Bishopston, or Llan-Deilo-Ver-Walt - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849) BISHOPSTON, or LLAN-DEILO-VER-WALT, a parish, in the union and hundred of Swansea, county of Glamorgan, South Wales, 6½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Swansea; containing 491 inhabitants. This place derives its name from having formerly belonged to the bishops of Llandaf, who held the manor in free alms. The custom of the manor is, that copyholds not only descend to the youngest son or daughter, but also in the collateral line, to brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, &c.; and there is an ancient tenement, called Culver House, which is held by service of grand serjeantry at the king's coronation, the tenure having been recognized by a late court of claims. The village is pleasantly situated in a fertile vale near the sea. The small village of Caswell, in the parish, gives name to Caswell bay, remarkable for the grandeur of its rocky scenery, and for the variety and beauty of the shells thrown up on the shore. A spring of water, issuing from a rock close to the beach, which is covered by the sea at high water, is said to retain its freshness, perfectly free from any saline mixture, when the sea retires. Lead-ore exists in the parish, and was formerly procured; within the last few years the mine was reopened, when the implements of the former miners were discovered, and several tons of good ore were raised, but the works have again been discontinued.
The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at £9. 6. 8.; net income, £242, with a glebe-house; patron, the Bishop of Llandaf. The church, dedicated to St. Teilo, has no particular claim to architectural description. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists. Mrs. Catherine Rees, in 1728, bequeathed £100 to be invested in the purchase of land, out of the rent of which £2. 8. are appropriated to the instruction of children, and the remainder is distributed among the poor of the parish. The school is situated near the church, and is principally supported by school-fees: a Sunday school is held in the same room. A sum of £4. 15., principally arising from a bequest of £20, by William Hamon, in 1785, and from one of £100, by — Bateman, in 1832, is distributed at Easter and Christmas. Here was formerly a chapel, which has long since fallen into ruins. The Rev. Edward Davies, the learned author of the Celtic Researches, and the Mythology of the Ancient Britons, was for many years rector of this parish, where he died and was buried, in January 1831.
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