sketches by the author, and by photographs, and the price will probably not exceed 10s. Mr. Hancock has taken great pains in searching State Papers and MSS. in public and private libraries, and the result has been the acquisition of fresh light upon the subject. To facilitate and hasten the publication, subscribers should send their names to the author, at Llanrhaiadr, Oswestry.

A Parochial Account of Llanidloes, by Edward Hamer, profusely illustrated, is being issued in Parts by Mr. J. H. Mills of Llanidloes. The work is a reprint of papers from the Montgomeryshire Collections, and is divided into chapters on the topography and natural productions of the parish, the language and industries of the inhabitants, and the archæology, ecclesiology, and municipal history, of the place. The price is 58. a Part, and the issue limited to one hundred copies.

The Ogam Inscribed Monuments of the Gaedhil is the title of a work left in manuscript by the late Richard Rolt Brash, M.R.I.A., F.S.A. Scot, about to be published by his widow. Its scope is indicated by the following extracts from his prospectus: "There is no country in Europe which presents so rich a field for the investigations of the antiquary as Ireland. Placed in the remote west of Europe, preserved for ages from those influences, both of war and civilisation, which altered the entire social relations of the Continent, she became the last retreat of those prehistoric races who in long past ages inhabited it. We have abundant evidence that successive tribes, driven towards the Atlantic by more recent migrations from the East, found a refuge in this remote isle. In attestation of which we find that every district teems with the military, religious, and sepulchral monuments of prehistoric peoples, most of which are the subjects of weird traditions still preserved by the peasantry, being even yet regarded with that jealous veneration inherent in the Celtic race. Foremost in interest amongst these megalithic remains stand her Ogam inscribed pillar-stones, bearing the sepulchral legends of a race of her early colonists in such archaic characters as at once place them amongst the most ancient written records known.