Gazetteers - Llaneilian

• National Gazetteer, 1868
• Lewis 1833

---

National Gazetteer (1868)

"LLANEILIAN, a parish in the hundred of Twrcelyn, county Anglesey, 2 miles E. of Amlwch, its post town, and 6 N.E. Llanerchymedd. It is situated on the north-eastern .part of the coast, the village being about three-quarters of a mile from Lynas Point, where there is a lighthouse and telegraph station, which, previous to the introduction of electric wires, communicated by semaphore with Holyhead and Puffin Island. The parish includes the township of Rhosbeirio. Much of the copper ore extracted from the Parys Mountain is exported from this place. The village is considerable, and many of the inhabitants are engaged in the mines.

The living is a rectory in the diocese of Bangor, value with the curacies of Coedanna and Rhosbeirio annexed, £400, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Elian, has a steeple, an architectural addition unusual in Wales. It is said to stand on the same spot as one built by the saint in the 5th century; and close to it is the ancient chapel, containing a wooden altar of the 15th century, and chest to receive the people's offerings. There are still some superstitious observances connected with the chapel. The Calvinistic Methodists have a place of worship. The charities produce about £20 per annum. This was at one time a sanctuary. The saint's holy well, once much resorted to by pilgrims, is now nearly dried up. A wake is held on the first Friday in August."

"LYNAS POINT and COVE, in the parish of Llaneilian, county Anglesey, 2 miles E. of Amlwch. It is a pilot station for Liverpool ships, and has a lighthouse 128 feet high, put up in 1836, which may be seen for 10 miles at sea."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

---

A Topographical Dictionary of Wales
Samuel Lewis, 1833

LLANEILIAN (LLAN-ELIAN), a parish in the hundred of TWRCELYN, county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES, 2 miles (E.) from Amlwch, containing 1438 inhabitants. This parish is of considerable antiquity, and early in the fifth century was the residence of Caswallon Law-Hir, Prince of North Wales, who had a palace on the summit of Llaneilian mountain, the site of which is at present occupied by a small cottage, called from that circumstance "Llys Caswallon." It derives its name from St. Eilian, who, in 450, founded a church here, which was munificently endowed by Caswallon, and adjoining to which that prince erected a chapel ; and these edifices, with the exception only of Llanbadrig church, were the earliest places of Christian worship erected in the principality. St. Eilian, who was bishop of Lindisfarne, was celebrated for the sanctity of his life ; and the high veneration in which his memory was held drew multitudes from the remotest parts of Britain to this place, in which he had resided, in order to obtain, by their pilgrimage and votive offerings, the highly appreciated benefit of his favour and protection. The offerings of the pilgrims upon these occasions amounted annually to a large sum, and were received in a chest kept in the church for that purpose, and called Cyff Eilian, from the contents of which the church of St. Eilian and the chapel of Caswallon were elegantly rebuilt, and two farms purchased, the rents of which, till within a very recent period, were applied to keeping them in repair. It was the custom of the devotees to visit a well called Fynnon Eilian, situated in a barren part of the parish, among wild and broken rocks, on the eve of the saint's festival, and, after drinking the water, to kneel for some time before the altar of a small chapel erected over it : they afterwards repaired to the parish church, where they performed other ceremonies, concluding with an offering to the saint. This custom even at present prevails to a small extent, and though the spring is nearly dried up and the chapel in ruins, many persons still annually resort to this place, for the purpose of imploring the intercession of the saint for persons labouring under grievous sickness ; and their offerings upon these occasions are annually distributed among the poor. The parish, which is extensive, is situated at the northern extremity of the island, upon the shore of the Irish sea, into which a part of it considerably projects, forming a headland, called by Caswallon, in honour of his tutor, Hilary's Point, a name which it still bears ; and off the coast is good. anchorage for coasting vessels, of which many are employed in conveying copper-ore and other mineral produce from the Parys mountain, which is partly in this parish. The surface is varied, and, with the exception of the mountainous portion, and several acres of turbary and moor land, is generally enclosed and cultivated, Several attempts have been made at various times, on Llaneilian mountain, to discover copper-ore, of which a considerable vein has recently been found on Rhos Myneich, and several men are at present employed in working it for a Cornish mining company.

The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacies of Coedanna and Rhospeirio annexed, in the archdeaconry of Anglesey, and diocese of Bangor, rated in the king's books at £14. 1. 8., and in the patronage of the Bishop. The church, dedicated to St. Eilian, is an elegant structure, partly in the early and partly in the decorated style of English architecture, with a tower surmounted by a spire : the entire edifice, which is embattled, is handsomely and substantially built of grit-stone, with quoins and cornices of freestone. It comprises a nave and chancel, the roofs of which are internally of ancient carved oak, that of the latter resting upon finely sculptured corbels of angels playing on musical instruments. A splendid screen of richly carved oak, ornamented with a portrait of St. Eilian, but much defaced with paint, separates the chancel from the nave, in the former of which are four stalls of tabernacle-work, with the date 1533, and an altar-piece of carved oak, of inferior execution. The east window, of three lights, enriched with tracery, and surmounted by an elegant ogee canopy, contains some portions of ancient stained glass. Within a few yards of the church, and now communicating with the chancel by means of a covered passage, which greatly disfigures the appearance of the building, is the small chapel of Caswallon, a beautiful structure, containing an altar-piece of oak, richly and elaborately carved, and ornamented with an east window of elegant design : in this chapel is kept the oak chest, called Cyff Eilian, in which are still deposited the offerings of the devotees at the shrine of this saint. About the middle of the seventeenth century, a considerable sum of money was expended for oil paintings of the Apostles and St. Eilian, of which that of the latter is the only one now remaining. In digging a grave in the churchyard, many years ago, a deep trench was discovered, extending about twenty yards in length, and containing a great quantity of human bones, supposed to be the place of interment of a number of sailors, who at some remote period perished upon this coast in a storm. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists. The village wakes, commonly called Gwyl Mab Saint, formerly continued for three weeks, and, though now lasting only for about half that time, are still very numerously attended. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £ 237.

(Copied using  the Cd published by Archive Cd Books)