Item 788. - I[orwerth] G[wilym], Cardiff, to the Hon. Thomas Mansel Talbot, esq., Margam,

In a late tour through some parts of Glamorgan, he took a view of Margam Abbey. He was exceedingly pleased with the old chapter-house, 'one of the most curious and elegant samples of Gothic ingenuity of any in Brittain', but was sorry to see it so much neglected. Were it properly repaired in its original taste it would be a very proper repository for a collection of curious pieces of antiquity, to which might be added some extraordinary productions of Nature, also a collection of ancient MSS, especially in the Welsh language, etc. He is told that the addressee shortly intends to rebuild Margam Abbey. The beautiful landscapes about Margam - a lofty tower on the summit of the hill would have a noble effect. There is a fine round tower of this sort in the park at Cotham House near Bristol, but he would recommend a much larger tower than that in Cotham Park to crown the hill at Margam. He is also told that the addressee intends removing Margam village to a greater distance from the Abbey - asking the addressee to pardon him for proposing the following plan (including the erection of a good school-house). The fear of having presumed too far prevents his affixing his name to this address.