Heyope Village, Radnorshire, Powys

HEYOP a parish, in the union and hundred of Knighton, county of Radnor, South Wales, 3 miles (W. N. W.) from Knighton; containing 202 inhabitants.

It is divided into two portions; the eastern forms part of the borough of Cnwclas, the remainder of which is in the parish of Beguildy, and the western constitutes part of the township of Cwm Heyop, of which the remainder is in the parish of Llangunllo.

The manor is a portion of the crown manor of Cantred Melenith.

The parish is pleasantly situated near the river Teme, and is bounded on the North and East by the parishes of Knighton and Beguildy, and on the south and west by that of Llangunllo.

The lands consist partly of a flat narrow vale, and partly of hills, the latter gradually rising from the former till they attain a considerable elevation, from which some good views are obtained of the surrounding scenery. The parish comprises by computation 1180 acres, whereof 300 are arable, 550 meadow and pasture, 30 woodland, in which oak and ash are the prevailing trees, and 300 unenclosed common. The soil is light and rather shallow, resting upon gravel and occasionally on rock, but it is of good quality, and in general fertile, the vale being spread with fine rich pastures and meadows, and the sides of the hills affording excellent oats, wheat, and barley, and other kinds of agricultural produce.

There is a small rivulet called Heyop brook; also a seat called Dôl-y-Velin, which has been considerably improved.

The road from Knighton to Newtown in Montgomeryshire passes through the Eastern part of the parish, and a bye-road from Knighton to the village of Llangunllo proceeds through its centre, close to the church.

The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king’s books at £5. 6. 8., and endowed with £200 royal bounty; patron, the Bishop of St. David’s. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £112, and the glebe contains eighteen acres and a half. The church, dedicated to St. David, is a small, plain, ancient edifice, without any characteristic mark in its architecture to designate the period of its erection; it consists of a nave and chancel, with a low tower containing three bells, and measures fifty-seven feet long by twenty-one broad internally, with 168 sittings. The Rev. John Davies, D.D., in 1741, gave £50 for the benefit of the poor not receiving parochial relief; and the Rev. John Foley, and Anne his wife, by deed, gave a certain portion of land, the produce of which, together with the interest of the former sum, making a total of £3. 17. 6. per annum, is distributed weekly, in bread or money, to the poor frequenting the church.

[Posted by Grant]