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Llysfaen

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"LLYSFAEN, a parish in the hundred of Creuddyn, county Carnarvon and partly in the county of Denbigh, 4 miles W. of Abergele, its post town, and 7 E. of Conway. It is situated on the N. coast, adjoining the county of Denbigh, and includes, with Pant and Isallt, 5 townships. The Liverpool Telegraph had a station here. Limestone is obtained. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of St. Asaph, value £250, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is dedicated to St. Cynvran. The charities amount to about £4 per annum." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

"A parish in the Union of Conway, forming a detached portion of the hundred of Creuddyn, county of Carnarvon, and locally within the shire of Denbigh; 4 miles (W) from Abergele, containing 679 inhabitants. This parish, which is extremely mountainous, comprises 1772 acres. ..... A considerable quantity of limestone is quarried from the rocks here, and shipped at Llandulas Bay for Liverpool. The village consists of five houses only." [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833 & 1849, Samuel Lewis]

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The ancient parish comprised the townships of Isallt, Isyffordd, Pant ( or Tre'r Pant), Penmaen and Rhwngyddwyffordd.
Historically, until 1 April 1923, it was a completely detached portion of the commote of Creuddyn (Caernarfonshire).
In 1872, part of the parish was lost to Colwyn; but, at the same time, it gained part of the township of Twynnan, from the parish of Llanelian yn Rhos.

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Bibliography

  • Davies, Joan M. Llysfaen - our village. [Llanddulas] : [Joan M. Davies], 1994. 48p
  • Ellis, Bryn. A brief history of Llanddulas and Llysfaen quarries. Abergele Field Club and Historical Society Review 17 (1998), p. 3-10
  • Jones, Francis. Dechreuad a chynydd y Methodistiaid Calfinaidd yn Abergele, Pensarn, Bettws, Llysfaen, Llanddulas, Penbryn-Llwyni, Morfa a Thywyn. Dolgellau : Argraffwyd gan E. W. Evans, 1908. 91p
  • Williams, Idris. Tabor Llysfaen. [Llysfaen] : [Eglwys Tabor], 1986. 16p
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Cemeteries

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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.

Llysfaen Parish; Statistics; Area 1900 acres; Population 397 males, 374 females, total 771

  • Llysfaen Parish Church     Attendance - usual - morning 30, afternoon 20                Informant; Robert Williams
  • Bethel, Calvinistic Methodists          Erected 1834          Attendance - morning 55 scholars, afternoon 58, evening 52             John Evans, One of the Elders, Bryniau Cochion, Llysfaen
  • Wesleyan Methodists                      Endowed 1803             Attendance - morning 80, afternoon 86 scholars, evening 140                William Williams, Elder, Bronllau

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of ;

  • Old Colwyn, Methodist Chapel, Wynn Avenue
  • Hebron Presbyterian Chapel, Abergele Rd, Old Colwyn

St Cynfran Church, Llysfaen - on the Clwyd FHS site

St Cynfran - on CPAT

Ordnance Survey reference SH 893775.
Tradition states that the church was founded by St. Cynfran in AD 777. It was mentioned in the Norwich Taxation of 1254. There have been several churches on the same site - the present building is believed to date from about 1377, incorporating stones from the original building. It was extensively restored in 1870.

Nonconformist Churches

Nonconformist places of worship for Llysfaen were included in the "Welsh Church Commission - County of Denbigh - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905" under the Civil parish of Colwyn Bay. Details will be found on the parish page for Colwyn Bay

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Church Records

Joyce Hinde has supplied a list of Parish Registers held at the Caernarfon Area Record Office.

Parish Registers

  • The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin.
    They may be viewed on microfilm at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    These microfilms are not available elsewhere.
    The Baptism and Burial Registers covering the period 1761 - 1809 were recorded as being in Llysfaen Church in 1831; but they now appear to be lost.
    Fortunately, the Bishop's Transcripts for most of that period have survived, and have been deposited in the National Library of Wales.
Baptisms Marriages Burials
1661 - 1760
1809 - 1857
1663 - 1753
1755 - 1938
1661 - 1760
1809 - 1931
  • Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :
Baptisms Marriages Burials
1661 - 1812 1662 - 1812 1661 - 1812

Bishop's Transcripts

  • Bishop's Transcripts for the years shown below have been deposited in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    Around the year 1951, most of the Bishop's Transcripts which had been deposited at that time were microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    The films may also be viewed at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales.
    In general, the Bishop's Transcripts are less complete than the parish registers.
Deposited at the National Library of Wales Microfilmed copies
1662 - 1844 1662 - 1844

I.G.I.

  • There are no official I.G.I. entries for St. Cynfran's, Llysfaen.
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Civil Registration

When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Llysfaen was assigned to the No. 2 ("Creuddyn") sub-district of the Conwy Registration District; which was co-extensive with the Conwy poor law Union.

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Llysfaen are in the format :

  • Years 1837 - 1851: Conway XXVII. nnn
  • Years 1851 - 1930: Conway 11b. nnn

(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)

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Description & Travel

Llysfaen - on Wikipedia

You can see pictures of Llysfaen which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for this parish from the National Gazetteer (1868), provided by Colin Hinson.

LLYSVAEN (LLYS-VAEN), a parish forming a detached portion of the hundred of CREUDDYN, county of CARNARVON,, though locally within the county of DENBIGH, NORTH WALES, on the road from Abergele to Aberconway, 4 miles (W.) from Abergele, containing 585 inhabitants. This parish, which is of small extent and extremely mountainous, is bounded on the north by the Irish sea, and is crossed by the great turnpike road from Chester to Holyhead, close to the shore, which has a fine sandy beach : a considerable quantity of limestone is quarried from the rocks here, and shipped for Liverpool : the village consists of five houses only. The living is a discharged rectory, locally in the archdeaconry, and in the diocese, of St. Asaph, rated in the king's books at £ 12. 0. 5., and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. Asaph. The church, dedicated to St. Cynvran, is a spacious edifice, consisting of a nave, chancel, and south aisle. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists. Some years ago an elegant gold ring, enamelled and of good workmanship, weighing about an ounce, and bearing the name ALHSTAN, was found upon a mountain near the church; and is now in the possession of Mr. Walker, of Chester: according to Mr. Pegge, it belonged to a military commander of that name in King Egbert's army, which invaded North Wales in 818. Another gold ring, heavier and of rough workmanship, was picked up near the same place; and, in 1826, a great number of silver coins, principally struck in the reigns of Stephen, Henry I., John, Edward I., and Edward III., and in an excellent state of preservation, was found. Upon the apex of this mountain a signal staff telegraph was erected in 1827, which communicates with Voel y Nant, near Llanasaph on the east, and Orme's Head on the west, forming part of the line of intercourse between Holyhead and Chester. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor is £191.6. (A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis, 1833)
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Land & Property

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

  • Ty'n-y-rallt Estate Records 1785-1883    "North Denbighshire Benefit Building Society, active in the late 19th century, owned property in Llysfaen Caernarfonshire"
  • Llysfaen and Llanhalan Photocopies  1960s [copies of originals dating from 1546 and 1651]
    "John ap Griffith ap Ieuan held lands in the township of Llysfaen in the commote of Creuddyn, Caernarfonshire, c. 1546 ..."
  • Rent book of portions of the Plas-yn-Cefn Estate    "Rent book of farms and cottages in the Colwyn - Llysfaen district of Denbighshire, being portions of the Plas-yn-Cefn Estate...."
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Maps

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

"North-East Wales Churches and Ancient Parish Boundaries" produced by Clwyd Record Office in 1994, published by Genuki with the permission of Flintshire Record Office and Denbighshire Archives

A map of the parish of Llysfaen in the County of Carnarvon - on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH876768 (Lat/Lon: 53.276475, -3.686428), Llysfaen which are provided by:

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Military History

A card sent on 18 December 1916 by Owen Davies to his parents, Eliza and Edwin Davies, Llysfaen, Colwyn Bay. The image shows a soldier in the trenches dreaming of his family at home    -  on the People's Collection Wales site

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Population

  • In 1831- the population was 585.
  • In 1901- the population was 1489.
    [ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]
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Public Records

Llysfaen Parish Council Records 1894-1923 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales

 


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Statistics

Archdeacon Thomas gives the area of the parish as 1879 acres.
[ The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph , 1908-1913, Ven. D.R. Thomas]