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Ar gefn y llythyr, yn ysgrifen Dr. Powell, y mae'r nodyn hwn Mr. John Wms chosen Master of Ystrad Meurig School Augt. 7. 1777 Bu yno hyd ei farw yn 1818 a daeth yn adnabyddus drwy'r ardal fel Yr Hen Syr Yn 61 Gwallter Mechain trigai Edward Richard mewn bwthyn bach to gwellt, lie y gwerthai gwrw hyd at dair blynedd olaf ei fywyd. Cododd John Williams dy cadarn wedi ei adeiladu o gerrig hen gastell Ystrad Meurig.4 Aberystwyth W. J. LEWIS REFERENCES 1. N.L.W. MS. 1730, f. 144. 2. Y Bywgrqffiadur Cymreig, tt. 985-6. 3. Ibid., t. 798. 4. N.L.W. MS. 1730, f. 150. A CARDIGANSHIRE WILL A MIRROR OF LIFE IN THE PARISH OF HENFYNYW circa 1656 DURING a recent examination of a number of wills! at Somerset House the writer came across a copy of the will of one Meredith Llewellyne of the parish of Hen- vyniw made on the eighth day of June in the year 1656. This was subsequently found to be one of the few surviving wills relating to Henfynyw which throw some light on certain facets of life in that neighbourhood during a period ranging from 1656 to 1700. It may be true to say that today the name Henfynyw conjures up in the minds of Welshmen the story which is represented in Meyrick's succinct reference to this "Old Menevia" mostly celebrated as having been the place in which St. David had his early education But to the uninformed these hagiographic associations with Henfynyw may have been overshadowed by the more recent attractions of the neighbouring seaside resort of Aberaeron. Yet anyone who examines the seventeenth century maps of Cardiganshire as drawn up by such cartographers as Speed (1610), Blaeu (1645), and Janson (1646) will look in vain for the name Aberaeron, whereas Henfynyw will be found clearly marked. The growth and development of Aberaeron, particularly towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, indicated that the economic and social life of the neighbourhood was about to take on a somewhat different pattern from that which would have been found there during the lifetime of Meredith Llewellyne and which is partly mirrored in his will. Let us therefore proceed to examine briefly the more significant items incorporated in that document. First, the testator bequeathed to the poores of the said parish (of Henfynyw) a teale3 of Pilchorne4 and half a stone of cheese to be distributed amongst them at Christmas next after my decease This bequest immediately focuses attention not only on the poores as forming an acknowledged section of the local community but also on the testator's awareness of the necessity for making some voluntary contribution toward their relief. This kind of attitude may be said to have exemplified in part the spirit of social philanthropy which emerged in a somewhat marked degree during the seventeenth century in Wales as well as in England. The second bequest was to Ellen Meredith, one of the testator's daughters, and consisted of two furrowe kine, two steers of three year old, twenty lambs and two