Welsh Journals

'RHYFEL Y SAIS BACH' AN ENCLOSURE RIOT ON MYNYDD BACH MR. David Jenkins, in the last issue of Ceredigion, printed an authentic document relating to the enclosure riots on Mynydd Bach in the third decade of the last century, With justification, he draws attention to the fact that both Professor R. T. Jenkins2 and the present writer8 have incorrectly located these riots on Cors Fochno, and it may be of interest, in finally disposing of it, to point out that the first link in this chain of error was forged by the late Sir Daniel Lleufer Thomas, in the pioneer work which he did on this and other similar subjects in the Appendices to the Report on the Royal Commission on Land in Wales in 1896.4 Mr. David Jenkins's document is, in fact, the first piece of primary evidence on the riots which has ever been published. It is natural that the rioting should figure considerably in local tradition, and various articles embodying reminiscences of these incidents appeared in the press towards the end of the century. There is, also, in the National Library, a lengthy manuscript of a similar nature, giving the reminiscences of an eye witness.6 But local tradition and the reminiscences of old men are apt to be unreliable. The purpose of this article, therefore, is twofold to print the deposi- tions taken by the magistrates after the first riot, thereby establishing with some certainty the sequence of events on that occasion, and to sum up our present knowledge of the rioting. This knowledge is admittedly fragmentary, for, despite extensive search by the present writer in the Public Record Office, no document has been found which indicates the consequences of the second riot. It is hoped that the appearance of this article may elicit further contributions from other writers. The trouble arose from an enclosure Act (55 George III, c. 81) which received the royal assent on 2 May 1815, namely, An Act for inclosing lands in the parish of Gwnnws, and the several other parishes therein mentioned, and in the township of Llanrhystid Mev- enidd, in the County of Cardigan The parishes concerned were Gwnnws, Lledrod, Llangwyryfon, Llanilar, Rhostie, Llanddeiniol, and Llanychaiarn, in addition to the township of Llanrhystid, and the area covered amounted to some five thousand acres. Three commissioners were appointed to administer the act, namely, John Cheese of Lyon's Hall, Hereford, David Joel Jenkins of Lampeter, and Hugh Hughes of Aberystwyth, and they were allowed £ 3 10s. for every day on which they were so employed. The surveyor was John Hughes of Aberystwyth. The lordship, of the manor was vested in the Crown,