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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

National Gazetteer (1868)

>"TALYLLYN, a parish in the hundred of Estimaner, county Merioneth, 5 miles S.W. of Dolgelly, its post town, and 8 from Machynlleth. The village is situated on the river Mathew, under Cader-Idris and Arran-y-Gessel. The parish, which is of large extent, comprising 36,000 acres, includes Cedris, Ceuswyn, Corris, Llanerchgoediog, and Ystradgwyn. There are numerous ranges of slaty hills, affording only bare sheep walks. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the woollen manufacture. Llyn Mwyngil is famed for its trout and eel fishing. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Bangor, value £84, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. There is also a district church at Corris, the living of which is a perpetual curacy The parochial charities produce about £4 per annum."

"CEDRIS, a township in the parishes of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant and Talyllyn, in the county of Merioneth, North Wales, 6 miles S.W. of Dolgelly."

"CEUSWYN, a township in the parish of Talyllyn, in the county of Merioneth, 5 miles S. of Dolgelly."

"CORRIS, a township in the parish of Talyllyn, in the county of Merioneth, 5 miles S. of Dolgelly."

"LLANERCHGOEDIOG, a township in the parishes of Talyllyn and Tywyn, county Merioneth, in the vicinity of Towyn."

"YSTRAD-GWYMR, a township in the parish of Talyllyn, county Merioneth, 6 miles N.W. of Machynlleth."

[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

>TALYLLYN (TAL Y LLYN), a parish in the hundred of ESTIMANER, county of MERIONETH, NORTH WALES, 8 miles (S. by W.) from Dolgelley, containing 767 inhabitants. This place derives its name from the situation of its church at the head of a beautiful lake, called Llyn Mwyngil. The parish, which extends eight miles in length and four miles in breadth, includes a large portion of the lofty mountain Cader Idris, and is intersected by the turnpike road from Dolgelley to Towyn : it comprises about thirty-six thousand acres, of which only about six thousand are under cultivation, the remainder consisting chiefly of barren rugged hills, affording only pasturage to sheep and goats. The soil in the lower grounds, though shallow, is enriched by several small rivers, which descend from the hills in various parts of the parish. The scenery is strikingly romantic, and derives much beauty from the lakes, of which there are two within the limits of the parish ; one, called Llyncae, at the foot of Cader Idris, is about a quarter of a mile long and nearly of equal breadth ; and the other, called Mwyngil, which is the principal lake, is more than a mile in length, and something less than half a mile broad. The latter abounds with excellent trout and eels : the vale in which it is situated is so contracted as to leave, for a considerable part of its length, only a very narrow road on each side of the lake, from the clear surface of which are reflected its precipitous declivities. Towards the extremity of the vale the lake contracts gradually into the form of a river, rushing with rapidity through a stone arch into a very narrow pass, having on one side the church, and on the other the small cluster of houses which form the village, embosomed in trees, and assuming a romantically beautiful appearance. At the distance of a mile or two beyond the church, the hills almost meet, and present a sterile and rugged aspect; they are broken into numberless crags, of which some are vertical and sharply pointed, but the greater number project horizontally, and impend with threatening gloom over the vale beneath. One of these precipices, from its resemblance in form to a harp, has been called Pen y Delyn ; and another, from a tradition that it was formerly the practice to throw thieves from its summit, has been denominated Llam y Lladron, or " the thieves' leap." There were formerly some ancient seats in the parish, of which the principal were Aberleveni and Maes y pandy; but they have been abandoned by their proprietors, and are now occupied by tenants. Slate is found in the parish, and some quarries are now worked. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry of Merioneth, and diocese of Bangor, endowed with £400 royal bounty, and £ 1400 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, and beautifully situated within a few yards of the lake, is an ancient building in the early style of English architecture. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. A mineral spring, called the Bishop's Well, was formerly much resorted to for its efficacy in the cure of rheumatism. At a place called Llwyn Dol Ithel was found, in 1684, while digging for turf, a coffin made of deal, seven feet in length, and carved and gilt at both ends : two skeletons were deposited in it, the feet of the one lying by the head of the other : they were of uncommon size, and the bones moist and tough. Within a few yards of the coffin were found two other skeletons of the same size, lying on the clay, and near them a grave in which was a skeleton of the ordinary size ; along the grave and coffin were laid hazel rods, with the bark remaining, and perfectly pliable. The high state of preservation in which these relics were found is attributed to the bituminous quality of the turbary in which they were deposited. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £445. 6.

 

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