Llangristiolus

Llangrystyolys (Llan-Grist-Iolus) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
LLANGRYSTYOLYS (LLAN-GRIST-IOLUS), a parish, in the hundred of Malltraeth, union and county of Anglesey, North Wales, 3 miles (S. S. W.) from Llangevni; containing 938 inhabitants. This parish takes its name from the dedication of its church to St. Christiolus, who flourished about the middle of the seventh century. It is situated on the great road to Holyhead, and is bounded on the north-east by the parish of Llangevni, on the east by that of Llanvihangel-Ysceiviog, on the southeast by that of Llanidan, on the south-west by that of Trevdraeth, and on the north-west by that of Cerrigceinwen. In its southern portion it reaches nearly to the upper part of the Malltraeth marsh, over which a road is continued by a noble embankment, extending about a mile in length. In 1788 and 1790, acts of parliament were passed for constructing an embankment to secure this low tract from the encroachment of the sea, and for inclosing it: the whole formed an extent of about 3000 acres, of which about 800 are comprised within the limits of this parish. Under the provisions of these acts considerable progress had been made in the execution of the work, and many thousand pounds expended on it, when, in 1796, a violent irruption of the sea destroyed the greater part of the embankment, and the enterprise was for some time abandoned. This desirable work was, however, resumed under the sanction of an act of parliament obtained in 1815, and the undertaking was successfully completed in 1819.

The parish comprises by admeasurement 3683 acres, of which 823 are woodland, marsh, and waste, and the remainder arable, to a great extent inclosed, and well cultivated. Its surface is varied, gently sloping to the marsh; and the scenery is ornamented with clusters of various kinds of trees, ash and sycamore being the most prevalent: there are several rivulets, and the Cevni, the most considerable stream, running along the eastern boundary of the parish, separates it from that of Llanvihangel-Ysceiviog. The soil on the more elevated grounds is clayey, and in the other parts is a fine rich loam, producing good oats, barley, and potatoes, which, with the cattle reared here, constitute the chief disposable produce. Limestone, grit, and freestone, of excellent quality, are quarried; and beds of coal exist, but they are not at present worked. The only gentleman's seat is Hênblâs, which is an ancient mansion, built in the seventeenth century, and beautifully situated on the brow of the slope, commanding an extensive view of the range of the Carnarvonshire mountains: it is the property of Charles Evans, Esq., of whose family were, Dr. William Lloyd, of St. Asaph, one of the seven bishops prosecuted by James the Second; and Dr. Henry Rowlands, Bishop of Bangor in 1600.

The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Cerrigceinwen annexed. The Rev. Dr. Lewis left £25 per annum, for a sermon to be preached every Sunday in each of the churches of Llangrystyolys and Cerrigceinwen, of which latter parish he was a native. The rectorial tithes of the parish have been commuted for a rent-charge of £331. 12. 4. The church is supposed to have been originally founded about the year 550; it is uncertain when the present structure was built: it is seventy-nine and a half feet in length and twenty and a half in breadth, and contains some interesting architectural features. There are one or two places of worship for dissenters, and a Sunday school is held. The Rev. Hugh Jones bequeathed to the parish £100; John Griffith Lewis, £10; Owen David ab Owen, £10; and various other benefactors, smaller sums of money; amounting in the whole to £140. This sum was placed on mortgage; but having been received from the late mortgager by an attorney, he expended £100 of the amount in building six cottages, now occupied by poor families rent-free, and the residue, £40, was never paid, as he died insolvent shortly after. Two other donations amounting to £8, and a rent-charge of 10s., have been lost; and the only charity now available to the poor is £2. 10., arising from a bequest of £50 left by the Rev. Dr. Lewis, above mentioned, whose bequests for education and other purposes, not particularly connected with this parish, are noticed in the article on Cerrigceinwen, his native place. Dr. Henry Maurice, of Jesus' College, Oxford, and Margaret Professor of Divinity in that university, was born in this parish, in 1648; he accompanied his patron, Sir Leoline Jenkins, to Cologne, and greatly distinguished himself as a polemical writer.