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Llanrhychwyn is a hamlet in Conwy county borough, Wales. It lies in the Conwy valley, less than a mile south of Trefriw, and a mile north-west of Llanrwst. Today neighbouring Trefriw is a village with a population of around 600, but in the time of
Llywelyn Fawr Llywelyn the Great ( cy, Llywelyn Fawr, ; full name Llywelyn mab Iorwerth; c. 117311 April 1240) was a King of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually "List of rulers of Wales, Prince of the Welsh" (in 1228) and "Prince of Wal ...
(Llywelyn the Great), and up to the early 19th century, Llanrhychwyn was larger than Trefriw, which consisted simply of "a few houses here and there" (quote from ''Hanes Trefriw'', by Morris Jones). Indeed, even today both Trefriw and Llanrhychwyn lie within the parish of Llanrhychwyn. The area around Llanrhychwyn had a population of only 178 in 2011. The adjacent
Gwydir Forest Gwydir Forest, also spelled Gwydyr, is located in Conwy county borough and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales. It takes its name from the ancient Gwydir Estate, established by the Sir John Wynn, 1st Baronet, John Wynn family of Gwydir Castle ...
would have provided work for many of the inhabitants. A number of metal mines were located in the forest, and the heyday of metal mining here was between 1850 and 1919. The forest also provided wood, and both timber and metal were transported from the forest to the quay at neighbouring Trefriw, from where it was shipped downstream to the coast. Llanrhychwyn takes its name from Saint Rhychwyn (sometimes recorded as Rhochwyn), son of Helig ap Glannog, the prince who lived at
Llys Helig Llys Helig is the name of a natural rock formation off the coast at Penmaenmawr, north Wales. There may be a fish weir to the south which tradition dates to the beginning of the 6th century. The sea level was low enough around 1600 AD to make the ...
before it was inundated by the sea, and now the subject of myth and legend. Rhychwyn had several brothers who established churches and became saints, including Celynin, who established the old church at
Llangelynnin Llangelynnin (; Welsh for ''The church of Celynnin'') is a former parish in the Conwy valley, in Conwy county borough, north Wales. Today the name exists only in connection with the church, a school in the nearby village of Henryd, and the nearb ...
, near
Henryd Henryd () is a village and community on the western slopes of the Conwy valley in Conwy county borough, north Wales. It lies about south of Conwy, off the B5106 road. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 594, increasing to 715 at the 2011 ...
, further down the valley.


The church

Llanrhychwyn's main claim to fame is its parish church, which many claim is the oldest in Wales, marking the site where Rhychwyn originally established his church in the 6th century. The church is known locally as Llewelyn's Church, and the oldest part dates from the late 11th century. Llywelyn Fawr, Prince of
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
and ''de facto'' Prince of Wales, had a hunting lodge in Trefriw, close to Llanrhychwyn, known in documents as 'Y Ty Du'. Llywelyn married Siwan or
Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
a daughter of King John of England in 1205. In about 1230 Llywelyn endowed another church for the local community living on the valley bottom in the commotal centre, on the site where St Mary's, Trefriw now stands. Llywelyn and Siwan are portrayed in a remarkable
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
window in the church, as are Rhychwyn and David in a window dating from 1533. An inscription in Latin asks for prayers for the donors. Set within an ancient
churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...
, the church is a good example of early architecture. The east aisle was added in the 13th century, and the north aisle dates from the 16th century. It has a very old square
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...
, as old as the church itself, and an early example of stained glass in the east window. The roof beams, some 800 years old, are the earliest example in Wales. The ancient oak door has wooden hinges, and the bell, which dates from the 13th century, possibly came from
Maenan Abbey Maenan Abbey (formally: The Abbey Church of Saint Mary and All Saints; alternatively: Abaty Maenan, or Maynan Abbey; now Maenan Abbey Hotel) was a monastic religious house located in Maenan, Conwy, Wales. It is situated near Llanrwst. History ...
. The altar rails date from 1616, and the
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
from 1691. The chalice is dated 1614 and is of an ornate design. The registers date from 1594. These days, services are only held in Llanrhychwyn church during the summer months, and on special occasions. If locked, the key is available from Tu hwnt i'r Gors Farm, nearby. Morris Jones also records in Welsh that this church was "built by Llywelyn for
is wife's In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject (grammar), subject of a sentence (linguistics), sentence to a subject complement, such as the word '' ...
use, and for the use of the inhabitants, for their kindness towards him, and that he donated a number of farms from the parish of Llanrhychwyn, naming them as the parish of Tref Rhiw Las. It got this name from the slope on which it stood".


Famous inhabitants

A popular belief, based on a misinterpretation of a line of poetry in the Red Book of Hergest by 18th- and early 19th-century antiquarian scholars, is that Taliesin (c. 534–c.599), the 6th-century Welsh
bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
and the earliest poet of the Welsh language whose work has survived, was an inhabitant of the area, living on the shores of Llyn Geirionydd and buried there. It has even been claimed that he was also born in this area, but it is far more likely that he was born in Powys, as demonstrated by his poems to Cynan Garwyn, King of Powys.
Robert Williams (Trebor Mai) Robert Williams (25 May 1830 - 5 August 1877), usually referred to by his bardic name Trebor Mai, was a Welsh language poet, born at Ty'n-yr-ardd near Llanrhychwyn, near Llanrwst, in the old county of Caernarfonshire, the son of a tailor. He ...
(1830–77) was born near the parish church and grew up in the village. He later moved to Llanrwst and became one of the most famous poets of his day, being particularly admired for his mastery of the
englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...
. John Roberts (1828–1904) was a native of neighbouring Trefriw, and he used that name in his job as a printer and bookseller. In Eisteddfodau he would assume the bardic name of Gwilym Cowlyd, and frequently levelled criticism at the
Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...
for being too
Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
. In 1865, he founded a separate festival to rival the big National Eisteddfod, and called it Arwest Glan Geirionydd (‘Music Festival on the Banks of the River Geirionydd’), and the meeting point was the Taliesin Memorial by Llyn Geirionydd. Richard Owen Roberts, the father of Gwilym Roberts the storyteller, was born in Llanrhychwyn.


A popular walking area

Today many walkers pass through Llanrhychwyn on their way to or from the Gwydir Forest, a popular area of lakes and forest walks. The lane through Llanrhychwyn continues from Trefriw or Llanrwst (via several gates) to Llyn Geirionydd, one of the most popular lakes in the area. Over the hill (Mynydd Deulyn) from Llyn Geirionydd is
Llyn Crafnant Llyn Crafnant is a lake that lies in a valley in Wales where the northern edge of the Gwydir Forest meets the lower slopes of the Carneddau mountains and, more specifically, the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd. The head of the valley offers a profile of ...
, reached only by car from Trefriw, and regarded by many as one of the most beautiful spots in Wales. Most of the tourist traffic passing through Llanrhychwyn is totally unaware of the historical significance of the hamlet, and indeed the road itself does not actually pass the old church. One of the "Trefriw Trail" walks passes Llanrhychwyn Church.


References

* ''The Conwy Valley & the lands of history'', by K. Mortimer Hart (published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 1987) * ''The Conwy Valley – Its Long History'', by Michael Senior (published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 1984) * ''Dyffryn Conwy a'r Creuddyn'', by E.D. Rowlands (Gwasg y Brython, Lerpwl, 1947) * ''Hanes Trefriw'', by Morris Jones (published by W.J. Roberts, 1879) * ''Trefriw and Llanrhychwyn churches: a short story''. Trefriw: Llanrhychwyn: Saint Mary's Church; Llanrhychwyn Church, (197-?) * ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales'', by Samuel Lewis (London, 1833)


External links


Trefriw Trails

Trefriw Village website


{{authority control Trefriw Villages in Conwy County Borough Villages in Snowdonia Hamlets in Wales