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May, 1880. BYE-GONES. 53 married the Lady Annora Charlotte, younger daughter of Charles, second Earl Man vera. He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford (B.A. 1843; M.A. 1845). Mr. Wynn was for many years attached to the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry Cavalry, and resigned his appointment of Commander in 1878. He sat for the County of Montgomery in Parliament from 1862 to 1880, and is Deputy-Chairman of the Quarter Sessions of that County. CONGREGATIONALISM AT WELSHPOOL. The Independents of Welshpool during the past week have been celebrating their centenary. In the days when a Church of Nonconformists was first formed in that town it would appear that there, as elsewhere in the district, Oswestry was the centre of operations, and the Rev. Edward Williams (afterwards Dr. Williams) was the "Bishop!" From 1777 to 1792 he was minister of the Old Chapel, Oswestry, and at the head of a Nonconformist •'Academy" (as it was then called), for the training of Congregational Ministers; and by means of his students he was able to set going and keep alive small Noncon¬ formist Churches that otherwise would scarcely have existed at so early a period. Welshpool was one of these; and in the same county Aberhafesp was another ; whilst on the other side of the border may be mentioned Elles- mere and Ruyton-of-the-Eleven Towns. Documents are still preserved amongst the muniments of the Old Chapel, Oswestry, which indicate this, and one, (as follows) was published in the Montgomeryshire Collections of the Powys- land Club, in 1878 :— " To the right Rev'd Father in God, Jonathan, Lord Bishop of St. Asaph :— "We whose names are hereunto subscribed being Protestant Dissenters called Presbyterians, do hereby certify to your Lord¬ ship that a New erected Chapel in the Town of Welshpool in the above said Diocess is Intended to be a place of Meeting for religious Worship. Therefore We require that this our Certi¬ ficate may be recorded at your Court according to an Act of Parliament in that case made and provided in the Reign of King William and Queen Mary, called the Toleration Act. " July the 11,1733, signed by us, " John James, minister " Bonner Hughes " Heth Hughes " Edward Morris " Edward Hughes " Joseph Jones." " Entered and recorded amongst the Archives in the publick episcopal Registry of Saint Asaph pursuant to an Act of Parliam't in this case made and provided. The 30th of July 1783 " by John Jones, Dep: Reg*r." In this document the people call themselves "Pres¬ byterians ;"—that, we believe, was a common name at the period, and scarcely meant more than that there was an association of ministers for counsel and assistance. In a MS. history of the Old Chapel at Oswestry, written by the Rev. William Reeve, who was minister there 1836-43, it is stated that it was probably when Dr. Williams was the minister that " the church assumed the Independent, or Congregational form of Government." Earlier than this, Nonconformists on the borders were pretty generally called merely "Protestant Dissenters," occasionally Pres¬ byterian or Independent being added. A few years later than the period to which we have been referring the Welshpool Nonconformists performed an act that proved they were " Independents" in their form of government; for they invited a minister to pre¬ side over their church, without the action of any Board or Presbytery. A letter is preserved amongst the papers belonging to the Independent Chapel at Sarney, written by the Rev. J. Griffiths from Abergavenny, in 1787, in which the following passage occurs :—" I find that the people at Welsh Pool are still without a minister, and they have writ a Call to me to come among them, pro¬ mising to subscribe thirty pounds; but I cannot comply with their wishes at this time." This letter was addressed "Mr. Edward Ashley, near New Chapel, to be left at Mr. Thos. Evans, mercer, Welsh Pool, Montgomeryshire." Mr. ^ Griffiths had previously been an Independent Minister at Llanfyllin, and, at the same time, at Sarney. What the Welshpool Independents or Presbyterians did between the years 1787 and 1794 we cannot say. We write all this without reference to the proceedings at the Cen¬ tenary services recently held ; the report of which has not yet reached us : but in 1794, as we gather from Mont : Coll: 1878, p. 8, and elsewhere that Mr. Thomas Evans, and Grace, his wife (whose maiden name was Sugden), with six others, signed a memorandum in the Minute Book of the Chapel (19 Dec. 1794), forming themselves into a " Church on the Independent plan" ; the " Thomas Evans" mentioned being, we presume, the same as the one to whose care the letter of Mr. Griffiths was addressed in 1787. There is a tablet to his memory in the chapel at Welshpool; and some of our older Oswestry readers may remember him, for he died in Oswestry in 1829, and a daughter of his still lives in Castle Buildings. It is stated in Mont: Coll: that the Minute Book re¬ ferred to has been mislaid. It was in the possession of the late Mr. G. Parker a few years ago, so it is to be hoped it may yet be found. MAY 5, 1880. NOTES. INSCRIPTIONS IN NANT-Y-BELAN TOWER. In addition to the Tablet to the memory of Captain Arthur Williams Wynn in Nant-y-Belan (inscription on which was given in Bye-gones, Mar. 31, 1880), there is also a monument to the memory of all those who belonged to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers who fell in the Battle of the Alma, 20 Sep., 1854. The following is a copy of the Inscription :— ALMA To the Memory of Lieut :Colonel ; Harry George Chester. Captains: Arthur Watkin Williams Wynn; Francis Edward Evans; William Pitcairn Campbell; John Charles Conolly. Lieutenants : Frederick Peter Delme Radcliffe; Sir William Norris Young, bart.; Henry Anstruther; Joseph Henry Butler. Sergeant-Major : H. Jones. Colour Sergeant : R. Hitchcock. Sergeant : F. Edwards. Drummer : J. Collins. Privates :— G. Dobson. T. Owens. J. Powell. J. Handrahan. J. Knightley. J. Williams. L. Kelly. J. Fry. T. Spiller. H. Marsh. D. Povey. J. Evans. J. Harrington. Js. Fry. C Barnett. J. Hall. G. Lowman. H. Hine. W. Martin. G. Evans. T. Lynch. J. Stevens. J. Wells. J. Badcock. H. Goddard. M. Clack. T. Seymour. T. Conroy. E. Jones. W. Lines. T. Maloney. E. Williams. T. Randall. J. Grooms. P. Peterson. S. Draper. J. Lynch. H. Husband. R. Walters. Of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who fell 20th Sept., 1851. Another week I will give the oldest Inscription of all in the Nant-y-Belan mausoleum—to the memory of those of the Ancient British Fencibles who fell in the service of their country during the Irish Rebellion. N.W.S.