PREFACE. THE Subscribers to the following "History of St. Gwynllyw's Church and Historical Notes on the Immediate Neighbourhood," herewith acknowledge their indebtedness to the late Dr. Edward A. Freeman, and the late Octavius Morgan, Esq., for having granted permission to republish their Papers on St. Woollos Church; to the Right Honourable Lord Tredegar; the Venerable the Archdeacon of Monmouth; the Reverend Canon Hawkins, and F. J. Mitchell, Esq.; to the obliging Officials in charge of the several muniment rooms wherein searches have been kindly permitted; and to all who have in various ways assisted in the production of the present volume. In many of the following pages imperfections will be found. In a first presentation to the public of something approaching an historical outline of a church founded fourteen centuries ago, and historical notes. extending over nineteen centuries, such imperfections may perhaps be pardoned. Those who have assisted in the preparation of the present volume, at least possess the gratification of having partially smoothed an almost untrodden track, and of having, as they hope, facilitated the future labours of more competent, but not more enthusiastic, historians. As a knowledge of local history helps to clucidate the History of St. Gwynllyw's Church, it is desirable that some Historical Notes on the neighbourhood around the church should precede the History of the church itself. The neighbourhood is in all probability connected with the introduction of Christianity into Britain during Apostolic times. The importance of the ancient city of Caerleon, during the time of, and preceding the Roman occupation of Britain, the subsequent incursions and ravages of Saxons, Danes, and Normans, in their efforts to subdue the sturdy Britons, until, upon the ashes of Caerleon, the New Port arose, are events very little known to a large number of the present inhabitants of this most interesting neighbourhood. The information now placed in a connected form is merely a compilation from various sources, but it has required considerable diligence and perseverance to collect the same, and it is to be hoped that future researches amongst old documents may some day bring to light additional facts. To use the words of Mr. G. H. Lewes in the dedicatory preface to his "Life of Robespierre," this book must not be criticised "as a work of art, nor as a work of historical pretensions, but simply what it professes to be a marshalling together of widely-scattered details, so selected" as to form a more or less continuous but epitomised narrative of events which have occurred in the history of the neighbourhood of St. Gwynllyw's Church. The various sources of information, when not given in the text, will be found indicated in the footnotes; in frequent instances the text is simply a verbatim copy from the authority quoted, and the given authority must in each case be the guide to the accuracy of the statement made. |