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Llanwddyn

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"LLANWDDYN, or LLANOUDDYN (LLANOWDDYN), a parish in the upper division of the hundred of LLANVYLLIN, county of MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 12 miles (W. by N.) from Llanvyllin, containing 668 inhabitants. This parish, which formerly constituted a chapelry, dependent on the adjacent parish of Llanrhaiadr in Mochnant, is said to derive its name from a giant named Wddin, or Owddyn,  ... The vale in which the village is situated is about five miles in length, and varies from half a mile to a mile in breadth :  ... The village occupies a pleasant site near the river Owddyn, a tributary of the Vyrnwy, and nearly at the north-western extremity of the county, ... Within the parish are two slate quarries, one at Gallt Forgan, near Rhiw Argor,  ...  The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient structure, ..." [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis, 1833]

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Bibliography

Allen, Grant. Drowning for Liverpool : Lake Vyrnwy and the end of old Llanwddyn 1887- 1889. Whitehaven : Past Presented, 2002. 20p

Davies, Stevie. Sebald's Austerlitz : a child of Llanwddyn. New Welsh Review. No. 55 (Spring 2002), p. 89-92 Llanwddyn & Lake Vyrnwy. Centenary ed. [Montgomery] : Llanwddyn Church, 1988. 24p

Nixon, Margaret M. A village remembers the year it was drowned : [Llanwddyn]. Country Quest 28/10 (1988), p. 22-3

Roberts, Owen.   The politics of health and the origins of Liverpool's Lake Vyrnwy Water Scheme, 1871-92   (NLW's site)   Welsh History Review 20

Rowlands, D W L. History and description of Llanwddyn and Lake Vyrnwy. Llanwddyn : Llanwddyn Parochial Church Council, [1977?] 21p

Silvester, R J. The Llanwddyn Hospitium. Montgomeryshire Collections 85 (1997), p. 63-76

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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.

Parish statistics; Area 20190 acres; Population 279 males, 241 females, total 520

  • Llanwddyn Parish Church           Attendance - morning 53, afternoon 46          Services in Welsh            John Evans, Curate
  • Sardis, Independent Denomination          Erected 28 years           Attendance - morning 75 + 25 scholars                John Lloyd, Deacon, Gwreiddie, Llanowddyn
  • Bethania, Calvinistic Methodist                Erected 1827               Attendance - morning 40, afternoon 30 scholars                Rowland Evans, Deacon, Cefncoch, Llanwddyn
  • Saron, Independent              Erected 24 years               Attendance - morning 52, afternoon 22 scholars              Robert Rees, Deacon, Dyfnant, Llangadfan
  • Bethel Chapel, Calvinistic Methodist                    Erected 1822              Attendance - morning 40 scholars, afternoon 85, evening 107              Thomas Davies, Deacon
  • Penyal Chapel, Rhiwargar Township, Calvinistic Methodist            Erected 1840               Attendance - morning 30 scholars            David Moses, Manager
  • Wesleyan Chapel, Llanwddyn              Erected 1808    Attendance - morning 30 scholars, afternoon 80, evening 120             (No signature)

    From the Victorian Powys for schools site - The drowned village of Llanwddyn
    "The parish church, two chapels ...... were all to be lost under the rising waters........... the remains of the dead were removed from the churchyard and reburied next to the new church. (1881-89)"

    Details of modern benefice of Llanwdddyn et al on the Church in Wales site

    Llanwddyn church  - on the People's Collection Wales site

    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 Sardis. Llanwddyn  chapel (in Welsh ) - with translation by Maureen Saycell (March 2010)

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    Church Records

    Detailed information on deposited registers and transcripts for this parish is given on the Powys Archives page Montgomeryshire parish registers

    As a guide only, the principal extant parochial church records for this parish span the dates shown below (as detailed in Parish Registers of Wales, NLW 2000) but exact current holdings should be confirmed with the individual Archives;

    • Baptisms 1624-44, 1649-59, 1662-3, 1665-80, 1684-91, 1693, 1695-1888; Marriages 1624-30, 1666-79, 1683-4, 1695, 1701-1968; Burials 1623-45, 1647, 1649-51, 1653-4, 1656-7, 1664, 1666-79, 1681-92, 1695-1881; Banns 1823-1928, 1940-91
      Parish Registers, or copies, for all or part of these dates are held at the NLW, and/or Powys Archives.
      Bishops Transcripts for various periods are held at the NLW, Denbighshire Archives and/or Flintshire Archives
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    Description & Travel

    Remains of the flooded village of Llanwddyn at Lake Vyrnwy 1933 - on the People's Collection Wales site;
    "The village of Llanwddyn ... was abandoned before the completion of the dam which flooded the river valley and created Lake Vyrnwy in 1888. In September 1933 the remains of the village were exposed for the first time by very low water levels caused by drought"

    Victorian Powys for schools site - The drowned village of Llanwddyn

    Various landscape photographs of the area and surrounds - on the People's Collection Wales site

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

    • Photograph album of Lake Vyrnwy    "Photographs, 1882-[1889], depicting the building of the dam, views of the valley and Llanwddyn as it was originally and just prior to flooding, the opening of the dam by George V, Conwy Tunnel inlet and Marchnant Tunnel inlet and dam."
    You can see pictures of Llanwddyn which are provided by:

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    Gazetteers

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    History

    The village of Llanwddyn before it was submerged by the waters of the Vyrnwy Dam [1886] - on the People's Collection Wales site

    The village of Llanwddyn after demolition, c. 1887 - on the People's Collection Wales site

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    Maps

    Map of Montgomeryshire parishes on Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society's site - shows dioceses

    You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH982225 (Lat/Lon: 52.790695, -3.510819), Llanwddyn which are provided by: