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Gazetteers - Llanidan

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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

  • National Gazetteer, 1868
  • Lewis 1833

    National Gazetteer (1868)

    "LLANIDAN, a parish in the hundred of Menai, county Anglesey, 4 miles N.E. of Carnarvon, its post town. It is situated on the shore of Menai Strait, and includes the township of Brynshenkin. The Roman general Suetonius effected a landing in A.D. 60 at a spot between Porthamel and the river, about 1 mile from the village of Llanidan, still called Bryn Beddau, or the "hill of graves," from the number of the slain. The same passage was chosen a few years later by Agricola, who here dealt the deathblow to Druidic superstition, as related by Tacitus, who gives a graphic account of the engagement.

    The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Bangor, value with the curacies of Llanddaniel-Fab, Llanedwen, and Llaufairy-Cwmmwd, £292. The ancient church belonged to the priory of Beddgelert, but having a few years since fallen into decay, it was demolished, and a new one erected at Bryn Siencyn. In the old church were preserved an antique font, and a stone called Maen Morddwyd, to which miraculous powers were ascribed. The charities amount to about £3 per annum. Here are traces of a Roman road, and of a station called Caer-leb; also numerous relics connected with the Druids, as Tre'r Driw, the residence of the Arch-Druid, traces of which existed in Pennant's time; Bryn-gwyn, a circular hollow supposed to have been the tribunal of the Druids; semicircular dykes at Gwydryn and Castell Edris; and two large cromlechs at Bodowy and Perthu-Duon. Rowlands, the antiquary, who was once vicar of this parish, has given a full account of its antiquities in his "Mona Antiqua." Fairs are held on the 11th March, 14th April, 13th September, 12th October, and 12th November."

    "BRYNSHENKIN, a village in the parish of Llanidan, hundred of Menai, in the county of Anglesey, North Wales, 2 miles from Carnarvon. It is seated on the Menai Straits, and is near the spot where the Roman general Suetonius effected a landing."

    "LLANFAIRYNYCWMM WD, a chapelry in the parish of Llanidan, and hundred of Menai, county Anglesey, 2 files N.E. of Newborough, its post town, 4 from Carnarvon, and 6 from Bangor. It is situated on the river Brain. It is of small extent, and contains only a few farmhouses and cottages. The living is a curacy annexed to the vicarage of Llanidan, in the diocese of Bangor. The church is dedicated to St. Mary."

    [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

    LLANIDAN (LLAN-IDAN), a parish in the hundred of MENAI, county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES, 7 miles (S. W. by W.) from Bangor, containing 967 inhabitants. This extensive parish, which is situated on the western shore of the Menai strait, was in ancient times one of the principal stations of the Druids, and comprehended a large district, in which the arch-druid, the sub-druid, and other priests of that order had their residence. From this circumstance is derived the names of the several hamlets of the parish, of which Tre 'r Dryw was the seat of the arch-druid ; Tre 'r Beirdd, that of the bards; Bodowyr, the residence of the priests; and Bod Drudan, the habitation of the Druids. Suetonius, who entirely destroyed the authority of these priests in Britain, is said to have landed his forces at Porthaml, not far from this place, at a spot still called Pant yr Ysgraf, or " the valley of skiffs," from his having transported his infantry across the Menai in flat-bottomed boats. Being almost immediately compelled to retreat by the insurrection under Boadicea, the Roman general was unable to make any permanent settlement here, nor have any Roman remains, either of this or a later period, been discovered, with the exception only of a few coins, which have been occasionally dug up in the neighbourhood. The lands are, with some trifling exceptions, enclosed, and in a good state of cultivation. Limestone abounds in the parish, the quarrying and burning of which affords employment to several of the inhabitants : great quantities are burnt for manure, and shipped in the Menai, to be conveyed coastwise to Liverpool and other places. At Bryn Siencyn, near the strait of the Menai, in this parish, fairs are held on March 11th, April 14th, September 13th, October 12th, and November 12th. The living is a discharged vicarage, with the perpetual curacies of Llanddaniel-Vab, Llanedwen, and Llanvair y Cwmmwd annexed, in the archdeaconry of Anglesey, and diocese of Bangor, rated in the king's books at £ 10, and in the patronage of Lord Boston. The church, dedicated to St. Aidan, was originally founded in 616, and was afterwards appropriated to the convent of Bethgelart : it shared the fate of that establishment in 1535, and was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Edmund Downam and Peter Ashton, who, in 1605, sold it to Richard Prytherch of Myvyrian, whose daughter conveyed it by marriage to the Llwyds of Llugwy, on the extinction of which family it was purchased, with the rest of their estates, by Lord Uxbridge, who bequeathed it to the ancestor of the present patron. One-third of the great tithes is appropriated to the vicar. The present structure is spacious, and contains several good monuments : a curious reliquary is preserved in this church, formed of common gritstone, with a cover of the same material in the form of a dome. A stone called Maen Morddwyd, or "the stone of the thigh," to which the faculty of locomotion was anciently attributed, is said to be now built up in the wall of this church, but it is not sufficiently conspicuous to be easily distinguished. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, Henry Rowlands, in 1616, bequeathed a rent-charge of £ 1. 10. on his estate of Plas Gwyn, besides which there are some other charitable donations and bequests for distribution among the poor : the estate of Llyslew, bequeathed by Dr. H. Rowlands, Bishop of Bangor, for the support of his free grammar school at Bottwnog, is one of the best farms in this parish. Of the numerous Druidical and other British antiquities with which the parish abounded, and of which so exact an account has been given by the Rev. H. Rowlands, in his " Mona Antigua Restaurata," but very few are at present in any tolerable state of preservation, and of many there are scarcely any remains. The spacious grove and temple of Tre 'r Dryw are now scarcely distinguishable; and only a few of the stones which formed the sacraria are now remaining to mark out the site. Bryn Gwyn, the grand consistory of the Druidical administration, a circular cavity one hundred and eighty feet in diameter, and surrounded originally by an immense rampart of earth and stones, has only a few upright stones left, one of which, now forming part of the gable of a dwelling-house, is twelve feet in length and of proportionate bulk. Tre 'r Beirdd, " the seat of the bards," has been almost entirely demolished, the materials having been removed for building, and its site is occupied only by two small tenements. Bodowyr contains a cromlech supported on four upright stones, in a tolerably perfect state, but the circle has been entirely removed. Trevry has only three upright stones remaining, at a great distance from each other; the foundations have been removed, and the site was levelled by the plough in 1827. Tan ben y Cevn remains in an entire state, though concealed from observation by the brambles with which it is overspread. Two upright stones only are left at Llyslew ; and of numerous others, noticed by Mr. Rowlands, not the slightest vestiges can be traced. Caer Leb, or " the moated intrenchment," supposed by Mr. Rowlands to have been the residence of the arch-druid, is in good preservation : it forms a quadrangular area, defended by a double rampart, with a broad intervening ditch, and surrounded on the outside by a ditch of smaller dimensions : within the area are foundations of square and circular buildings. Castell Idris, built on the summit of a rock, and defended on the accessible sides by three walls in the form of a crescent, appears to be a fortress of later date, though of British origin : it is a place of great strength and in good preservation, though overgrown with brambles, and concealed by a young plantation of forest trees. The Rev. Henry Rowlands, an eminent antiquary, and author of the " Mona Antigua Restaurata," was vicar of this parish at the time he wrote that work. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor is £452. 18.

    LLANVAIR Y CWMMWD

    LLANVAIR Y CWMMWD (LLAN-VAIR-YN-CWMMWD), a chapelry in the parish of LLANIDAN, hundred of MENAI, county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES, 4 miles (N. W. by N.) from Carnarvon. The population is returned with the parish. This place, which is pleasantly situated near the right bank of the river Braint, partakes generally of the scenery by which the parish is characterized: the adjacent country is richly diversified, and the views are interesting and extensive. The living is a curacy, annexed to the Vicarage of Llanidan, in the archdeaconry of Anglesey, and diocese of Bangor. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, has been for years in a state of such dilapidation as to preclude the performance of divine service, but is at present being rebuilt, and, when completed, will afford great accommodation to the inhabitants of the chapelry, which is more than four miles distant from the parish church.

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