EGLWYSWRW - from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales(1833)

EGLWYSWRW (EGLWYS-EIRW), a parish in the hundred of KEMMES, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 6 Miles (S.S.W.) from Cardigan, on the road to Haverfordwest, containing 563 inhabitants. This parish anciently formed an inferior lordship, dependent on the superior one of Kemmes: it is intersected by the river Nevern, and is included in a very mountainous district, of which the most remarkable summit is that called Percelly forming the centre of a long range extending across the county in a direction from east to west. The summit of this mountain commands a prospect of vast extent over the adjacent country; and over this elevated range passed the ancient Via Flandrica, or "Flemish Way," a Roman road which has obtained this appellation from the erroneous supposition of its having been constructed by the Flemings, who settled in this part of the principality in the reigns of Henry I and II. The parish is almost entirely enclosed and under cultivation, and the soil is in general fertile. The village, which is situated near the base of the Percelley mountains, is one of the most pleasing and extensive in this part of the country, and contains a good inn and several respectable houses. The scenery in the neighbourhood is bold, but finely varied, and the hills are richly clothed with wood. Berllan, the seat of the Rev. J. Griffith, is an elegant mansion, beautifully situated in grounds which are tastefully laid out, and adorned with luxuriant plantations. A fair is held on the Monday before November 22nd. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Cardigan, and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £3. 13. 4., endowed with £200 royal bounty, and £200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the King, as Prince of Wales. The church is dedicated to St. Eirw; and in the time of Elizabeth there was a chantry chapel in the churchyard, said to have contained the tomb of this saint. Near the church is a large tumulus. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £114. 13.

Gareth Hicks, 23 Dec 1999