Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

buildings as they were outside their investigation, but they have left us with material for speculation. Acknowledgement I am indebted to Messrs W.E.G. and Barry Evans for their assistance in exploration of the Llwynycrwth area. Notes (1) NLW Glansevern 10442, this document also covers a large number of properties in Llangurig, Llanidloes, Berriew and Welshpool. (2) D.W. Smith, 'Berriew in the Eighteenth Century', Mont. Coll. 70 (1982), p. 127. D.W. Smith MACHYNLLETH TURNPIKE, PICTORIAL EVIDENCE Two photographs attached to this note are intended to illustrate the findings of my article 'An Investigation of an Eighteenth-Century Montgomeryshire Turnpike and its Origins' that appeared in the last Collections. On page 73 of my article I referred to John Ogilby's map of the road from Machynlleth to Aberystwyth. Ogilby's map, now reproduced, provides a clear depiction of the road as it passed south from Machynlleth, skirting around Bryn Turnol and across Nant Rhisglog, the first stream that is depicted to the south of the town. In turn the road makes its way towards the 'Mountgomery-shire' border at the Llyfnant river which is depicted flowing into the 'Dovy Flu'. My second and contemporary photograph reveals the three modern levels of the south- bound road from Machynlleth: the 1769 turnpiked road, its successor created by the diversion proposed in the Act of 1834 and, finally, the 1980 improvement. All three levels depict in their own way the methods resorted to in order to take the highway around Bryn Turnol. The 1769 road resorted to a high level with inevitably steep inclines; the 1834 road adopted a level route above the flood plain which necessitated a wide skirting of the high ground, and the most-recent road, using earth-moving technology that was inconceivable to our forebears, cuts a clean line through all that it encounters. Figure 1. John Ogilby's Brittania of 1675. The Machynlleth to Talybont road.