transferred to me by Roger Barnfton, efquire, who afterwards poffeffed the remainder of his fortunes.

In the chancel is a neat canotoph, in memory of Mary, mother to the late Edward Pennant, efquire. The infcription does this lady no more than justice:

She was prudent, pious, and charitable; in the midft of misfortunes fhewed

a great example of meeknefs and humility, of patience and refignation to
the will of God.'

With the best and most affectionate intent to improve the affairs of her fon, fhe engaged in a partnership with a smelting-company in the neighborhood. The company failed; and the creditors, in an unrelenting manner, purfued the good lady till fhe was obliged to take shelter in the isle of Man; where she died, on the 28th of February, 1750, aged forty, and was interred in the church at Douglas.

On the wall of the fouth aile is a fmall monument in memory of the Reverend Robert Edwards, a younger fon of Brynford, rector of Halkin, who died May 13th, 1694. Above the inscription are the arms of the house, viz. field vert, a cheveron between three wolves heads argent, erased, with the lion, the arms of Tudor Trevor, empaled. The firft denotes the descent of the family of Brynford from Ririd Vlaidd, lord of Penllyn, &c. killed in battle at the latter end of the reign of Henry II.

On the wall at the end of the fame aile, is a flat stone, with twelve quarterings, all faithfully copied from thofe over the chimney-piece in the dining-parlor at Mofyn. This belonged

to

MONUMENTS.

to the Moftyns of Calcoed, who, by virtue of their descent (of which more in another place) have a right to the first coat. The reft appertain only to Sir Roger Moftyn, especially thofe of Edwyn, gained by the marriage of Jevan with the heiress of Moftyn; those of Gloddaeth, gained by the heirefs of Gloddaeth; and those of Tregarnedd, gained by the heirefs of Ednefydd Vychan: to each of which none could have a right but the Moftyns of Moftyn, and their heirs. On one fide is a fhield argent, with four bars azure; in the first, three fhieldrakes; in the fecond and third, two; and in the fourth one: thefe evidently variations of the coat, (fee p. 30.) Beneath is Hodie mi, cras tibi. On the other fide, beneath the arms of Philip Phycdan, is Virtus femper vivit.

THE fame errors reign in the arms of Thomas Moftyn, of Stokyn. They are almost the fame with the preceding: the date is 1658. I shall not repeat here what I have faid at p. 186, of the poffeffors of Stokyn.

On a pillar in the north aile are the very fame arms over the feat of the Williams's of Trellyniau, with this motto:

THE arms of Trellyniau are thofe of Idnerth, lord of Maefbrook, a boar's head in chief, on the arms of Edwyn, lord of Tegengl. Probably the pillar and the feat had been transferred to the Williams's by fome defcendant from the houfe of. Tudor Trevor; perhaps a Moftyn of Hen-Blás, in Brynford, now the property of Sir Roger Moftyn.

A FOURTH flat ftone, fmaller than the preceding, is placed in the wall of the north aile: on it is infcribed the following epitaph:

Refurrectio mea XTUS,

Hic jacet corpus Johannis Pennant, de Holywell, Armigeri; que obiit

xxx. die Augufti, 1623.

JOHN PENNANT was fecond in descent from Nicholas Pennant, laft abbot of Bafingwerk; and was married to Margaret, daughter of Hugh Moftyn, younger fon of Pyers Moftyn, of Trelacre. His arms are the three shieldrakes quarterly with those of Sir Robert Pounderling, conftable of Desert castle, and of Sir Griffith Llwyd, mentioned before at p. 31. He was great-grand-father to Mary Pennant, who conveyed into our house the Holywell and Merton Abbot eftates, by her marriage with David Pennant of Bychton.

IN rebuilding the church was found the headlefs figure of a priest, in his facerdotal habit, and with a chalice in his hand. He is fuppofed to have been Thomas, second son of Thomas ap David, abbot of Bafingwerk; whom I find in the Bagillt pedegree to have been vicar of Holywell.

THE steeple is plain and square, very strongly built, but without any mark to denote the time of its being built.

THE church-yard is the worst in the whole diocefe. A fmall part is a gentle flope, but the greater almoft precipitous; fo that after any continuance of wet weather, a fall may happen productive of the most indecent and horrible fpectacles.

THE number of inhabitants in this parish may be from 7 to 8000. There are about 1000 houses in the whole parish, of

CHURCH-YARD.

NUMBER OF
PEOPLE.

INCREASE.

which upwards of 400 are in the town. Greenfield contains about 177 houses. This is the township which has received the greatest increase, by reason of the sudden and vast acceffion of inhabitants, by reason of the manufactures which fettled here nearly at the fame time. In thefe evil days about twenty of the houses are empty.

THE increase of inhabitants may be collected from the following abstract from the Holywell registers. Let it be observed, that the number allowed to each houfe is greater than common, from the confideration that in manufacturing places the number of poor employed in them are crowded into far lefs fpace than in any other towns.

POORS RATES.

IN 1721.

IN bishop Tanner's MS. notes on the diocese of St. Asaph, prefented to me by my respected friend the late Reverend Doctor William Wynne, I find that in the year 1686 the number of families was 274, of which 41 were recufants.

IN refpect to the poors rate, I have a very curious memorandum, extracted out of the old veftry-book of the parish, by Mr. Samuel Small, who, with his ufual friendship, communicated it to me; and every thing else which he thought would promote my defign.

1722, May.-Veftry ordered the church and poors ley to be affeffed feparately, and that L. 14 be raised for the church, and £.24 for the poor, both for the year 1721.' (till then the leys

were

were promiscuous, and denominated a church rate). That book

began in 1715, and ended in 1763.

ANOTHER memorandum.-1723, June 4.

Ordered, < that

IN 1723.

church and poors leys be affeffed feparately; and that £. 14 be

< raised for the church, and £. 21 for the

poor,

both for 1723.'

IN the prefent year the rates, equalized according to the actual rents, amount to fifteen hundred pounds!!!

IN 1795

LY SOCIETIES.

In this parish are three clubs, or friendly focieties, inftituted on CLUBS, OR FRIENDthe fame plan as thofe in Whiteford parifh (fee p. 101.) The firft, or the Old Club, was formed on March 7th, 1751: fo that it is prior to our's by fifteen years. It confifts at present of 214 members.

CLUB the fecond confifts of 170 members, and was formed January 27th, 1759.

CLUB the third is compofed of 160 members, and commenced on January 21st, 1775. Each of thefe clubs have their rules, but so fimilar to those of Whiteford parish, that I fhall not repeat them. I fhall only remark, ne quid detrimenti ecclefia capiat, that there is an article which excludes every one who is not of the true church of England by law established, unless with the approbation of the majority.

THE UNION CLUB was established in April, 1789. It is compofed of forty-two members, in general the most refpectable inhabitants of the parish, untainted with defpotic or jacobinical principles. Every Christmas they fhew exemplary charity to their poor neighbors; and under their influence above 160l. was raised the late season of scarcity, and diftributed among the objects most Hh 2 worthy

UNION CLUB.