the cross in the centre. There are four plain and commodious Presbyterian meeting houses; one of which was until lately used as an English Episcopal chapel, one belongs now to the Antiburger, one to the Relief, and two to the Secession denomination. A handsome new church, or chapel of ease to the establishment, is now (1836) building. In 1831 the number of houses in the burgh and par. was inhabited 900, building 2, and uninhabited 32; the total number of families was 1673, of whom there were employed, chiefly in agriculture, 306; in trade, manufactures, and handicraft, 1030; other families, 337; the total number of persons was 6508; males, 3048; females, 3460. At Brechin upwards of 400 persons are employed in the linen trade. The number of fatuous persons was 34; blind, 10; and deaf and dumb, 3. About 900 families attend the Established, and 500 the Dissenting and Episcopalian churches. The real rent of the par. is about 13,000l., the average rent of land is about 278., and land as grass for the season from 20s. to 35s. per imperial acre. There are about 30 men and women employed in heckling, 200 in spinning, from 1000 to 1500 in weaving, and from 40 to 50 in bleaching. Two spirit distilleries are carried on near the town. There are three limeworks and several freestone quarries, besides three nurseries, consisting of about 25 imperial acres of land, which supply a large district with ornamental shrubs, bushes, fruit and forest trees, &c. The burgh is governed by the town council, which since 1820 has consisted of thirteen members, chosen by the 107. householders within the burgh. One of the eleven is elected dean of guild annually by the guildry. The council choose the magistrates, a provost, two baillies, a treasurer, and a master of the hospital. The property, except the town-house and school-house of Brechin, in 1832, was valued at 13,9357.; it consists of lands, houses, mills, growing wood, feu duties, a loft in the church, and shares in a turnpike road. The town-house and school-house may be worth about 8307. The total annual revenue of the burgh is 7217. 38. 24d. The ordinary expenditure in 1832 was 7097. 4s. 114d.; the extraordinary in improving streets and roads, 3667. 4s. 94d.; the over expenditure of that year, 3547. 68. 6d. At the same time the town's debts were 3284/ 10s. Od. Within the last forty years the value of the property is nearly doubled, the income and outlay are nearly doubled, and the debt has increased fivefold. The magistrates exercise their jurisdiction within the royalty boundaries, which are not so wide as the parliamentary. A baillie court is held every Wednesday, except two short vacations, in which there have been brought, from 1820 to 1834, The town-clerk acts as assessor in the baillie court. There is an appeal from the baillie court, where only one magistrate sits, to the other magistrates. The magistrates and council elect the civil officers of the burgh. The six incorporated trades, except the weavers, possess the exclusive privilege of carrying on their trades in the burgh. Brechin, in conjunction with Montrose, Arbroath, Forfar, and Inverbervie, returns one member to parliament: the number of constituents amounts to for Brechin, 233; for the district, in 1835, to 1551. The par. church in the centre of the town is in excellent repair, and contains 1500 sittings. The charge is collegiate. The first minister has a house built from the funds of the Exchequer more than fifty years ago, and about an acre of garden-ground. His stipend is 19 chalders of grain, 34 bolls of wheat, and the rest half barley and half oatmeal, besides 107. for communion elements. The second minister has a house, a glebe of 6 acres of good ground, 17 chalders of grain, 217. from bishops' rents, and 107. for communion elements. When converted into money the stipend of each is about from 2307, to 300l. a-year. In 1834-35 the arrangement of the schools was recast. The rector of the academy and preceptor of Maison Dieu has a fixed salary of 50l. per annum; 107. per annum for a house, and 201. as session-clerk, making in all 807., besides fees from scholars. The parochial teacher has a salary of 407. and the third teacher of 251. per annum, besides fees. In 1825 the rate of par. school fees was, per quarter, reading 2s. 6d.; writing, 2s.; reading and writing, 38. 6d.; arithmetic, 48. 6d.; French, 58.; Latin, 68.; and geography, in addition to any of these branches, 18. The average number of pupils was 112. Greek and mathematics were occasion-⚫ ally taught. There were in 1825 eleven private schools in the par., one of them patronised by Dissenters; the average number of scholars in each about 40; they teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. (Answers to Queries from Sheriffs on Parochial Education in Scotland, 1826; Enumeration Abstract of Population Returns, 1831; Boundary Reports; New Statistical Account of Scotland; Playfair's Description of Scotland; Chambers's Gazetteer; Scotch Municipal Corporation Reports.) BRECKNOCK or BRECON, the capital town of Brecknockshire, called by the Welsh Aber Honddu, the mouth of the Honddu, in lat. 51° 54' N., long. 3° 12′ W., 167 m. W.N.W. of London, near the centre of the co., in an open valley at the confluence of the riv. Usk and Honddu. It is a corporate town, and returns one member to parliament. The limits of the bor., which are not set out in any existing charter, seem to be well ascertained; they are extremely irregular, reaching in a W.S.W. direction about 2 m. from the castle; towards the W. of the same building, their extent does not exceed a quarter of a mile. Part of the par. of Llywell, called Trecastle Ward, on the left bank of the Usk, on the high road from Brecknock to Caermarthen, belongs to the bor. of Brecon, and is subject to the jurisdiction of the corporation. Excepting Trecastle Ward, the whole bor. lies in the par. of St. John the Evangelist and St. David or Llanfaes. Each of these par. is divided into an upper and lower division. Of St. David's, the lower division is wholly within the bor., and the upper wholly without it; and of St. John's, a great part of the upper division of the par. is without the bor.; while all the lower portion, commonly called the chapelry of St. Mary's, is within its limits. Two portions of the space comprehended within the bor. line, the castle and Christ's College, are extra-parochial. Under the Boundary Act, they form a part of the parliamentary, but not of the municipal bor. Two courts are held in the week for the trial of small debts and actions. The expense of trial in these courts is sometimes less than forty shillings, if the action is undefended; and from four to five pounds, if it is defended. It takes about three weeks to obtain judgment. There is a small bor. gaol maintained by a bor. rate, which is used for debtors only, an arrangement having been made with the co. to send other prisoners to the co. gaol, which is also in Brecknock. The income of the corporation, in 1833, was under 250l. The castle was built A.D. 1094, by Barnard Newmarch, a relative of William the Conqueror, who wrested the co. from the hands of the Welsh princes, and here fortified himself, that he might the better maintain the rights which had been granted to him as Lord of Brecon, against the continual attempts of the British to expel him. It was considerably increased and improved by the last Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, high constable of England and governor of Brecknock. Part of several towers, including that called Ely Tower, in which Morton was confined [BRECKNOCKSHIRE], are still standing. The situation is commanding for the purposes of early warfare: the main part of the fortifications may still be traced. It appears from a manuscript in the British Museum that the Castle of Brecknock and the walls of the town were destroyed by the inh. during the civil wars, to avoid the expense of a garrison and the miseries of a siege. Two priories, the one Benedictine and the other Dominican, were also founded by Barnard Newmarch, in the reign of Henry I. The first is now the par. church of St. John's, called the Priory Church; the second was converted into a college by Henry VIII. The Priory Church stands in the N. part of the town, adjoining the precinct of the priory, where there is a beautiful promanade by the side of the riv. Honddu. The architecture of the church is not so antient as the institution itself. It contains some fine early English windows, and is built in the form of a cross, from the centre of which rises an embattled tower. A paved cloister extends from the church to the refectory. This is the principal church in Brecknock; it is frequented by the inh. of the upper portion of the par. of St. John's: the chapel of St. Mary, a building of no remarkable beauty or antiquity, is the esta blished place of worship for the lower division. The Domi nican convent, now the college, is situated near Llanfaes church, on the W. side of the Usk. This establishment is | tains: that on the N. goes by the general name of Epynt, now of little use it formerly was a place of education for an obsolete British word for a hill; the other range, beginthe Welsh clergy, but has ceased to be so since the founda- ning with the Caermarthen Beacons, runs nearly parallel to tion of Llampeter College. Part of the building has been the Epynt hills, and inclining more towards the S., termiconverted into a grammar school and dwelling house. The nates in Monmouthshire. Between these two chains a third school is attended by less than ten children, and the building rises abruptly near Talgarth, which is called the Black is very much out of repair. Service is performed to a small | Mountain." Another line also branches across in a direction congregation in the chapel on Sunday evenings. The en- from N. to S., about eight m. below Brecknock, dividing dowment is very small. The par. church of Llanfaes or St. the hund. of Devynnock from those of Talgarth and PenDavid's is an early English building, of no particular beauty, kelly. The highest mountains in Brecknockshire are, the situated near the Trecastle road, on the W. side of the Usk. Brecknock Beacons, about three m. S.W. of Brecknock, The town is built in a healthy and extremely picturesque which are 2862 ft. above the level of the sea; Capellante, situation it contains no very remarkable buildings. There which is 2394; Cradle Mountain, 2545; and Dwggan near was formerly a wall fortified with ten turrets, and through Builth, which is 2071 ft. high. The principal rivers are which there were five gates, called the Castle Gate, Street the Wye; the Usk, which rises in the Caermarthenshire Fan, Gate, Watton Gate, Water Gate, and Bridge Gate: these about five m. from Trecastle; the Honddu, which rises in do not now exist. The principal streets are the Bulwark, Drum-dhu, and falls into the Usk at Brecknock; the the Struet, High Street, Watton, and Wheat Street. There Yrfon, which rises in Bryn-garw, in the N.W. boundary of are three bridges over the Honddu, and one over the Usk. the co., and falls into the Wye about a mile above Builth; The town-hall stands near the centre of the town: the the Elan, the Claerwen, and the Tawe. The Tarell also, a building is old and inadequate for its purposes; and a bill small riv., rising in Bryn-du, joins the Usk a little above is now before parliament for the erection of a new one. The Brecknock, and the Taf Fechan (small), and Taf Fawr barracks are situated in the Watton, the entrance from (large), which rise in different parts of the S. declivity of Crickhowell. Detachments of infantry and artillery are the Brecknock Beacons, unite into a considerable stream, quartered here, to be at hand in case of any disturbances the Taf, at the S. boundary of the co. near Cyfarthfa Park. among the collieries and iron-works. Nearly adjoining the None of these streams are navigable. To facilitate the barracks an infirmary has been lately built, which is reliev- conveyance of goods from Brecknock to Newport, a can., ing fifty in and out-patients. There are three banks in capable of conveying boats of twenty-four tons, was finished Brecknock, one belonging to a joint-stock company; the in 1811; a railroad was soon after made from Brecknock to others to private individuals. The town has a tendency to Hay, and from thence to Kington and the lime rocks near increase at the principal outlets; houses are now building Old Radnor. The Swansea can. enters for a short distance in those which lead to Hay and to Crickhowell. Fairs are the S.W. part of the co. The mountains Mynydd Llanheld five times in the year,-in March, May, July, Septem-gynidr, Mynydd Pen Cyrn, near the Clydach, at the S. ber, and November: the market-days are Wednesday and boundary of Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire are interSaturday; these are well supplied with corn, cattle, eggs, sected with many railroads, which communicate with the and poultry, of which an abundance is reared by the neigh-various collieries and iron-works. Two branches descend into bouring farmers and cottagers. The town is lighted with the vale of Usk, so as to connect with the Crickhowell can. ; gas, and is well supplied with coal, brought along the can. the one near Tal-y-bont, the other near Llangattock. There at a very moderate price. A small quantity of flannel and is also a long line of railroad, which begins near the ninth coarse woollen cloths are manufactured in the town; hats milestone on the Brecknock and Trecastle road, and passing also are made here of a middling quality. The exertions of up a valley of Forest Fawr to the E. of the riv. Tawe and the Brecknockshire Agricultural Society to establish a nearly parallel to it, communicates with Drim Colliery, and linen factory have been wholly unsuccessful. finally with the Swansea can. About five m. E.S.E. of Brecknock is situated Llyn-Safaddu or Llangorse Pool, a sheet of water two m. long, and in some places one in breadth. It abounds in fish, and in winter is much frequented by wild fowl. In 1235 permission was granted to the monks of Brecknock to fish in this lake three days in the week, and every day in Lent, provided they only used one boat. The scenery in this co. is extremely beautiful. The extensive views from the mountains, the abrupt outline of the Brecknock Beacons, the undulating surface, frequently clothed with woods and intersected by torrents, from their expanse, their variety, and their wildness, are very striking to the admirers of the picturesque. The pop. of the bor. of Brecon was, according to the last census, males, 2324; females, 2702; total, 5026. The entire par. of Llanfaes then contained 1321, and the par. of St. John's 3867 inh., including in each the portions which are without the bor. The census states the bor. of Brecon to have contained, in 1831, 1071 inhabited houses; 1149 families; 92 employed in agriculture; 609 in trade and manufactures; 448 others. The commissioners of corporation inquiry who were in Brecon in 1834, estimated the number of 107. houses within the bor. at about 340; only 156 were returned in the inhabited house assessments. The number of voters registered, in 1834, was 242. The Lancasterian schools, both for boys and girls, are well attended. The school of the Boughrood charity contains about forty children: these, since the decline of the College school, have been the principal places of education in the town. There is no mechanics' institute or other similar establishment. The poor's-rate does not appear to have varied much in the last few years; it has not increased, if any judgment can be formed from the accounts, which have not been made up in a very accurate way. The amount of the assessed taxes collected in the bor. of Brecon was, in 1834, 11957.; in 1835, 9891. (Communication from Brecknockshire.) BRECKNOCKSHIRE, an inland co. of S. Wales, bounded on the N. by Cardiganshire and Radnorshire, from which latter co. it is for the most part separated by the riv. Claerwen, Elan, and Wye; on the W. by Cardiganshire and Caermarthenshire; on the S. by Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire; and on the E. by Monmouthshire and Herefordshire. This co. extends from N. to S. 35 m., and from E. to W. about 30 m. Its area is near 754 sq. m. The pop., in 1831, amounted to 47,763: thus Brecknockshire ranks the third among the S. Welsh co. in extent of surface, and fifth in amount of pop. It was antiently called Garthmadrin, or the Fox-hold, and derives its present name from Brychan, a Welsh prince, who lived in the fifth century. The surface of this co. is extremely irregular, the valleys deep, and the mountains the highest in S. Wales. It is intersected on the N. and S. by two long ranges of moun The principal roads are from Trecastle, through Brecknock to Crickhowell, which is travelled by the Caermarthen and London mail, that from Brecon to Hay, on which a considerable improvement is contemplated within two miles of the former place; also the roads from Brecon to Merthyr, and from Builth to Hay. These as well as the less important thoroughfares through the co. have in late years been greatly improved. A new line of communication of great public utility has been opened between Talgarth and Crickhowell: it is well engineered throughout the whole of this mountainous district. A similar undertaking between Brecon and Builth has been suggested, and would be a great accommodation to travellers as well as the neighbouring residents. The turnpike trusts in this co. maintain 169 m. of road; their income, in 1833, was 35591. The climate varies considerably, according to the elevation and exposure. In the neighbourhood of the Brecon Beacons, the Black Mountains, and the elevated districts between Trecastle and Builth, the wind, the snow, the cold, and continual rains, are often severely felt, by which the crops are injured, and the harvests retarded; the lower valleys are comparatively warm. The country is subject to much rain, but the air is, on the whole, bracing, and the pop. healthy: upon an average of ten years from 1821 to 1831, the annual deaths were 1 in 66 4,-a calculation which places Brecknockshire among the most healthy co. of England and Wales. The geology of this dist. has lately occupied the attention of that able and industrious geologist, Mr. Murchison, late president of the Geological Society. The oldest rocks | The mineral springs at Builth and at Llanwrtyd rise in the silicified and hardened schists, at points where they are penetrated by trap-rocks. Their origin is considered to be due to the decomposition of the vast quantities of sulphuret of iron which are collected at such points. With the exception of the strata containing iron and coal, which, though for the most part in Monmouthshire [MONMOUTH], in some places cross the boundary of Brecknockshire, there are no mines or minerals in this co. worthy of notice. Some small traces of copper ore have been found in the old red sandstones, which upon trial have proved to be unprofitable. One of the most remarkable features in the geology of Brecknockshire is a penin. of transition rocks, which is thrown up from N.E. to S.W., ranging from Erwood on the Wye to the rocky promontory of Corn y Fan, five m. N. of Brecon. The soil in the hund. of Talgarth and Crickhowell is more favourable to cultivation than any other part of this CO. Wheat is here grown in considerable quantities; and there are orchards, from which good cider is frequently manufactured. In the hund. of Devynnock, and perhaps more so in that of Builth, where there is much cold, wet clay, barley and oats are the grain crops chiefly cultivated by the farmers. Agriculture throughout the co. has considerably improved during the last fifty years: partly through the exertions of an Agricultural Society, one of the earliest in the isl., which was established in 1755, by Mr. Powell of Castle Madoc. Better implements are used, more manure put upon the land, cropping better understood, husbandry more skilful, turnips more generally cultivated, and the farming stock is of better quality. In the high lands are bred small black and brindled cattle, horses (which throughout the co. are of rather an inferior sort), ponies, and good hill sheep, whose wool, though finer than that of the neighbouring co., is not so suitable to the manufacture of flannel. In the low lands the Herefordshire breed of cattle predominates, and is on the increase. The ewes are brought down from the hills in winter, and are not taken back until the cold weather has ceased and the lambs are strong enough to bear exposure. The farms vary much in value and in size: they are seldom let upon lease, and are chiefly held at a yearly tenure, at rents from 207. to 1007. a year. Brecknockshire is divided into six hund. exclusive of the bor. of Brecknock. These are Builth, Crickhowell, Devynnock, Merthyr, Penkelly, and Talgarth. It contains sixtysix par. with seventy-three churches and chapels. The m. t. are Brecknock, the only corporate town within the co., Crickhowell, which stands upon the rich banks of the Usk, and Builth, and Hay, which occupy two picturesque situations on the Wye. Among the principal vil. may be named Talgarth, Trecastle, Llangattock, Llyswen, and Llangynidr; and among the chief hamlets Bronllys, Llywel, Crickadarn, Devynnock, and Llangorse. The benefices are usually very small; a large proportion are under the value of 100%. per annum; and very few exceed 2007. Among the few that are considerable are the united vic. of Crick adarn and Llan-de-fally, the income of which is about 6861., the rec. of Llangattock 11237., and Lanvigan 4807. a year. The manufactures of this dist. are few and unimportant. Flannel and other woollen goods, such as baize and coarse checks for trousers, are woven in several small factories. Some hats of middling quality are also made in the bor. of Brecknock. The knitting of stockings, which was formerly practised to a great extent by the women of the country, is now less frequent. Woven stockings, though less durable, are so much cheaper as to have greatly diminished this branch of industry. The co. of Brecknock contained, in 1831, 9848 families, of which 3959 were employed in agriculture, and 2954 in handicraft, trade, and manufactures. The number of males above twenty years of age was then 12,220: about 80 of these are employed in weaving woollen yarn, the produce of domestic industry; and in the S. part of the co. 470 men are employed in the iron-works, of whom 126 are at Llanelly, 110 at Penderyn, and 234 at Faenor, places near Merthyr Tidvil. The pop. of the co. is thus distributed : 47,763 Borough of Brecknock 2,324 23,896 23,867 Total The number of occupiers of land is stated at 2405, of whom 1249 are employers of labourers. It is remarkable that in the pop. returns of this as well as in some of the adjoining co. no one is enumerated as following the trade of a pawnbroker. This co. is wholly in the diocese of St. David's and prov. of Canterbury. In its 66 pars. there are 23 recs., 16 vics., and the remainder perpetual curacies. The assizes are held at Brecknock, by the judge attending the S. Welsh circuit. Brecknockshire returns one member to parliament. The number of co. voters registered in 1834 was 1668 Brecknock is the only polling place. Brecknockshire remained in the power of the Welsh princes until 1092. It was in this year that Barnard Newmarch, a relation, and, according to some accounts, the brother of William the Conqueror, made himself master of Brecknock, where he established himself with a number of his retainers. The lordship of Brecknock was granted to him by the king, and that he might obtain possession of his rights and the better defend himself against the natives, whose hostility and resistance to his authority made it difficult for him to maintain his position in the country, he built the castle of Brecknock, as a stronghold for himself and for his troops. Notwithstanding the vigorous efforts of the Welsh to drive him from the country, he succeeded in his conquest, and at his death the lordship of Brecknock was inherited by his son-in-law, Milo Fitz Walter, Earl of Hereford. This earl was succeeded by four of his sons, in turn, and afterwards by Philip de Breos, their brother-in-law, who died about 1160 A.D. He was followed by his son William de Breos, to whom the lordship was confirmed by King John in 1194. This spendthrift defrauded his son, upon whom he had settled his inheritance, mortgaged it three times over, cheated his creditors, and at last sold it to three different persons at the same time, not one of whom obtained possession, though all paid the purchase-money. He was for some time at enmity with King John, was attainted, and the lordships of Talgarth and Blânllyfni were given to the king's favourite Peter Fitzherbert. William was succeeded by Roger, and afterwards by Giles de Breos, Bishop of Hereford; and the lordship then passed into the hands of Reginald de Breos, who upon the death of his first wife married Gwladis, daughter of Llewelyn Prince of N. Wales. No sooner had he done homage and sworn fealty to the king, than he engaged in a confederacy with Llewelyn and the English barons in resisting the power of his sovereign, who in 1216, the last year of his life, gratified his revenge against his revolted subjects, by marching into Wales, and burning the castles of Hay and Radnor. Upon the accession of Henry III., Reginald was induced by the restoration of some escheated property to forsake his father-in-law and his adherents. Llewelyn, incensed at VOL. V.-3 C this breach of faith, laid siege to Brecknock, which was however spared at the earnest intercession of the burgesses. Reginald and Llewelyn were afterwards reconciled, upon which the king re-transferred some of the property of the former to Fitzherbert. Reginald died in 1228, and was buried in the Priory church at Brecknock. His inheritance passed to William, his eldest son by his first wife. War still raged in the marches, and the king heading his troops, exerted himself vigorously to conquer the Principality; while Llewelyn strained every nerve to maintain his independence. William de Breos was made prisoner by the Welsh; and though the whole territory of Builth was offered for his ransom, it was refused. Henry, harassed by the irregular warfare of the Welsh, relinquished his unsuccessful enterprise, and made a disadvantageous peace with Llewelyn. He omitted to stipulate for the release of his faithful servant William de Breos, who was afterwards set free, upon the payment of a large sum of money and the surrender of Builth Castle. Llewelyn afterwards asserted, whether truly or upon false pretences it is uncertain, that De Breos while in confinement had intrigued with his wife: he invited him to a feast, seized him, reproached him with his crime, had him dragged out and hung upon a neighbouring tree. Henry, exasperated at this execution, summoned Llewelyn to appear before him at Shrewsbury. The Welsh prince disobeyed this command, entered the marches with an army, and extending his vengeance to the family, and even to the tenants of De Breos, endeavoured to make himself master of Brecknock; an attempt which two years after, in 1233, he repeated; but after having laid waste the country, he was foiled in his attack upon Brecknock Castle, raised the siege, and setting fire to the town, returned homewards with his booty. At the death of Eve, William de Breos's widow, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Essex, who had married their second daughter, succeeded in right of his wife to the lordship of Brecknock. War was still carried on between Edward I. and Llewelyn, till Humphrey, son of the last-mentioned lord, with the authority of the king, and by his own arms and arguments, convinced his dependents of the folly of resisting Edward. This change of adherence was fatal to the last of the Welsh princes. Llewelyn, whose supplies had been intercepted, and his army harassed by the king's troops, quitted his stronghold in Snowdon, marched towards Brecknock, and, unaware of the desertion of his friends, was slain near Builth by one Adam de Francton, who plunged a spear into his body. This event took place in 1282. Llewelyn was buried at a place now called Cefn-y-bedd (meaning the back of the grave), near Builth. In 1286 De Bohun's lands in Brecknockshire were invaded and pillaged by the retainers of his late guardian, Gilbert Earl of Gloucester, who held the lordship of Glamorgan. De Bohun quickly retaliated upon the men of Glamorganshire; and for this feud the king sentenced the two barons to forfeit for their respective lives the liberties of Brecknock and Glamorgan, and to be kept in custody during his pleasure. They afterwards compounded with the crown, Hereford for 1000, and Gloucester for 10,000 marks. At a subsequent period Humphrey was suspended in his office of high constable of England for resisting the levy of the king's taxes. He was a benefactor to the monks, and an augmenter of the liberties and privileges of the burgesses of Brecknock; he died at Plessy in 1298. He was succeeded by his eldest son, who, as an atonement for his father's conduct, surrendered to the crown the earldoms of Hereford and Essex, together with the constableship of England; and shortly after married Elizabeth, seventh daughter of Edward I., when the king, with certain reservations, restored him his office and estates. Humphrey, with a considerable force levied in his lordship, supported Edward in his war against Robert Bruce. He was taken prisoner in the battle of Bannock-burn, and was afterwards freed in exchange for Bruce's wife. In 1315 De Bohun assisted in the suppression of a formidable rising in Glamorganshire, which co. however he himself afterwards invaded, in prosecution of a quarrel between himself and the king's favourite, D'Espencer. Edward, by the advice of his council, resolved to reduce these turbulent barons to obedience: some of their allies submitted; but Bohun with about 3000 men joined in the north the disaffected Earl of Lancaster, and was killed at Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire, in 1321. The rebellion ended, the younger D'Espencer was now constituted governor of Brecknock Castle, obtained the lordship and the property of the late Earl of Hereford. Upon the death of the D'Espencers, the confiscations consequent on the rebellion were reversed, and the property restored to the family of the Herefords, in the person of John de Bohun. This earl, after having been created knight of the bath, died in 1335. Humphrey, his brother, succeeded him, a nobleman who lived upon no very friendly terms with the burgesses of Brecon; he died unmarried, and his nephew William inherited his titles and estates. William resided in the castle of Brecknock, and by his wealth, magnificence, and hospitality considerably raised the importance of the town, and made it the great mart of S. Wales. He more than once accompanied Edward III. to France, was employed by him in an embassy to the Duke of Bretagne, and finally died in 1377. The lordship of Brecon seems to have remained in settlement during the widowhood of Joan his wife. With William ended the male line of the noble family of De Bohuns; the last of whom made ample amends for the offences of some of his predecessors, who seem to have considered their Welsh territories of no further use than as a source of revenue and a nursery for soldiers. The lordship of Brecknock now reverted to Henry IV., who had married Mary, the daughter of the last De Bohun. During the first four years of this reign, Brecknockshire was greatly harassed by Owen Glendwr. The castle of Brecknock was intrusted to the care of Sir Thomas Berkley; and in 1404 the lords of Audley and Warwick were ordered to defend the castle and the lordship, having 100 men at arms and 300 mounted archers assigned them for that purpose. Griffith, the eldest son of Owen Glendwr, engaged the king's troops upon a hill in the hund. of Crickhowell, and was defeated with the loss of 1500 men. Henry IV. granted to the inh. of Brecknock an exemption from tolls and other payments, renewed the benefactions to the monks, and gave them their first royal charter. Upon the death of Joan, countess dowager of Hereford, the king granted the lordship of Brecknock to Anne, the widow of Edmund, Earl of Stafford, slain in the battle of Shrewsbury, who claimed a division of her grandmother's property. No sooner was she possessed of Brecknockshire than she disfranchised the bor., revoked all their grants, charters, privileges, and immunities, and so kept them during her life, which terminated in 1439. Her son Henry, Earl and afterwards Duke of Buckingham, succeeded to her inheritance. He was a severe, arbitrary man, who, though a warm friend and supporter of the king, was an oppressive governor and landlord. He was a firm Lancastrian, was wounded at St. Alban's, and slain in 1460 at the battle of Northampton. His grandson, a minor, succeeded to his honours, and to Sir William Herbert during his minority were intrusted the castle and lordship of Brecknock, as well as the stewardship of all the other Welsh castles which had belonged to the late Duke of Buckingham. Upon coming of age Buckingham obtained possession of his estates, and lived in retirement within the walls of Brecknock during the greater part of the reign of Edward IV. At the death of this king however he left his seclusion, and became a conspicuous supporter of the Duke of Gloucester, until he was seated on the throne. In reward for these services, Richard made him governor of all his castles in Wales, and lord high constable of England, with other lucrative and honourable offices; he also promised to restore to him all the lands forfeited by the Bohuns, which would have made him the richest and most powerful nobleman in England. These promises never were fulfilled. Richard knew Buckingham to be haughty and violent, and at heart a Lancastrian; he was now king; his object was gained; he evaded his engagements, and treated his former friend with negligence and contempt. The duke, incensed at this ingratitude, turned his thoughts to vengeance, and now became as eager to dethrone the king as he had formerly been anxious to exalt him. He retired to Brecknock, where Morton, the able and artful Bishop of Ely, was a prisoner; and in Ely tower in the castle was first projected a marriage between the Duke of Richmond and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., and the union of the houses of York and Lancaster. Morton crossed the sea to confer with Richmond, who was on the continent, and to plan with him a descent upon England; while Buckingham endeavoured to raise an insurrection at home. Richard was too vigilant to be long ignorant of these proceedings. He sent an order, commanding the immediate attendance of the Duke of Buckingham, who disobeyed this peremptory sum mons, and took arms with his followers; but being detained by floods, betrayed by his friends, and deserted by his troops, was taken, and ultimately executed at Salisbury without a trial. Morton escaped into Flanders. The Duke of Richmond, who afterwards landed at Milford, in his road to Shrewsbury, passed through Brecknockshire, where he greatly increased the number of his followers. As soon as he was established upon the throne, he restored to Edward, the son of the last Duke of Buckingham, the estates and titles of his father, and in 1504 made him high constable of England, the last person that ever held that office. He was afterwards accused of treason, and executed in 1521. The dukedom of Buckingham was now extinct, and the lordship of Brecknock with its dependencies merged in the crown. (Jones's Hist. of Brecknockshire.) Upon the union of England and Wales, which took place in 1534, the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Henry VIII., Brecknockshire became subject to English laws and authorities, and its history from this time must be considered in conjunction with the general history of the kingdom. the confederates. Four years after, the town was treasonably delivered to the Duke of Parma; but it was retaken in March, 1590, by Prince Maurice of Nassau, by means of the following stratagem :-A vessel was loaded, apparently with turf, of which the besieged garrison was greatly in want, but under the covering of turf a party of soldiers were concealed. Admission into the town being thus secured, the soldiers left their place of concealment during the night, and having overpowered the guard, opened the gates to Prince Maurice, who had advanced with his army. In 1625 Breda yielded by capitulation to General Spinola, who commanded the troops of the Infanta Isabella. In 1637 the town again came into the possession of the States General of the United Provinces, and was confirmed to them by the treaty of Westphalia. The French, under Dumourier, took Breda in 1793. The castle, already mentioned, was rebuilt in 1680 by William, Prince of Orange, afterwards William III. of England. It contains a fine gallery supported by marble columns, and a very handsome staircase of free-stone. The streets are wide, clean, and well laid out: there are four squares and a fine quay, which, as well as the ramparts, are planted with trees. The arsenal and the great marketplace are among the chief ornaments of the town. The principal Protestant church is an elegant building, with a spire 362 ft. high. There are, besides, another Protestant church, and four Roman Catholic churches, as well as hospitals for orphans and for aged persons. Breda was once a place of considerable trade, and con Brecknockshire abounds in antiquities. The principal castles have been at Brecknock, Builth, Crickhowell, and Hay; at which last place, after the destruction of its first castle, of which nothing but an archway remains, a second was built in the reign of Elizabeth or James I., which is at this time inhabited. Besides these must be mentioned remains or traces of castles at Tretower, near Crickhowell, at Blânllyfni and Dinas, in the par. of Talgarth, at Trecastle, and Penkelly, at Bronllys, where a well-preserved round tower is standing, and at Caerberis, in the par. of Llangan-tained extensive manufactures of cloth: this branch of ten. There are traces of Roman encampments at Gaer, near Brecon, at Cwmdu, on the N. side of the Usk, near Crickhowell, and of British stations at Slwch and Pen-ycraig near Brecon, at Alltarnog, also near Pwllewrw in Llandevalle, upon the Black Mountains, at Glasbury, Crickhowell, Miarth, Pen-tîr, Llavillo, and Llanspyddid. Cromlechs or mounds where the dead have been interred are found in many parts of the co., which has also been intersected by several Roman roads. The Welsh language, which was formerly spoken throughout the whole of Brecknockshire, is now greatly disused in the S. and W. portions of the co. The increase of schools, as well as the inconvenience in dealing with the English who frequent the markets on its borders, have contributed to this effect. Since the year 1818 there have been opened 110 additional Sunday-schools, containing 7567 scholars, and 47 daily schools with 1248 scholars. The accompanying table shows the present state of education. Brecknockshire. Scholars. Schools established by Dissenters. Daily Schools. 7 196 Scholars. 206 Lending libraries are attached to only three of these schools. No infant schools have yet been established. The amount of money expended for the relief of the poor was, for the years ending 25th March, 1826, 16,4037.; 1827, 17,0197.; 1828, 16,1727.; 1829, 16,264. (Communication from Brecknockshire.) BREDA, once a lordship belonging to the House of Orange, and a town in N. Brabant situated at the confluence of the Merk and the Aa, in 51° 35′ N. lat., and 4° 47' E. long. Breda is a well-built and strongly fortified town, surrounded by marshes, which, in case of attack, can be laid under water. The castle, which is the principal building in the town, is surrounded by the riv. Merk. It was originally built by the family of Schoten, who held it with the title of Baron, in 1190. Breda afterwards came into the possession of the dukes of Brabant; and in the beginning of the 15th century passed by marriage to the house of Nassau. In 1567 it was annexed by the Duke of Alba to the crown of Spain. In 1577 the Spanish garrison opened the gates to industry is still carried on to a small extent. The town likewise contains several tanneries and breweries, from which the surrounding country is supplied. The pop. on the 1st of January, 1830, consisted of 6747 males and 6367 females. This town was the residence of Charles II. when he was invited to return to England. BREDOW, GABRIEL GODFREY, born at Berlin in 1773, was professor at Eutin in Holstein at the same time as Voss, afterwards at Frankfort on the Oder, and lastly in the University of Breslau. He was a learned and laborious man, especially in matters concerning antient and modern history. He wrote Handbuch der alten Geschichte' (Manual of Antient History, translated into English, London, 1827), Untersuchungen über Geschichte Geographie und Chronologie (Researchies on History, Geography, and Chronology), and Historische Tabellen,' which are a series of chronological tables, in which the principal events of the history of the various countries of the world are placed in This synchronical order by means of parallel columns. last work went through several editions during the lifetime of the author, and consisted of ten tables, which carried the series to 1799. Bredow died in 1814. An edition was made after his death, which contains an additional table, including the events of Napoleon's time to 1811. Bredow's tables were translated into English (1820) by Major James Bell, who added a twelfth sheet, carrying the series of events to 1820, besides adding other columns concerning British and Indian affairs. This work of Major Bell has likewise gone through several editions, in the latest of which, 1833, he has added another table, which brings the series down to 1833, and also a table of Oriental chronology. The work contains also four tables of literary and scientific chronology, translated from Bredow's text, and arranged likewise in synchronical order, exhibiting the progress of the human mind in the various countries from the oldest records in existence; and, lastly, a similar table of the principal painters, classed according to the various schools, taken from the notes of M. Van Bree. It is altogether a useful work, and executed with considerable industry, although not altogether exempt from inaccuracies in some of the details. As a book of reference it is clearer and more comprehensive than the 'Atlas Historique' of Le Sage. (Las Cases.) In the latter tables added by Major Bell, the writer has somewhat departed from the sober matter-of-fact style of the German professor, and has occasionally indulged in qualifications, either laudatory or condemnatory, applied to political parties and transactions, which appear out of place in a work of pure and simple chronology. Some general statements are likewise too sweeping: for instance, it is said under the date of 1833, The kingdom of Algiers (about 600 miles in length and 170 in breadth) continues from 1830 to be occupied by the French. So far from this being the |