Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

390 BYE-GONES. Aug. 31, 1887. formerly in use. The "Wilkinsons cast the whole of the tubes, pipes, cylinders, and ironwork required for the great Paris waterworks—the most formidable under¬ taking of the kind at that day. The first iron vessel ever built was erected by them at Willey in South Wales, and traded upon the Severn before the year 1790. John Wilkinson retired later in life to his native county with a handsome fortune, and he built the mansion of Castlehead, in the parish of Cartmel, where he died. When the brothers gave up business, labourers were employed to break up the machinery at the Welsh works with sledge-hammers, in order that the material might be equally divided between them. Many thought this an exceedingly insane act; yet it was not entirely so. Both were extremely stubborn men, and knew each other's temper; and perhaps they concluded that, though sledge-hammers might be very destructive when wielded by labourers amongst their fine machinery, the corrosive though more tedious process of a Chancery suit, managed by skilful lawyers, might be still more damaging to the interests of both; so the machinery was all broken up. John had great faith in iron, and its application to nearly every purpose for which dur¬ able material was required. Having made his fortune by its manufacture, he determined that his body should lie encased by his favourite metal when he died. In his will he directed that he should be buried in his garden in an iron coffin, with an iron monument over him of twenty tons weight; and he was so buried within thirty yards of his mansion at Castlehead, He had the coffin made long before his death, and used to take pleasure in showing it to his visitors, very much to the horror of many of them. He would also offer a present of an iron coffin to any one who might desire to possess one. When he came to be placed in his narrow bed, it was found that the coffin he had provided was too small, so he was temporarily interred until another could be made. When placed in the ground a second time, the coffin was found to be too near the surface ; accordingly it was taken up, and an excavation cut in the rock, after which it was buried a third time ; and, on the Castle¬ head estates being sold in 1828, the family directed the coffin again to be taken up, and removed to the neigh¬ bouring chapel yard of Lindale, where it now lies." Cardiff. G.H.B. QUERIES. PERSONAL PROPERTY IN WALES. CUSTOM RELATING TO.—By 7-8 William III. c. 38 (1696-7) inhabitants of Wales may dispose by will of all their personal estate in such manner as they shall think proper, notwithstanding any custom. Can any reader of Bye-Gones say what was the custom in Wales, or any part of it, antecedent to this enactment ? Gaerfawb. REPLIES. RALPH EDDOWES (Aug. 10, 1887).—I have to thank Mr Palmes for his additional note about the Kenricks, and conclude he has definitively settled the point at issue. In doing so, he has called attention to the honoured name of Ralph Eddowes, who fought a great constitutional question in our law courts, and so secured for himself a local fame in Cheshire, which has helped to keep his memory green. It has always been contended that Mr Eddowes was in some way connected with the Henry family, and I have heard my great¬ grandfather speak of him in that relation when I was quite a mite of a child. I subsequently found that one Katherine Keay had married a gentleman named Eddowes. They had no children, and hence the records about them ended suddenly. I had better explain that Mrs Eddowes descended from the Henrys thus :—Theodosia Henry was the eighth child of the Rev. Matthew Henry, by Mary Warburton, his second wife. She married Randall Keay, of Whitchurch, and Katherine Keay was the fourth child of that marriage. I am unable to say whether the Ralph Eddowes of Chester was the gentle¬ man who married her, but this note may possibly lead to enquiries which may be useful to Mr Palmer. Mentmore. A HISTORY OF WALES (Aug. 10, 1887).—In reply to the query of A Kelt, John Jones, LL.D. and barrister-at-law, was a Carmarthenshire man, his birth¬ place being Derwydd, in Llandybie parish. At an early age he showed that he had more than ordinary scholastic attainments, and soon became an under master at a London school of some repute. Afterwards he travelled on the Continent, and studied at the University of Jena, which gave him the degree of LL.D. On his return to England in 1803 he was called to the Bar, and joined the Oxford and South Wales Circuits. For a while his career was one of success and distinction, but there now occurred a circumstance which com¬ pletely destroyed his prospects for the future. In pleading for a poor and ill-used client, he was tempted to make some very sarcastic and insolent remarks on the conduct of the administrators of the law. This so greatly offended the profession that they refused to associate with him, and from that time to the date of his death in 1837 he was doomed to be a briefless bar¬ rister. He died in distressed circumstances in London. He wrote and published several works, none of which, however, have made any lasting mark. His " History of Wales" is not a well-known work, and its worth was discounted by an unpardonable blemish, viz., the ex¬ pression of views by the author which clearly showed that he held the Welsh nation in contempt. Dr. Jones's views on religion were also of a decidedly doubtful character—almost atheistic. E.P. Brecknock. [Myfanwy C-H. sends us much the same information, and adds the following list of Dr. Jones's publications :—1st, " Dr. Sugg's Travels in the French Republic," from the Danish, 1801. 2nd, " De Libelles Famosis." or " The Law of Libel," 1812. 8rd, The " Cyfammod Newydd'' (New Commandment), containing general translations from the Four Apostles. 181S. 4th, " The History of Wales," 1824. A MS. copy was found amongst hia papers after his death. The " Cyfammod Newydd" is the only one published in his mother tongue. His work is considered of no value. The author is evidently unacquainted with the sim¬ plest rules of Welsh composition.-(Williams's "Eminent Welshmen.")—Ed. ] CURRENT NOTES. At Cardiff, on Thursday, the Earl of Dumfries, the youthful heir of the Marquis of Bute, formally opened the new Roath Dock, which adds thirty-three acres to the dock area of the port, which is now about 122 acres. The new dock has cost £600,000,making the total expenditure upon