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The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

National Gazetteer, 1868

"LLANWDDYN, a parish in the hundred of Llanfyllin, county Montgomery, 10 miles N.W. of Llanfyllin, and 10 N.E. of Dinas Mowddy. Oswestry is its post town. It is situated on the river Bechan, and includes five townships, of which Rhiewargor and Sputy are the principal. Here are slate quarries. The living is a perpetual curacy * in the diocese of St. Asaph. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, formerly belonged to the knights of St. John. The charities amount to about £3 per annum. Fairs are held on the 8th May and 2nd October."

"GARTHBWLCH, a township in the parish of Llanwddyn, county Montgomery, North Wales, 8 miles S.W. of Llanfyllin. The river Bechan flows through the neighbourhood."

"LLAN, a township in the parish of Llanwddyn, county Montgomery, 10 miles W. of Llanfyllin."

"RHIEWARGOR, a township in the parish of Llanwddyn, hundred of Llanfyllin, county Montgomery, 12 miles N.W. of Llanfyllin, near the river Bechan, or Owddyn."

"SPUTY, a township in the parish of Llanwddyn, county Montgomery, 10 miles W. of Llanfyllyn."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)
Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

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A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis, 1833

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, who was born here ; and on the neighbouring hills is a place called Gwely Wddin, or " the bed of Wddin," where he is supposed to have resided. But other accounts, with more probability, describe Wddin to have been an anchoret, who had a cell among the rocks in this place, in which he lived in seclusion and retirement. It is affirmed, on the authority of an absurd local tradition, that immense treasures are concealed in this place, and that all attempts to discover them have been frustrated by incessant storms. The path of Wddin, when he went to visit St. Monacella, whose cell was at Pennant Melangel, on the other side of the mountain, five miles distant, is still pointed out, and called by his name. 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 : it is frequently covered with water during the winter months, but, if drained, would be one of the most picturesque and fertile in this part of the principality. 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, in a sequestered spot sheltered by mountains on both sides. Within the parish are two slate quarries, one at Gallt Forgan, near Rhiw Argor, which has been worked for some years ; the other at Lluestwen, about two miles south-westward from the village, which was opened in the year 1830. The quantity of slates raised from these quarries is but very inconsiderable, and, though the mines are capable of producing a vast amount, must necessarily remain so till better roads are made for conveying the produce to the surrounding districts. Attempts to procure lead-ore have been repeatedly made at Cynon Isa and other places, but without sufficient success to remunerate the adventurers. Fairs are annually held in the village on May 8th and October 2nd, principally for cattle and horses. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. Asaph, endowed with £400 royal bounty, and £1000 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Earl of Powis. The tithes of the parish belong to the Earl and to the Dean and Chapter of St. Asaph, with the exception of those of the township of Garthbwlch, which are appropriated to the rector and vicar of Llansantfraid yn Mechan. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, is an ancient structure, which formerly belonged to the knights hospitallers : in the churchyard are some remarkably fine yew trees. Mr. David Humphreys, in 1721, bequeathed £30 to the poor of the parish, the interest of which sum is annually distributed according to the will of the testator. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor is £167. 7.

 

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