Llandysiliogogo - Extract from 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' by Samuel Lewis 1833

"LLANDYSILIO-GOGO (LLAN-DYSILIO-GOGOV), a parish in the lower division of the hundred of MOYTHEN, county of CARDIGAN, SOUTH WALES, 18 miles (W. N. W.) from Lampeter, containing 1430 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the shore of Cardigan bay, and is intersected by the turnpike road from Cardigan to Aberystwith, derives its name from the dedication of its church to St. Tysilio, and its adjunct " Gogo," or more properly "Gogovau," from the numerous caverns worn by the sea in the rocks which line this part of the coast. The Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII was entertained by Davydd ab Ievan at his mansion of Llwyn Davydd, in this parish, on the first night after his arrival in Cardiganshire, on his route to Bosworth Field ; and to this circumstance has been attributed the origin of the family of Parry, or ab Harry, in consequence of an illicit intercourse which is reported to have then taken place between the earl and the daughter of his host. There is a small haven formed on the bay, at a place called Cwm Tydwr, in this parish, where two or three small vessels are regularly engaged in conveying limestone and culm from their respective districts : the former is burnt into lime for manure, and in that state sold to the farmers.The living is a discharged vicarage, with that of Llangranog annexed, in the archdeaconry of Cardigan, and diocese of St.David's, rated in the king's books at £3.18.1 1/2, and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. David's. The church is an ancient structure, in the early style of English architecture, and consists of a nave, chancel, and south aisle ; the nave is separated from the chancel by a stone screen of good character ; the font, which is octangular, is supported on a pillar of the same form ; and near the western entrance is an ancient piscina. Capel Cynin, in this parish, was a chapel originally in the patronage of the Vicar of Llandysilio-Gogo, but was suffered to fall into decay. It was afterwards rebuilt by the parishioners, in the year 1820, and was subsequently endowed by Major Parry of Gernos, the proprietor of the Cwm Cynin estate, with the sum of £200, to which has been added £2000 by parliamentary grant: the living is now a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Major Parry. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, and Presbyterians. A small Sunday school for the gratuitous instruction of poor children is supported by subscription. The ancient family mansion of the estate of Cwm Cynin is now a farm- house. In Cwm Tydwr are the foundations of some ancient buildings, which, according to tradition, are the remains of the ancient castellated mansion of the Tudors. Llwyn Davydd, the ancient residence of Davydd ab Ievan, is now become a considerable village; and not far from it are the remains of an ancient fortress, called Castell Llwyn Davydd, comprising a circular area, nearly two hundred feet in diameter, strongly defended by moats and ramparts. Within the area it has the appearance of a large tumulus, but nothing is positively known of its origin or history: by some it has been thought to have been the castle of Mâb Wynion, which was taken by Rhys ab Grufydd, in 1164. On a farm called Ciliau, in this neighbourhood, is Garn Wen, or " the white heap," a circular enclosure about two hundred feet in diameter, surrounded by a rampart of loose stones, and divided into three compartments : to the south-west of it is a space of three acres, which appears to have been defended by a mound of earth. It must have been a place of great strength, and appears to have furnished materials for building most of the stone walls in its immediate vicinity. The history of this work has not been satisfactorily ascertained; a hill to the west of it still retains the appellation of Cwen y Cwrt, or " the hill of the court," from which circumstance it has been supposed to have been originally a station for the administration of justice to the inhabitants of the district, during the earlier periods of the principality. About thirty years since, a curious vessel was dug up in this parish, made of bell metal, and resembling a flagon in its form; it is supposed to have been used for holding the sacramental wine, and from its having been found in a turbary, near the remains of a dilapidated chapel, the probability of that conjecture derives additional strength. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £545.13."

[Gareth Hicks: 8 December 1999]