20th, aged forty-six years; the son August 1st, aged nineteen years, and both in the year 1763.

"The ritual stone the wife doth lay

O'er thy respected dust,

Only proclaim the mournful day,
When she a husband lost.

In life to copy thee I'll strive,

And when I shall resign,

May some goodnatured friend survive
To lay my bones with thine."

The above was copied about sixty years ago by Mr. J. Dl. Jones, of Hawen Hall, who happened to be passing the churchyard, which was very fortunate, as the little song is now nearly obliterated, with the exception of the names. I find, through the kindness of Mr. Barker, the Diocesan Registrar, that the above-mentioned succeeded the Rev. Richard Davies in 1749, and held the living until his death in 1763, when he was succeeded by the Rev. John Davies. It is regrettable that the memorial stones are allowed to decay without an attempt being made to preserve them.

Cenarth Vicarage.

D. H. DAVIES.

POPULAR LECTURES AT THE ANNUAL MEETINGS.

To the Editor of the " Archæologia Cambrensis."

SIR,-A much wider interest is now taken in archeological knowledge than was formerly the case in days gone by, and it is pleasant to find that many artizans take an intelligent interest in the history of their country and the story of the past. I venture to hope that the Cambrian Archæological Association may be able to stimulate and direct this zeal for knowledge and guide it into a right direction. Some learned societies give popular lectures at their Annual Conferences. For example, the British Association for the Advancement of Science always deputes a member to deliver a popular lecture, illustrated with lantern slides, to the working men of the city they are visiting. These lectures are very highly appreciated, and after the British Association had visited Bristol, several working men told me how much they had enjoyed the lecture delivered to them. Could not our Association undertake a similar duty for Welsh Archæology at our Annual Meetings? Many of our members are pre-eminently well qualified to deliver such lectures, and I am sure they would be appreciated by the people of the town we visit. I am, Sir, yours very faithfully,

13, Eaton Crescent, Clifton, Bristol,

February 20th, 1903.

ALFRED C. FRYER.

Archaeologia Cambrensis.

SIXTH SERIES.-VOL. III, PART III.

JULY, 1903.

PRE-NORMAN CROSS-BASE AT LLANGEFELACH, GLAMORGANSHIRE.

BY J. ROMILLY ALLEN, ESQ., F.S.A.

THE village of Llangefelach is situated four miles north of Swansea, on the high ground between the valley of the Llwchwr and the Swansea valley. The nearest railway station is Morriston, from which it is two miles distant to the westward. The walk from the station

to the village is uphill the whole way.

The tower of the old church of Llangefelach still stands on the south side of the churchyard, but the old nave and chancel have been pulled down and rebuilt on the north side of the churchyard. There are two paths across the churchyard, one going from east to west across the middle of it, and the other going in a northwesterly direction from a gateway in the south boundary wall to the new church, which lies at a much lower level. The ancient cross-base stands to the west of the last-mentioned pathway, and between the tower of the old church and the south wall of the churchyard.

The cross-base is of millstone grit, and measures 3 ft. 9 ins. long by 2 ft. 2 ins. wide at the bottom, and 3 ft.

6TH SER., VOL. IH.

15

31... 2 ft. 2 ins.

3 ins. long by 2 ft. wide at the top, by 2 ft. 2 ins. high. The socket for the shaft of the cross is 1 ft. 7 ins. long by 1 ft. wide by 1 ft. 1 in. deep. The batter or slope of the four faces is not the same, tlie west face sloping very much more than the three others. There is a moulding on the top of the base on the west side, but not on the other sides. The cross-base has two serious cracks, forming irregular

mitre-joints at the north-east and north-west corners. These may have been produced by the freezing of the water which collects in the socket. If a hole were to be bored in the bottom of the socket to allow the water to escape, all danger of further damage would be avoided. The marks of the pick used by the sculptor for dressing the stone can still be very clearly seen, showing that there has been hardly any weathering

E

during the centuries which have elapsed since the monument was erected.

The cross-base is sculptured in relief on four faces, thus:

North Face.-A five-cord plait, with round pellets in the meshes of the plait.

South Face.-On the left a diaper key-pattern, and on the right a triangular key-pattern.

Fig. 2.-Cross-Base at Llangefelach: Section showing Socket for Shaft.

Scale, linear.

East Face.-Interlaced work, composed of Stafford knots and loops.

West Face.-A triangular key-pattern.

It appears, then, that only two kinds of ornament are used on the Llangefelach cross-base, namely, interlaced work and key-patterns. The filling in of the. meshes of the plait-work on the north face with round pellets is a peculiar feature which does not occur except

.2 ft. 2 ing

in South Wales. When the number of cords in a plait is uneven, the ends cannot be joined together so as to complete the pattern. In this case, the plait being made with five cords, it will be noticed that there are two loose ends. It would have been possible to complete the design by carrying a cord right round the top of the plait and thus joining the two loose ends; but this way out of the difficulty does not seem to have occurred to the sculptor of the monument. The Stafford

knot-pattern on the east face is a very common one in Celtic art; and the only remark to be made about it is that the sculptor has made a mistake in the interlacements at the left-hand lower corner of the panel, which are incorrectly executed.

The triangular key-pattern on the west face is not of unusual occurrence in South Wales, and reaches its highest development on the cross of Houelt, son of Res, at Llantwit Major. A similar triangular key-pattern is to be seen on the south face, combined with a diaper