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Llandegai / Llandygái

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"LLANDEGAI (Llandygái) , a parish in the hundred of Uchaf, county Carnarvon, 1 mile E. of Bangor, its post town and nearest railway station, and 10 miles from Carnarvon. It is situated near the coast, to the N.W. of Snowdon, and includes the townships of Coed-y-Park, Port Penrhyn, and Trer-Garth. The surface is mountainous, including the peaks of Carnedd Llewelyn and Carnedd Davydd, above 3,000 feet high. In 1648 a battle was fought near this spot between Sir John Owen, of Clenenney, and Colonel Mytton, at the head of the parliamentary army, in which the former was taken prisoner. The Bangor and Holyhead line of railway here crosses the valley of the Ogwen, a little to the left of the village, on a lofty viaduct. In this parish are extensive quarries of roofing-slate, employing above 2,000 workmen; they have been wrought for nearly a century:; and in other parts are minerals, including copper, iron, lead, manganese, zinc, &c." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

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Bibliography

  • Caffell, Gwenno. Cerrig Cannan, Llandegai and Llanllechid. Archaeology in Wales 28 (1988), p. 85-6
  • Douglas Pennant, E H. The Pennants of Penrhyn : a genealogical history of the Pennant family of Clarendon, Jamaica, and Penrhyn Castle. Bethesda : Gwasg Ffrancon, 1982. 53p
  • Hughes, Hugh D. Antiquities of Llandegai and Llanllechid  (Hynafiaethau Llandegai a Llanllechid), Bethesda : Argraphwyd dros yr awdwr gan R. Jones, 1866. 160p
  • National Trust. Penrhyn Castle, Bangor, Caernarvonshire. [London] : National Trust, [1970] 16p
  • Owen, Robert. Hanes dechreuad a chynydd y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd ym mhlwyfydd Llanllechyd a Llandegai. Bangor : arg. gan Evan Williams, [1882]. 144p
  • Parry, William. Hanes llenyddiaeth ac enwogion Llanllechid a Llandegai : sef, Traethawd buddugol yn Eisteddfod Gadeiriol Bethesda, 1867. Bangor : Argraffwyd gan J. Mendus Jones, 1868. 123p  
  • The stranger's best guide to Bangor, Penrhyn Castle and the slate quarries, and through the most picturesque scenery of Carnarfonshire. Bangor : T. Catherall, [1856] 72p
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Cemeteries

Transcriptions of memorials from all cemeteries are available from Gwynedd FHS. Transcriptions include maps of the cemeteries which can be used to aid in locating graves. 

  • Eglwys St. Tegai, Llandegai - Church currently open. Cemetery is accessible (modern portion maintained in superior state to older portion)
  • Eglwys Tanysgrafell, Bethesda - Church long since abandoned and is a ruin in amongst the trees. Graves are generally accessible with some difficulty. 
  • Eglwys St. Ann (Capel), Mynydd Llandegai - Church/Chapel abandoned and in deteriorating state of repair. Cemetery is accessible (modern portion maintained in superior state to older portion)
  • Eglwys St. Mair / St. Mary's (Y Gelli), Tregarth - Church currently open. Cemetery is accessible 
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Census

1851 Census of Llandegai. A full transcription by Joyce & Douglas Hinde in both "As Enumerated" and "Surname Order" form.

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Church History

Church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 11, North Wales. Ed. by Ieuan Gwynedd Jones, UWP, 1981. The names given towards the end of each entry are those of the informants.

Llandegai Parish; Statistics; Area 16100 acres; Population 1782 males, 1616 females, total 3398

  • Llandegai Parish Church              Attendance - morning 215 + 85 + 82 scholars, afternoon 105          "There are attending this Church at Llandegai two distinct congregations - Welsh in the Morning and English in the afternoon. The Church is much too small for the Welsh at all times, and also too small for the English in the summer. It is now being enlarged considerably solely at the expense of Hon. L G Douglas Pennant, M.P. for the County."       Services in Welsh  - and English in the summer          W Morgan, Incumbent
  • Capel Curig Chapel of Ease       Repaired about 16 years ago       Attendance - morning 40, evening 32              Robert Humphreys, Minister (perp. curate)
  • St Anne's Episopal Chapel, Llandegai                 Erected in 1813 at the expense of the Penrhyn family          Attendance - morning 250, evening 140    Services in Welsh      Morris Hughes, Minister
  • Amana Independents         Erected 1845                 Attendance - morning 90 (prayer meeting), 138 scholars School, afternoon 182, evening 150          William Griffith, Secretary, Brynglas
  • Hermon, Calvinistic Methodists             Erected 1845            Attendance - morning 44 + 197 scholars, afternoon 137, evening 40 + 175 scholars      "What was the care that you sent us these papers in English instead of Welsh. We believe that our Language ought to be loved by every heart that can talk it. We think is is the best Language now in the whole earth, and if you cant talk Welsh there we can talk English here. We love our dear Language and we like to have every paper belonging to us in Welsh."   Daniel Jones, Minister
  • Peniel, Wesleyan Methodists           Erected 1845          Attendance - morning 112, afternoon 92 scholars, evening 126                John Evans, Wesleyan Methodists, Bangor
  • Penygroes Chapel, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist            Erected 1837        Attendance - morning 217, afternoon 171 scholars, evening 205       Griffith Jones, Minister, Bangor
  • Cerig Llwydion, Congregational                 Erected 1844           Attendance - morning 40, afternoon 50, evening 55                 John Parry, Superintendent, Chwarelgoch, Llandegai
  • Shiloh, Wesleyan Methodists      Erected 1829           Attendance - morning 300 scholars, afternoon 339, evening 394            John Evans, Wesleyan Minister

        St. Julitta's Chapel.    See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph  
        "Until 1848, Capel Curig formed a chapelry in the parish of Llandegai but was administered by the priest from Dolwyddelan. with the growing number of visitors to Capel Curig in the 19th century the old church became too small to accommodate the congregation and a new church was opened in 1883. The new church was dedicated to St. Curig, the boy martyr and the dedication of the old church was then changed to St. Julitta - Curig's mother". 

        Gwynedd FHS currently hold a copy of Bishops transcripts for St. Julitta's chapel in their library - C959 The Church of St Julitta's : Bishops Transcripts 1754-1838 in the parish of Llandegai.

        Account Book of the Society for the Assistance of Church Causes in Llandegai 1878-1907  - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales Essay : a history of the characters involved in the Congregational cause at Llandegai  Early 20th century - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales   " An essay presented to W.J. Parry at the Bethlehem Literary Meeting. It is a history of the characters who were at the forefront of the Caegwigyn and Bethlehem Congregational causes in Llandegai..."

        Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is the entry from this book for Amana chapel (in Welsh )     - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Sept 2009)

        Llandegai Church - on the People's Collection Wales  site

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          Church Records

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          Description & Travel

          National Trust - Penrhyn Castle

          Journey to the past - Penrhyn Castle & Quarry

          People's Collection Wales site - photographs of Penrhyn Castle, Llandygai

          Mynydd Llandegai - on Wikipedia

          Penrhyn Castle - on the People's Collection Wales  site

          Llandegai - on wikipedia

          Various landscapes - on the People's Collection Wales  site

          You can see pictures of Llandegai / Llandygái which are provided by:

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          Gazetteers

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          History

          Llandegai Village - on the People's Collection Wales  site

          Hanes Dyffryn Ogwen by John Ll. Williams and Lowri W. Williams - A truly outstanding collection of discussions on the history of Dyffryn Ogwen/Ogwen Valley (Llanllechid/Llandegai). The information is likely to be of great interest to genealogists - it includes images/scans from old books and documents as well as local expertize on a wide range of topics. Regularly updated with new posts.  [The website and discussions are in Welsh - use of online translation websites should be of help, otherwise websites such as Rootschat or local Gwynedd history groups on Facebook usually have members willing to translate short sections]

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          Land & Property

          Carr, A D. Gwilym ap Gruffydd and the rise of the Penrhyn Estate.   (NLW's site)   Welsh History Review 15
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          Law & Legislation

          Warrant of Apprehension of Harvey Jones of Braich y Cafn, quarryman, accused of assaulting Jane Jones of Kil Gerraint, pa[rish] Llandegai [Llandygái]. dd 12 Jan 1795 - on the People's Collection Wales  site

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          Maps

          Gwynedd Family History Society have a diagram of the ecclesiastical parishes of Caernarfonshire (under Parishes)

           Map of the parish of Llandegai in the County of Carnarvon - on the People's Collection Wales  site

          You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH651644 (Lat/Lon: 53.159519, -4.019752), Llandegai / Llandygái which are provided by:

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          Public Records

          Llandegai Parish Settlement and Removal Papers etc. 1821-1824 March 16 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales

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          Social Life & Customs

          John Morris Poetry and Essays [1920s]  - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
          "Three poems and two essays on the subject of place-names in Llanllechid and industries in Llanllechid and Llandegai.."