Welsh Journals

A PAROCHIAL ACCOUNT OF NEWTOWN. By RICHARD WILLIAMS, F. R. HIST. S. CHAP. I.-NAME, DESCRIPTION, ExTENT, POPULATION, &C. NEWTOWN is a market town and parish in the Hundred of Cedewain, and in the Newtown and Llanidloes Poor Law Union. It was also constituted by the Reform Act, 1832, with the Townships of Gwestydd and Hendidley in the adjoining parish of Llanllwchaiarn, a Parliamentary Borough, returning with the Boroughs of Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Montgomery, and Welshpool, one member to Parliament. The two parishes of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn together form an Urban District and a United School Board District. The old name of Newtown was Llanfair Cedewain, or Llanfair yn Nghedewain (St. Mary's in Cedewain), thus distinguishing it from Llanfair Caereinion, in the same county. Newtown was originally a chapelry belonging to Llanllwchaiarn, and as such it occurs in the Norwich Taxation of 1253;1 and not until 1291 do we find any reference to it as an independent rectory.2 Prior to this it must have been a very small and insignificant country village. That the parish of Newtown was carved out of Llanllwchaiarn there can be very little doubt. It may be noted as a somewhat curious fact, going some way to prove this, that the Vicarage of Llanllwchaiarn, the glebe land, and some other land, in all about 165 acres belonging to that parish, is on the right or Newtown bank of the river 1 Ecc'a de Llanlocharen Cap'lla de Llanweyr. — Mont, Coll., xxi. 332. 2 Pope Nicholas's Taxatio.