Llandrillo-Yn-Rhôs (Llan-Drillo-Yn-Rhôs) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849) LLANDRILLO-YN-RHÔS (LLAN-DRILLO-YN-RHÔS), a parish, in the union of Conway, partly in the hundred of Creuddyn, county of Carnarvon, but chiefly in the hundred of Isdulas, county of Denbigh, North Wales, on the shore of the Irish Sea, 4 miles (N. E.) from Conway; containing 1176 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the great Holyhead road, and bounded on the south by Llansantfraid, on the south-west by Llŷsvaen and Llanelian, and on the north by Abergele bay. It comprises by computation 1890 acres, of which 610 are arable, 1220 pasture, &c., and 60 wood. The soil is a light clay with a substratum of limestone, and the chief produce from the lands under tillage is wheat: oak has been hitherto the prevailing kind of timber, but it is gradually giving way to plantations of fir. Pwllycrochon, Mînydòn, Glànydòn, and Bryndinerth, are gentlemen's seats here. The village of Llandrillo is composed of two houses only, of which one is the vicarage; that of Colwyn, in the eastern part of the parish, has of late years greatly increased in size, and is resorted to for sea-bathing. The townships in that part of the parish which is in Denbighshire are united for the maintenance of their poor; while that of Eireas, which forms the Carnarvon portion of it, supports its poor separately. The Chester and Holyhead railway intersects the parish. There are two weirs along the shore, where an immense quantity of fish, of various kinds, is taken during favourable seasons, particularly mackerel, salmon, and herrings: one only of these, namely that which belonged to the monks of Conway, pays tithe, the capture at every tenth tide being divided between the rector and the vicar; three-fourths to the former, and one-fourth to the latter.
The living is a discharged vicarage, rated in the king's books at £8. 15. 10., and in the gift of the Bishop of St. Asaph; net income, £343, with a glebehouse attached. The church, dedicated to St. Trillo, is a large handsome structure principally in the later English style, situated on a rock of limestone, and consisting of a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, with a curious tower. It has an early tomb near the altar, and a Norman font. The east window contains some elegant specimens of ancient stained glass: in one compartment is a fine head of Marchûdd, founder of one of the fifteen noble tribes of North Wales, above which are the arms of Ednyved Vychan, councillor of Llewelyn the Great, and a successful warrior against the English; in the others are figures in flowing drapery, supposed to represent the tribes of Wales. Ednyved Vychan obtained a license from the pope to build a chapel here, the only remains of which are part of two old arches in the north wall of the church, thus proving the chapel to have been the more ancient erection. Much care is displayed in the preservation of the structure; the churchyard is also kept up with good taste, and commands fine prospects. At Colwyn is a church or chapel dedicated to St. Catherine: the living is a perpetual curacy, in the Vicar's gift; income, £100. There are places of worship for Wesleyans, Calvinistic Methodists, and Independents. A large building of stone, roofed with slate, was erected in 1819, for a National school, at an expense of nearly £400, raised by subscription, aided by a grant of £50 from the National Society; it presents a singular appearance, from its situation in the midst of lofty limestone rocks: the school is supported by voluntary contributions, and affords instruction to children of both sexes. Of six Sunday schools, one is in connexion with the Church. The farm of Ty'n Tervyn, in extent about eight acres, has from time immemorial been the property of the poor, but there are no records of the donor; it is the custom to distribute the rent, which amounts to something more than £10 a year, among the most necessitous persons, on St. Thomas's day. There are some other bequests of small amount, which yield an additional sum of about £7 per annum, the interest having been allowed to accumulate for some time; and a rent-charge of one guinea on the Glànywern farm, is also appropriated to the poor, and dispensed with the preceding at the same period of the year.
On the shore, at the distance of a mile north-east of the church, stands a very small chapel or oratory called St. Trillo's, of an oblong form, with a vaulted roof, a window on each side and at the east end, and entered by a small door: it is built over a well, and was used for the purpose of praying for the success of the adjoining weir. A quarter of a mile southward from the church is a strongly fortified hill, called Bryn Euryn, at the foot of which are the ruins of a large building, called Llŷs Bry Euryn, erected as a residence for himself and his descendants by Ednyved Vychan, who procured a license from the pope, as above stated, to build a chapel near it, with permission to give all his tithes and oblations to the officiating chaplain. It was burned down, in 1409, by Owain Glyndwr; but the remains were restored, and occupied by some descendants of Sir Tudur ab Ednyved (one of the commissioners for negotiating terms of peace between Edward I. and Llewelyn), who continued to be resident here so late as the reign of Charles II. They contributed largely towards defraying the expense of erecting the tower and south aisle of the church.
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