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Llanystumdwy

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"LLANYSTYMDWY, a parish in the hundred of Evionydd, county Carnarvon, 2 miles N.W. of Criccieth. Tremadoc is its post town. It is situated near the N. coast of Cardigan Bay, and is watered by the rivers Dwyfach and Dwyfawr, which are crossed at the village. This was once the property of Howell-y-Vwyall, who took John, King of France, prisoner at Poictiers. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Bangor, value £485, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is almost hidden in ivy. The parochial charities, including £31 to Hughes's school, produce £70 per annum. Plas Hên and Gwynvryn are the principal residences. A fair is held on the 17th April." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

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Bibliography

  • Eglwys y Plwyf Llanystumdwy = Parish Church. Llanystumdwy : Eglwys Llanystumdwy, [198-?] 6p
  • Gresham, Colin A. Highgate and the Lloyds of Llanystumdwy. Transactions of the Caernarvonshire Historical 51 (1990), p. 135-51
  • Lloyd George amd Nonconformity : the chapels of Llanystumdwy and Cricieth. Capel 23 (1994), p. 1-4
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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.

Llanystymdwy Parish; Statistics; Area 6780 acres; Population 577 males, 629 females, total 1206

  • Llanystumdwy Parish Church                    Attendance - average - morning 100, afternoon 40             Services in Welsh                  John Hughes, Rector
  • Tabernacle, Independent           Erected c 1831      Attendance - morning 33, afternoon 34, evening 101                      William Roberts, Independent Preacher
  • Bontfechan, Calvinistic Methodists                    Erected 1804      Attendance - morning 132, afternoon 111 scholars, evening 110                Robert Roberts, Deacon, Pen y bryn
  • Rhoslan Chapel, Congregational            Erected 1811           Attendance - morning 65 scholars, afternoon 141, evening 100                 William Ellis, Deacon, Hendre Llansdundwn
  • Capel y Beirdd, Particular Baptists         Erected 1821            Attendance - morning 22 + 3 scholars, afternoon 49 scholars, evening 93        John Williams, Baptist Minister, nr Dolbelmaen
        • 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 Llanystumdwy chapel (in Welsh ) - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Feb 2010)

         Various items - on the People's Collection Wales  site

        • ST JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH 
        • RHOSLAN INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, RHOS-LAN
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        Church Records

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        Description & Travel

        You can see pictures of Llanystumdwy which are provided by:

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        Gazetteers

        LLANYSTYNDWY (LLAN - YSTUM - DWY), a parish in the hundred of EIVIONYDD, Eivionydd division of the county of CARNARVON, NORTH WALES, 6 miles (N. E. by E.) from Pwllheli, containing 1115 inhabitants. This parish, of which the name signifies the church on the windings of the river Dwy, is pleasantly situated on the northern shore of Cardigan bay, and on the turnpike road leading from Pwllheli to Tremadoc : it comprises an extensive tract, of country, embracing a variety of rural beauty and pleasing scenery. The village, which is small, but has a very pretty appearance, is situated in a fine vale watered by the river Dwy, over which a neat bridge of three arches has been erected near it ; and the neighbourhood is enlivened by some handsome seats, which form interesting features in the landscape. Of these, the principal is Plas Hen, an ancient family mansion, celebrated as having been the residence of Sir Howel y Vwyall, who attended the Black Prince to the field of Poictiers, and is said to have taken the French king prisoner in the battle fought there : this estate is now the property of E. M. Lloyd Mostyn, Esq. Gwynvryn and Trevan, also in this parish, are both elegant mansions, and noted for the frequent and sanguinary feuds maintained between their respective lords, towards the close of the fifteenth century. A fair is held on April 17th. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry of Merioneth, and diocese of Bangor, rated in the king's books at £11.8.1 1/2., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Bangor. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and nearly rebuilt in 1819, is a small handsome edifice, very neatly fitted up, consisting of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles : the north aisle was built by the family of Priestly, under the sanction of a faculty. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists. A National school was established in 1819, for the gratuitous instruction of poor children ; and a school-house was built with funds which had accumulated from the rectory during the period for which it was held by Dr. Hughes, under a dispensation. The building, though small, is very neat and commodious; and there are at present sixty children in the school, which is partly supported by the funds above noticed, and partly by subscription. The Rev. John Jones, in 1690, bequeathed £ 50 in money, the interest to be annually distributed among ten poor people of this parish not receiving parochial relief ; Margaret Wynne bequeathed £ 50 for the relief of aged women, which benefaction has been lost by the failure of the persons to whom it was lent on interest ; and Thomas Prichard, in 1720, bequeathed £ 10 to the poor. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor is £377.7.   (A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis, 1833)
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        Genealogy

        Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

        • Lloyd George Museum archives 1835-1976
        • Lloyd George Family Papers 1819-1965 (accumulated [c. 1885]-1965)

        The grave of David Lloyd George, Llanystumdwy - on the Geograph site

        Various items - on the People's Collection Wales site 

        • David Lloyd George (1863-1945) [Collection]
        • A plaque on the grave of David Lloyd George in Llanystumdwy
        • David Lloyd George on Llanystumdwy bridge in 1944
        • Home of my boyhood", a photograph of David Lloyd George's boyhood home, Llanystumdwy
        •  First and last time Lloyd George appeared in public as Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, 1 January 1945

        A NLW site - David Lloyd George exhibition

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        History

        Talarvor, papers  1795-1878 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
        "John Williams and John Roberts ran a medical practice based at Talarvor, Llanystumdwy ........"

        The bridge and church, Llanystumdwy - on the People's Collection Wales  site

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        Land & Property

        Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

        • Gwynfryn and Cefndauddwr estate records 1822-1877 
          "Richard Ellis of Gwynfryn, Llanystumdwy, and vicar of Clynnog and Llanaenhaearn ........"
        • Gwynfryn estate, Llanystumdwy, deeds 1688-1926
        • Valuation of Gwynfryn and Plas Hen Estates 1876 - 1879
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        Law & Legislation

        Presentment by the jurors that two common bridges called Pont Llanystumdwy and Pont Forgan, in the parish of Llanystumdwy, 'for many years last passed have been very ruinous and in great decay', and should be repaired. Endorsed: 'We present it'. dd 1652 - 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)

        You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH468405 (Lat/Lon: 52.940015, -4.280849), Llanystumdwy which are provided by:

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        Occupations

         The workshop of Richard Lloyd, shoemaker (David Lloyd George's uncle) at Highgate, Llanystumdwy - on the People's Collection Wales  site

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        Schools

        The school at Llanystumdwy - on the People's Collection Wales  site.  
        "David Lloyd George was born in Manchester, but the village of Llanystumdwy in Eifionydd was always his "home". He lived here from the age of one until he was seventeen. And it was at the local church school that he led his first struggle for "religious freedom and equality" when he organised a boycott of reciting the Creed and the Catechism. He attended the school until July 1878 when the log-book records that he left "to be articled an Attorney."