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"OLD BRECKNOCK CHIPS.' A Column of Antiquarian Chit-Chat relating to the County of Brecknock. NOTES, QUERIES, AND REPLIES, on Subjects inter- eating to Breconshire, must be addressed to EDITOR, Bhecon County Times, Brecon. Real names and addresses must be given in confidence, and MSS. must be written legibly, on one side of the paper only. FKIDAY, AUGUST 19th, 1887. KOTES. NELLY JONES, THE LLANELLY DOC- TORESS.—It -will probably be interesting to the numerous readers of the County Times to know that the above renowned and popular herbalist doctoress is stiU living in the village of Llanelly, at the advanced age of 98, and still in possession of her faculties. We have had several interviews with her of late, and have listened with intense pleasure to her observations as regards events which occurred early in the present century ! Although born in a small village on the banks of the Dovey, in Merion¬ ethshire, in the year 1789, she has been a resident here for half a century, and claims her citizen¬ ship in the land of Brychan. She is a rigid Baptist, and although unable to a'tend the sanctuary, her brothers and sisters hold px-ayer meetings with her. Some declare she is not so old as she represents herself to be, but in addition to her looks testifying that she must be very old, we have no alternative but to accept her statement in the absence of proof to the contrary. Just imagine that nearly two years before the immortal Rowlands of Llangeitho, and Williams of Pantycelyn, passed away, the subject of our sketch was born! Why she is old enough to remember that eminent minister and old prophet of Pontypool—Rev. Edmund Jones, of the Transh ! She well remembers the late eminent Charles, of Bala, and was one of his earliest scholars in Merionethshire! She lived very near and knew Mary Jones, who travelled bare-footed to Bala in 1800 to purchase a Bible from Mr Charles ! She was eleven years old when the union between England and Ireland took place in 1801 ; fourteen when Bonaparte was made Emperor of France ; and fifteen years old when Nelson uttered the never-to-be-for¬ gotten sentence, " England expects every man this day to do his duty." She contemplated matrimony before gas was introduced into London in 1807, or the printing press invented in 1814. If our memory serves us aright she was married when Wellington swayed the sceptre of victory over Waterloo in 1815. We must refrain for the present, and may return, if agreeable, to this extraordinary character, again referring to the marvellous account given from time to time of the cures effected by her. Shon Gobph. Gwent House, Llanelly. THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS IN BRE¬ CONSHIRE (August 12th, 1887.)—The information given to me by Mr John Williams, (of Newton House, Newton, near Bridgend) to the effect that his father had informed him that the first printing press set up in the county of Brecknock was set up in a spacious loft over Christ College, Brecknock, is borne out by the very valuable notes that "Brwynllys" is now contributing to this column, for I find that in the years 1772-3-4 works were printed in Brecon by "E. Evans yn y Coleg" [at the College.] And in your issue of July 29th "Brwynllys" pointed out that a work commenced to be printed at Car¬ marthen was finished at Brecon by the self-same " E. Evans." This would be earlier by some years than the commencing period when the first book was printed at Trefecca. This fact leaves no reasonable doubt that the first printing press in the county was 'set up in the town of Brecon. '1 he book we refer to (commenced at Carmarthen and finished at Brecon) was published in parts over a period of 13 years. The following is a translation of the Welsh title :— " Pantheologia, or a History of all the Religions of " the World, etc., to which are added Notes des- " criptive of very many countries in Europe, together " with Remarks on the Morals, Learning, Habits, " Food, Costumes, and mode of Life of the Inhabit- " ants, selected from the best and most skilful modern " Authors, by W. Williams, minister of the Church "of England. Printed at Priory street, Carmarthen, " in the year 1762 by Ev. and Dav. Powell." It may interest your readers to know that there was a bookseller in Brecon as early as the year 1689 (204 years ago): George Lewis, bookseller, High street superior. The Editoe. QUERIES. THE LARGEST PARISH IN BRECKNOCK¬ SHIRE.—The writer will esteem it a favour if any of your readers would inform him which is the largest parish in the county ? What is the acreage of Talgarth, Llandefalley, and Cantreff ? Quiz. REPLIES. THE LA.ND MEASURES OF BRECKNOCK¬ SHIRE (August 12th, 1887.)— Possibly the following quotation from Jones' Brecknockshibe, vol. i., p. 317, published in 1805, will give Mr Palmer the information he is seeking:—"The mensuration of " land [in the county of Brecknock] is very generally " estimated by the cyfair, or cyfar, a portion nearly " answerable to the Roman Jugerum, and by com- " mon computation one third less than the English " statute acre. In the British laws of Hywel Dda, " the eew is declared to have been the statute acre "of the early Welsh, and is thus singularly and " whimsically defined : The following is the measure " of the lawful statute acre—four feet in the length " of the short yoke ; eight in the field yoke ; twelve " in the lateral yoke ; sixteen in the long yoke ; and '' a rod equal in length to that in the hand of the " driver, with his hand upon the middle knot of the " yoke ; and as far as that reached on each side of "him, is the breadth of the acre; and thirty times " as much is its length. Others say that the acre " ought to be measured with a rod equal in length " to the stature of the tallest man in the hamlet, "with his hands towards heaven; and then it "proceeds in the manner above mentioned." It is also defined in another manner thus: " Sixteen feet "are the length of the yoke; sixteen yokes make " the length of the acre, and two make its breadth." Again, " the perch »f Hywel Dda was eighteen feet "long ; and eighteen such perches made the length " of an acre, which was two perches wide." " In the short yoke there were two oxen abreast; in the next four ; in the next six ; and in the last eight. 'Neither meadow, pasture, nor woodland were included in the eew, for only the arable land was measured, i.nl that of every other description was deemed waste: indeed this also appears from our term cyfae, com¬ pounded of cyf [together] and ae [ploughing], it takes its name from an ancient custom among the Welsh, of entering into articles of partnership, wherein each partner was obliged to bring cattle, and implements of husbandry, until they had finished