Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for MACHYNLLETH

MACHYNLLETH, a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred, in Montgomery. Y he town stands on the river Dyfi, at the influx of the Dulas, and on the Newtown and Machynlleth and Aberystwith and Welsh Coast railway, under Arran-y-Gessel, amid picturesque scenery, 20¾ miles NNE of Aberystwith; is supposed to occupy the site of the Roman station Maglona; contains, in Maengwyn-street, a spacious arched porch, the remains of an ancient edifice called Parliament House, in which Owen Glendower, in 1402, held a national assembly, and was crowned as Prince of Wales; was the scene, in connexion with that assembly, of the seizure and imprisonment of Sir David Gam, the Captain Fluelin of Shakespeare; contains also, near the Wynnstay Arms inn, an old building in which Charles I. is said to have spent a night on his way to Chester; is a well built and cleanly town, consisting chiefly of two spacious streets; has long been a favourite resort of anglers for sport in the neighbouring waters, and of tourists for excursions through the surrounding scenery; has been a borough since the time of Henry VIII.; unites with Llanidloes, Llanfyllin, Montgomery, Newtown, and Welshpool in sending a member to parliament; is a seat of petty sessions, and a polling-place; and has a headpost office,‡ a railway station, a banking office, two chief inns, a town hall of 1783, a church, four dissenting chapels, national schools, alms houses, and charities £65The church is comparatively modern; retains the spire of a previous edifice; and was renovated in 1866. A weekly market is held on Wednesday; fairs are held on the first Wednesday of March, 16 May, 26 June, 9 July, 7 Aug., 18 Sept., 21 Oct., 26 Nov., and the Wednesday before Christmas; flannel-manufacture, tanning, and corn-grinding are carried on; and some business is done in connexion with the working of neighbouring slatequarries and lead-mines, and with the shipping of their produce at Derwenlas on the Dyfi 2 miles below the town. Several fine seats are in the vicinity. The borough boundaries include all Machynlleth township, and a small part of Isygarreg. Pop. in 1851,1,673; in 1861, 1,645. Houses, 388. Real property of M. township, £4,469. Pop. in 1861,1,640. Houses, 387.—The parish contains also the townships of Isygarreg and Uchy-garreg. Acres, 14,861. real property, £7,943; of which £20 are in fisheries. Pop., 2,396. Houses, 554. The living is a rectory in the dioceSe of Bangor. Value, £230.* Patron, the Bishop of Bangor.

The sub-district contains also the parish of Penegoes and the township of Seyborycoed,-the latter electoRally in Cardigan. Acres, 34,210. Pop., 4,068. Houses, 882.-the district comprehends also the sub-district of Darowen, containing the parishes of Darowen, Cemmes, and Llanbrynmair; and the sub-district of Pennal, containing the parishes of Llanwrin, Pennal, and Towyn,- the two last electorally in Merioneth. Acres, 116,647. Poor rates in 1863, £6,573. Pop. in 1851,12,116; in 1861,12,395. Houses, 2,613-Marriages in 1863,82: births, 397 -of which 48 were illegitimate; deaths, 346, -of which 135 were at ages under 5 years, and 9 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60,802; births, 3,528; deaths, 2,529. The places of worship, in 1851, were 10 of the Church of England, with 4,479 sittings; 16 of Independents, with 2,854 s.; 2 of Baptists, with 140 s.; 20 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 3,625 s.; 13 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 2,154 s.; 1 of the Wesleyan Association, with 57 attendants; 3 undefined, with 429 s.; and 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 35 at. The schools were 13 public day schools, with 971 scholars, 2 private day schools, with 51 s.; and 77 Sunday schools, with 6,026 s.-Thei hundred contains six parishes. Acres, 71,550. Pop. in 1851,8,148; in 1861,8,402Houses, 1,721.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a township, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Machynlleth AP/CP       Machynlleth Hundred       Machynlleth SubD       Machynlleth RegD/PLU       Montgomeryshire AncC
Place: Machynlleth

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