Welsh Journals

June, 1876. BYE-GONES. 71 PARISH APPKENTICES.-At one t me, the Directors of the Oswestry House of Industry had the power of balloting apprentices, male and femaie, on any rate¬ payer in the incorporated parishes, who was an occupier of house and land. Thus in 1821 we fiad a girl allotted to Mr Robert Cartwright, Surgeon, and when he objected to her on the score of health, a boy was substituted. The same year, too, one was " put out" to the Rev. C. A. A. Lloyd, rector of Whittington, •' by indentures," What were these children " bound" to learn ? Could the parties on whom they were saddled re-bind them, or put them out to deputies? In the case of Mr Lloyd, he seems to haVd transferred the apprentice to David Jones, tailor, Oswesr •', "having first pud the expenses of his conviction, &c., for refusing the same apprentice." Mr Leigh, landlord of the Wynnstay Arms, Oswestry, refused his apprentice the same year, altogether, and was ordered to be sumnoned before the Magistrates. Nemo. (1). PLACES OF REFUGE (Apr. 26, 1876).—Dun- wallo Moelmutius (Dyvnwal Moelmud), about 400 B.C., is said to have enacted that the temples of the gods, as well as cities, should have privileges of sanctuary ; and further, that the roads leadiug to those temples and cities should have the same privilege. (See Brut Tysilio, Brut G. Ap Arthur, and Geoff, of Mon ) King Lucius (L'eirwg), about 180 A.D., is 8aid to have given this right to his Cnristian subjects in connection with their p'aces of worshio. (R >ger of Windover and others.) The laws of Hywel Dla,about 940 a D., show that this right was pretty generally attached to the churches of the land (Myv. Arch. vol. Hi.) With the English Reformation, however, the right of sanctuary began to be restricted. It was abolished throughout Eng ■ land and WaleH, with the exception of London, in the reign of James I. In 1697 (Will. III.) it was abolished in Lon¬ don also. In leply to F.S. A., it would seem from the above that prior to the Reformation, at least, the right of sanc¬ tuary wool 1 be attached to most churches in North Wales; and religious houses including a church (i.e. abbeys) would naturally possess this right also. In North Wales there were monasteries at Penmon and Holy heal (Anglesey); Bangor and Olynnog (Caernarvonshire) ; Llanelwy and Bangor-is-coed (Flintshire); Welshpool (Montgomeryshire); and Enlli (Bardsey Island). Ap Wnog. WYNNSTAY THEATRE (Jan. 12, 1876).-About the year 1825 I *rent to the late Rev. - Saunders's school at Rhuabon, and with other boys used to eat my dinner at the house of an old lady, of from 60 to 70, who often told us stories of her early days. In her younger days she had lived at Wynnstay as a servant, and after she left some of her relatives remained in the service. She told us one day about tbe PlayB: that one night between 11 and 12 Sir Watkin and his party were all engaged with the per¬ formance when there was a loud knocking at the door. On a servant opening the door he found something like a four- wheeled carriage, but no horses, and heard a voice asking tor Sir Watkin. The servant, rather startled, rushed bade to inform the baronet, who said " In the name of God who is there at this time of night that wants to see me !" The servant, accompanied by some of the other domestics, re- turaed to the door, and saying that Sir Watkin was engaged repeated what he had said. When the name of God was mentioned the carriage and wheels became of fire, and vamshed leaving a sulphurous smell! After this the J. heatricals were discontinued. J.M. Trevor Isea. In the Random Records of George Colman the "lounger may be found mention of some remarkable amateur performances at Wynnstay in Denbighshire, the seat of Sir Watkin Williarrs Wynn. The Wynnstay th -atricals were on a scale of great completeness and were continued annually for nearly forty years, from 1770 to 1808 inclusive. In 1777 the burlesque of '• Chrononhoton- thologos " was performed in the presence of Mr Garrick— little more than a year before the death of tbe great actor. Some of the performa ices were of an ambitious kind—in¬ cluding Shak^peare's "Cymbeline" and Beaumont and Fletcher's " Rule a Wife and have a Wife," in which plays | the two Ct 1 nans appeared. The theatre had been originally I a kitchen, but bad been tastefully al ertd and arranged, and | held a sufficiently numerous audience. There were no i galleries to the building, which enabled the players to ; dispense with the glaring footlights of the regu'ar theatre, | and to light the stage more natarally fr )m above, by means | of an arch of lamps over the heads of the audience, but I screened from their sight. Mr Bunbury, the caricaturist, I design-d an elegant and whimsical ticket of admission to l the performances, to which tbe gentry, farmers, and trades- | men of the neighbourhood, with their wives and families, were freely altui't-d : people even came from distances of : thirty aides to tbe theatre, aud carriages were in such re¬ quisition, it seems, that one night " two mourning coaches ! were to be seen waging in the park, which had each brought i a merry party of six insides."—Once a Week, Sept., 1865. The Shrewsbury Free Press publishes the following curious old handbill .— Shrewsbury, November 1st, 1799. SWEEPERS WANTED. Notice is hereby given, to those Women who are able snd wil- , ling to undertake sweeping the Streets of this Town, trom this I time to May next, divided into the following Districts, that they I may be employed, by applying to the Committee of Trustees of ! the S:reet Acr, ou Wednesday next, November 6th, at ten o'clock, I at the Guildhall, in ihreicsbicry. DISTRICTS. j Dog-laue, Clerimont-bill and Buildings..........Twice a Week. I Round the Market-house, Kiln-lane, aud Hall-square, Ditto. I Pride-hill, from round the Cross to the Theatre .. Ditto. i Belmont and Crescent ......................... Once a Week. H'gh-street and Milk-street......................Twice a Week. Ox-ane aud Dogpole............................ Ditto. Castle-street, from the Cross to Castle-gates...... Ditto. Wyle cop, Stone-brid :e, Friars and Back-lanes.... Ditto. Mardol and Barker-stieet...................... Ditto. Hill's-lane, Carnarvon-lane, and bottom of Barker- street by the Ship............................ Ditto. St, Johu's-hill and Cross-hill .................... Once a Week. Jonathan Brookes, Clerk. N.B. The Soil of the Streets will be Let to the best Bidder on the same day. June 7, 1876. NOTES. EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON NEAR BUILDWAS, SALOP, 1773. The following (which was transcribed some years ago into the Shrewsbury Chronicle), is a letter dated Newport, June 3, 1773. A slight reference to the event is made in the Autobiography of Thomas Wright:— I have taken the first opportunity to give you an account of a very extraordinary natural phenomenon, which is now to be seen in our neighbourhood. On Thursday, May 27, Samuel Wilcocks and John Roberts, who live at a house called The