used in England, some rude and ignorant people have made distinction and diversity between the King's subjects of this Realm, and his subjects of the said Dominion and Principality of Wales, whereby great discord, division and sedition had grown between his said subjects." In order to extirp all the "sinister usages and customs" and to bring the subjects of his Realm and of his said Dominion of Wales to an amicable concord and unity, it was ordained that Wales should be incorporated with England, and that "all persons born, or to be born" in Wales should have all the liberties, rights, privileges, and laws which were enjoyed in England. It is in this preamble that the first instance is to be found where the Sovereign of England is unequivocally styled "King" of Wales.
By section 2, the Welsh laws of inheritance appertaining to the descent of manors, lands, and other hereditaments were abolished, and the laws of inheritance and other laws of England were to be used and executed in Wales in lieu thereof, but it was also provided by the 35th section of this Act that "lands, tenements, and hereditaments lying in Wales," which have "been used time out of mind by the laudable customs of the said country should be departible among issues and heirs male as if this Act had never been had nor made." These two sections seem inconsistent. The intention evidently was that persons who relied upon any right under the ancient Welsh system of tenure were called upon to prove that it existed before the time of legal memory. The apparent variance was, however, remedied by the complete abolition of Welsh customs and rules of descent in 1542 (34-35 Henry 8, c. 26, s. 91); although the Welsh system of gavelkind still prevails in respect of customary lands in some manors of the Vale of Glamorgan, the manor of Talley in Caermarthenshire, Bishopston in Gower, and Liswerry and Pencarn in Monmouthshire.
