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BEATING the Bounds originated in Llantrisant centuries ago. The seven-mile walk around the boundary of the ancient borough marks out the area covered by the 1346 Charter. It was within this area that the Freemen could trade freely. It is a total fabrication that the ceremony occurred every seven years. Breaks as long as 50 years often took place before any walk was held. Since 1901, the Beating of the Bounds has remained a regular custom.
Beating the Bounds, 1946
Originally, it was referred to as the Perambulation of the Boundaries. According to the Court Leet Records, copies of which have been made by Trustee Noel Israel, there were two versions of the walk. There was a beating of the parish boundaries by the clergy to claim their tithe from the earnings of the farmers. But the walk around the borough boundaries was held to ensure anyone who
was not a Freemen wasn't trading within the boundary line free of charge. The walk leads to the most southerly point of the boundary at Cross Inn, then north to the furthest point at Talyfedw Farm, before returning to the old town via Talbot Green.
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Beating the Bounds, 1960
Maen Llwyd is the stone found in a garden of a cottage in Cross Inn, while Maen Brych can be found in the land adjacent to Talyfedw Farm. It is at both of these points that children come down with a bump on the Beating of the Bounds. The young sons or grandsons of Freemen, no matter how many, will be bumped on their buttocks to remind them of where the boundaries begin.
Both points are marked by a boundary stone, which are named in the 1630 survey of the town. Today Freemen will cross streams, main roads, a golf course, the Royal Mint, the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, and also through farmhouses and people's living rooms! On the walk, according to custom, money was thrown into the streams and ponds by the Freemen for the boys to dive in or wade in to recover.
Beating the Bounds, 2003
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