Llechryd

 Pubs/Bars in Llechryd:
 Carpeters Arms
       Llechryd
       Cardigan
       SA432NT
 01239 682692

 Hotels in Llechryd:
 Castell Malgwyn Hotel
       Llechryd
       Cardigan
       Ceredigion
       SA43 2QA
 01239 682382

Llêchrhŷd (Llêchryd) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
LLÊCHRHŶD (LLÊCHRYD), a parish, in the Lower division of the hundred of Troedyraur, union and county of Cardigan, South Wales, 3 miles (S. E.) from Cardigan; containing 397 inhabitants. It is supposed by some historians to have been the scene of a sanguinary engagement that occurred between Rhŷs ab Tewdwr, sovereign of South Wales, and the three sons of Bleddyn ab Cynvyn, who, in a previous insurrection, had compelled that sovereign to seek refuge in Ireland. Rhŷs, returning thence, in 1087, with a powerful army to recover possession of his dominions, landed on the neighbouring coast, and was met at a place called Llêchryd by the sons of Bleddyn, who resolved to give him battle before his army should be increased by the number of his friends that were hastening to join him; and an obstinate and severe battle was here fought, in which the sons of Bleddyn were totally defeated, and two of them slain on the field. A place of this name in Radnorshire has been generally reputed the scene of this engagement, to which opinion Mr. Jones, the historian of Brecknockshire, has afforded some negative sanction by deriving its name from a stone that may have been raised there to the memory of Riryd, one of Bleddyn's sons, who fell in the encounter. But numerous circumstances conspire to give the greater degree of probability to the former opinion, among which not the least important is the situation of Llêchrhŷd in Cardiganshire, in the direct route of the sovereign's march through his own territories, where he might reasonably expect the assistance of his friends, in his progress towards the seat of his government at Dynevor, or Carmarthen.
The parish is pleasantly situated on the northern bank of the river Teivy, which is navigable for small vessels to Llêchrhŷd bridge, an ancient structure mantled with ivy, and forming a truly interesting feature in the scenery of the place. It is bounded on the east by the parish of Llandygwydd, and on the west by that of Llangoedmore; and comprises by computation 636 acres, of which 240 are arable, 16 meadow, 230 pasture, and 150 woodland; the whole, except the last, subject to both great and small tithes in kind. The country in every direction is remarkable for its beautiful scenery, which, perhaps, is not surpassed by any other in this part of the principality, and which is much indebted for the interest it affords to the picturesque Teivy, a river celebrated for its fine salmon. Coedmore, the seat of the lord of the manor, is a modern residence delightfully situated, and commanding many fine views, among which is one embracing the ruins of Kilgerran Castle, in the county of Pembroke. The parish also contains the villages of Llêchrhŷd and Llêchrhŷd Issa, the former situated on the turnpike-road from Cardigan to Newcastle-Emlyn, along which, for some years, the royal mail has passed and repassed daily from Cardigan, through Newcastle-Emlyn, to Carmarthen. The inhabitants derive a considerable profit from the drying of salmon, of which great quantities are taken in the river. There was formerly a weir at Llêchrhŷd, which was deemed obnoxious by the people of the adjoining district, as it precluded the salmon from ascending the river for a long line of country above: in the wide-spread Rebecca Insurrection of 1843, this weir was demolished by a determined party of 400 men, provided with crow-bars, pick-axes, and other instruments; so that numbers of fine salmon now ascend the river, even as high as Lampeter, thirty miles distant. Many hands were formerly employed in an extensive manufactory of tin plates, but it has been discontinued for some time: the buildings have been demolished, and on the site Lewes Gaver, Esq., has built a set of splendid stables, ornamented with a high tower, containing a turret-clock.

Llêchrhŷd, though now a parish of itself, is said to have been formerly only a chapelry in Llangoedmore; but no record of such connexion can now be traced. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with £1200 royal bounty; net income, £131; joint patrons, T. Lloyd, Esq., Mrs. Lloyd, and C. R. Longcroft, Esq., the impropriators, whose tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £36. 6. The church, dedicated to the Holy Cross, is an ancient edifice, much improved through the exertions of the incumbent, the Rev. James Owen, by whom a subscription was raised for the purpose, to which he himself liberally contributed; nearly all the sittings are free. There are places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists and Independents, the latter said to have been originally built by Major Wade, an officer under Oliver Cromwell. Two Sunday schools are conducted gratuitously by the dissenters.