Cardiganshire in United Kingdom
Cardiganshire (Ceredigion, Sîr Aberteifi), a county of South Wales, bounded N. by Merioneth, E. by Montgomery, Radnor and Brecon, S. by Carmarthen and Pembroke, and W. by Cardigan Bay of the Irish Sea. It has an area of 688 sq. m., so that it ranks fifth in size of the Welsh countries. The whole of Cardiganshire is hilly or undulating, with the exception of the great bogs of Borth and Tregaron, but the mountains generally have little grandeur in their character; Plinlimmon itself, on the boundary of the county with Montgomeryshire, in spite of its elevation of 2463 ft., being singularly deficient in boldness of outline.
Administration: History
The area of the administrative county is 443,071 acres. The municipal boroughs are Aberystwyth (pop. 8013), Cardigan (3511) and Lampeter (1722). Aberaeron and New Quay are urban districts. Other towns are Tregaron (1509), an ancient but decayed market-town in a wild boggy district; Aberaeron (1331), a small seaport, and Llandyssul (2801,) a rising place on the Teifi with woollen factories. In modern times several small watering-places have sprung up on the coast, notably at Borth, New Quay, Tresaith, Aberporth and Gwbert. Quarter sessions are held at Lampeter, and here also are held the assizes for the county, which lies in the South Wales circuit. The county returns one member of parliament, and has no parliamentary borough. Ecclesiastically it lies wholly in the diocese of St David’s, and contains sixty-six parishes.
History
In spite of its poverty and sparse population, Cardiganshire has never ceased to play a prominent part in all Welsh political, literary and educational movements. The early history of the district is obscure, but at the time of the Roman invasion it was tenanted by the Dimetae, a Celtic tribe, within whose limits was comprised the greater portion of the south-west of Wales. After the departure of the Romans, the whole basin of the Teifi eventually fell into the power of Ceredig, son of Cunedda Wledig of North Wales; and the district, peopled with his subjects and nearly co-extensive with the existing shire, obtained the name of Ceredigion, later corrupted into Cardigan. During the 5th and 6th centuries Ceredigion was largely civilized by Celtic missionaries, notably by St David and St Padarn, the latter of whom founded a bishopric at Llanbadarn Fawr, which in the 8th century became merged in the see of St David’s.
Two important local traditions, evidently based on fact, are associated with this remote era:—the inundation of the Cantref-y-Gwaelod and the synod of Llanddewi Brefi. The Cantref-y-Gwaelod (the lowland Hundred), a large tract of flat pasture-land containing sixteen townships, and protected from the inroad of the sea by sluices, was suddenly submerged at an uncertain date about the year 500. The legend of its destruction declares that Seithenyn, the drunken keeper of the sluices, carelessly let in the waters of the bay, with the result that the land was lost for ever, and Prince Gwyddno and his son Elphin, with all their subjects, were forced to migrate to the wild region of Snowdon. This tale has ever been a favourite theme with Welsh bards, so that “the sigh of Gwyddno when the wave turned over his land” remains a familiar figure of speech throughout Wales. In support of this story it may be mentioned that there are indications of submerged dwellings and roads (e.g. the Sarn Cynfelin and Sarn Badrig) between the mouth of the Dovey and Cardigan Head.
The famous synod of Brefi, an historical fact clouded by miraculous details, probably took place early in the 6th century, when at a largely attended meeting of the Welsh clergy held at Brefi, near the source of the Teifi, St David’s eloquence for ever silenced the champions of the Pelagian heresy. In the 10th and 11th centuries the coast of Ceredigion suffered much from the inroads of the Danes, and in later times of the Normans and Flemings; but on the whole the native inhabitants seem to have maintained a successful resistance. By the close of the 11th century most of Ceredigion had been reduced by the Normans, and during the 12th and 13th centuries it formed a favourite battle ground between the Welsh princes and the English forces. By the Statutes of Rhuddlan (1284) Edward I. constituted Ceredigion out of the former principality of Wales a shire on the English model, dividing the new county into six hundreds and fixing the assizes at Carmarthen.
By the act of Union in the reign of Henry VIII., the boundaries of the county were subsequently enlarged to their present size by the addition of certain outlying portions of the Marches round Tregaron and Cardigan, and the assizes were assigned to the county town. During the rebellion of Owen Glendower in the opening years of the 15th century, the county was again disturbed, and Owen for a short time actually held a court in Aberystwyth Castle. In the year 1485, according to local tradition, Henry of Richmond marched through South Cardiganshire on his way to Bosworth Field, and he is stated to have raised recruits round Llanarth, where the old mansion of Wern, still standing, is pointed out as his halting-place on this occasion. Under Henry VIII. Cardiganshire was for the first time empowered to send a representative member to parliament, and under Mary the same privilege was extended to the boroughs.
During the Great Rebellion the county—which possessed at least three leading Parliamentarians in the persons of Sir John Vaughan, of Crosswood, afterwards chief justice of the common pleas; Sir Richard Pryse, of Gogerddan; and James Philipps, of Cardigan Priory—seems to have been less Royalist in its sympathies than other parts of Wales. At this time the castles of Cardigan and Aberystwyth, both held in the name of King Charles, were reduced to ruins by the Cromwellian army. In the 18th century the Methodist movement found great support in the county; in fact, Daniel Rowland (1713-1790), curate of Llangeitho, was one of the chief leaders of this important revival. The 19th century witnessed the foundation of two important educational centres in the county:—St David’s College at Lampeter (1827), and one of the three colleges of the university of Wales at Aberystwyth (1872). In the years 1842-1843 the county was much disturbed by the Rebecca Riots, during which a large number of turnpike gates were destroyed by local mobs. Forty-five years later it was affected by the Welsh agrarian agitation against payment of tithe, which produced some scenes of violence against the distraining police, especially in the district round Llangranog.
Chief amongst the county families of Cardigan is that of Lloyd, descendants of the powerful Cadifor ap Dinawal, lord of Castle Howell, in the 12th century. Certain branches of this family, such as the Lloyds of Millfield (Maes-y-felin), the Lloyds of Llanlyr and the Lloyds of Peterwell, are extinct, but others are still flourishing. The family of Vaughan of Crosswood, or Trawscoed (now represented by the earl of Lisburne), has held its family estates in the male line for many centuries. A representative in the female line of the ancient house of Pryse, long prominent in the annals of the county, still possesses the old family seat of Gogerddan. Other families worthy of mention are Lloyd of Bronwydd, Powell of Nanteos and Johnes of Hafod and Llanfair-Clydogau.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
Leave a Reply