Llanengan

 Pubs/Bars in Llanengan:
 The Sun Inn
       Llanengan
       Pwllheli
       Gwynedd
       LL53 7LG
 01758 712660

Llanengan (Llan-Eingion) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
LLANENGAN (LLAN-EINGION), a parish, in the union of Pwllheli, chiefly in the hundred of Commitmaen, and partly in that of Gaflogion, Lleyn division of the county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 7 miles (S. W.) from Pwllheli; containing 1063 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises the headland, or promontory, of Penrhyn Dû, extending into St. Tudwal's Roads, is situated at the southern extremity of the county, and bounded on the east and south by Cardigan bay in St. George's Channel, and on the west and north by the parish of Llangian. It is about four miles in length and three in breadth, comprising 3098 acres, of which about 1000 are arable, 500 waste, and the remainder pasture. The soil is of various qualities, in some places consisting of a stiff clay, in others of sand, and in more of a fine loam; it is generally better suited for barley than any other grain, but wheat and oats are grown to a small extent. The surface is varied, much of the land being hilly, while some near the river Sôch is so low and flat as to be subject to frequent inundations; the scenery in many situations is beautiful, and the views from the higher grounds are very fine, particularly that of Cardigan bay on the east, with the hills of Merionethshire in the distance. There are five or six quarries of ironstone, which, at different periods of the year, occupy a greater or less number of men, and of which the produce is conveyed to Glamorgan to be smelted. Extensive veins of lead-ore have also been discovered, and several attempts have been made to work them; but the influx of water into the mines was so great that the expense in many instances exceeded the profits, and, owing to the difficulty of obtaining the ore, the works were discontinued in 1839.

The Sôch, the only stream by which the parish is watered, divides it from the parish of Llangian, and flows into the sea at a place called Abersôch, where is a little creek for vessels. At a small distance from the shore are two islands, upon the larger of which are the remains of an ancient chapel, now converted into a barn, which was dedicated to St. Tudwal, from whom the roads off this coast derive their name. St. Tudwal's Roads afford good anchorage for the largest ships, and are so extensive and secure that the whole of the British navy might ride here in perfect safety during the heaviest gales. The haven is the finest in St. George's Channel, and forms an excellent asylum for vessels that put in here when in danger of being driven into the adjoining exposed bay, called Hell's Mouth, or upon the ridge of sand called Sarn Badrig, or "Patrick's causeway," which stretches from the shore of Merionethshire nearly into this haven.

The living is a discharged rectory, rated in the king's books at £17. 6. 5½.: patron, the Bishop of Bangor. The tithes have been commuted for a rentcharge of £412; and there is a glebe of nearly thirteen acres, with a house, the whole valued at £21.15. per annum. The church, dedicated to St. Einion, is a spacious structure, principally in the later style of English architecture, and remarkable as the only church in this part having a tower and a peal of bells. It appears to have been originally built by Einion, King of Lleyn, who flourished about the commencement of the sixth century, and who is said to have founded a college at Penmon, in Anglesey, which he placed under the superintendence of his nephew Seiriol, and to which the Scandinavian wanderers on the neighbouring coasts are said to have resorted for instruction in the Christian faith. The present edifice, which has lately been restored in a very judicious manner, under the superintendence of Mr. Kennedy, architect, of Bangor, consists of two equal aisles, with a tower of good proportions at the western end of the northern aisle. The aisles are precisely similar, except that, in the northern aisle, at its western end, is a lofty archway opening into the tower, and at its eastern end a window of five cinque-foiled lights, with alternately pointed and ogee heads. A range of six arches separates the aisles, five of which are four-centered, on octagonal shafts, but the sixth, towards the end, is circular; and across both aisles, at the distance of twenty-six feet from the eastern wall, runs a richly-worked screen, in a state of excellent preservation, and forming the most important architectural feature of the church. This screen was originally surmounted, in its whole length, by a rood-loft, but in the northern aisle the rood-loft has been destroyed; the remaining part is entered by a staircase in the southern wall. The tower consists of three stages, and is crowned with a bold battlement, with lofty crocketed and finialled pinnacles at the angles: in the belfry are three bells, brought hither, according to the tradition of the country, from St. Mary's Abbey at Bardsey, after the Dissolution. The rectory-house stands in an inclosure called the "Prior's Field." There are places of worship for dissenters; a Church school, established in 1833; a British school, established in 1845; and three Sunday schools. Upon the seacoast are two tumuli, or barrows, called by the inhabitants Castellau, or small forts, but which are probably the graves of some warriors of remote times.