FESTINIOG, a parish, in the hundred of ARDUDWY, county of MERIONETH, NORTH WALES, 24 miles (E. N. E.) from Tan y Bwlch,
containing 1648 inhabitants. The village is pleasantly situated on an eminence between the rivers Dwyryd and Cynvael, on
the road from the western coast to Yspytty-Ivan and Bala, and commands a delightful prospect down the Vale of Festiniog
towards Maentwrog, Tan y Bwlch, and Traeth Bach. This beautiful vale, which is partly included in this parish, and partly
in that of Maentwrog, was first celebrated by Lord Lyttelton, about the year 1756, since which time it has been visited by
numerous tourists, who have described its pictorial beauties in terms of merited eulogy. It is encompassed by lofty hills,
the slopes of which are, in many places, well 'clothed with wood, finely varied with projecting rocks and verdant sward,
and contrasted with the rich corn-fields and meadows skirting the margin of the Dwyryd, which winds pleasingly through the
centre of the vale, at the lower extremity of which it meets the tide, and expands into a broad estuary, called Traeth
Bychan, which opens to the sea in the northern part of Cardigan bay: this river here separates the parishes of Festiniog
and Maentwrog, and receives in its course in the vicinity the tributary streams of the Cymmerau, Cynvael, Llychryd, and
FelenrhStd. Tan y Bwlch Hall, a handsome mansion, is charmingly situated on the declivity of a mountain, at the north-
western extremity of the vale, embosomed in full-grown plantations, the luxuriant foliage of which fringes verdantly the
steep rocky side of the mountain above it. The summits of the Moelwyn mountains, which are in this parish, not only
command a pleasing home view of the interesting beauties of the vale, but embrace a wide and varied prospect of the
surrounding country. There are various small alpine lakes in the vicinity, the principal of which are Lljrn Morwynion,
Ll$n Gammell, and Llkii Mannod, all much frequented by anglers, particularly the first, the trout caught in them
possessing the most delicious flavour. Near the village are two interesting cataracts, called the Falls of the Cynvael:
the upper is composed of three steep rocky precipices, over which the waters of the Cynvael are impelled into a deep dark
basin, overshadowed by flanking rocks. About three hundred yards below this the river is crossed by a rustic stone bridge,
and at an equal distance lower occurs the other cataract, consisting of a broad sheet of water sweeping over a slightly
shelving rock, about forty feet high, from the bottom of which it rushes with murmuring impetuosity through a narrow
chasm, glistening among the loose fragments of rock which oppose its progress, and, falling from slope to slope, at length
gains a smoother channel, and winds placidly through the vale to its junction with the Dwyryd. Between this and the
bridge, a tall columnar rock, called Pulpit Hugh Llwyd Cynvael, or " Hugh Lloyd of Cynvael's Pulpit," resting upon a broad
base, rises from the bed of the river, detached from those which form its wood-fringed sides. The Hugh Lloyd from whom it
takes its name was a reputed sorcerer in the time of James I., and is said to have delivered his incantations from the
summit of this isolated rocky pillar, for which dark purpose its situation in a deep umbrageous glen was well calculated.
There is a great variety of picturesque and romantic scenery in the vicinity of a spot called Cwm Cymmorthau, near which
there are four small lakes, named Llkn Cymmorthan, Lln Da Bach, Llkn Trwstyllon, and Llkn Conglog. On the road to Bala is
a place where, after heavy rains, the waters descend from the mountains with tumultuous rapidity, and form a stupendous
waterfall. The extreme length of this parish is about ten miles, and its breadth nearly six: the hilly parts are stony,
and have a thin sterile soil; the lower are light and gravelly, but fertile: the vale is liable to frequent inundations,
which, when the land floods and tide meet, overspread a considerable portion of its surface; but their injurious effects
have been partially obviated by the construction of embankments. Four slate quarries are profitably and actively worked
here; and their produce, in beauty and goodness, is equal to that of any in the principality. The slate rock lies in
strata like coal, and its precipitous escarpments form vast walls, extending from north to south, or from north-east to
south-west: when the superincumbent earth is removed, it is split into portable blocks by means of wedges and levers, or,
when these instruments are insufficient, by the application of gunpowder: these pieces are then conveyed to an open
space, and divided with a hammer and wedge into thin lamina;, or plates of various sizes. The largest and best shaped are
called " queens," the next in size " duchesses," the next " countesses " and " ladies," and the smaller " doubles: " all
these are generally sold by the thousand, and the rough heavy ones, called " ton slates," by weight. The labourers in
these quarries, called " blasters," " borers," &c., are several hundred in number, and often work in very dangerous
situations, standing on ledges projecting over immense precipices, and descending to their stations with the aid of a rope
tied round the waist. When a blast, or explosion of gunpowder, takes place, timely notice is given, by loudly calling out
"War; " and the echo of these explosions, which are sometimes heard to the distance of five or six miles, reverberating
from cliff to cliff, is indescribably grand and appalling. The splitting and dressing of slates, which is performed by men
exclusively called " quarry-men," is an operation requiring great skill and much practice. A copper mine is worked at Cwm
Cynvael; and a lead mine at Gam-alit: copper-ore is also found at Bwlch y Plwm, near the Traeth Mawr, and peat is
obtained within the limits of the parish. Festiniog is a place much resorted to during the summer months by tourists, on
account of the beauty of the surrounding scenery; and for their accommodation it has a good inn, with a boarding-house
attached. Fairs are held on March 7th, May 24th, the first Friday after Trinity, June 30th, August 21st, September 26th,
October 23rd, and November 13th. Petty sessions for the district are held at the inn at Tan y Bwlch, on the first Monday
in every month. The living is a rectory, with that of Maentwrog annexed, in the archdeaconry of Merioneth, and diocese of
Bangor, rated in the king's books at £10. 4. 2., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Bangor. The church, dedicated to
St. Michael, is in the ancient style of English architecture: in 1829, a gallery was erected at the west end, containing
seventy-two free sittings, towards defraying the expense of which the Incorporated Society for building and enlarging
churches and chapels granted £13. There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists, with Sunday
schools attached. A National school for both boys and girls was established in 1830, for the parishes of Festiniog and
Maentwrog, for which a neat building of English architecture has been erected near the village, by subscription among the
inhabitants, aided by a grant of 462 from the parent'society in London. In this parish, near a tumulus called Tommen y
Mar, is the site of the Roman station Heriri Mons. Two Roman roads are said to have intersected each other within its
limits, one leading from Segontium, near the present Carnarvon, to Mediolanum, in Montgomeryshire; and the other from
Conovium, at Caerhen, near Aberconway, to Loventium, at Llanio, in Cardiganshire. Within the parish one of these roads,
now called Rhyd yr Halen, more properly Rhyd Helen, or Fordd Helen, signifying " Helen's Way," may yet be distinctly
traced, though for the most part covered with turf: it is said to have been constructed by Helena, daughter of Octavius,
and consort of the emperor Maximus; but this presumption is founded only on its present appellation, which is most
probably a corruption from Fordd Lleon, signifying the " Legionary Way." Near it are the remains of Beddau Gwyr Ardudwy, "
the graves of the men of Ardudwy," which are about six feet long, and were formerly marked at each end by two upright
stones, from two to three feet high, and one broad, long since removed. These graves, and some Druidical circles adjacent,
denote this to have been the scene of some unrecorded conflict: the tradition connected with them is, that the men of
Ardudwy, in order to people their territory, entered the Vale of Clwyd, and forcibly bore off several of its fair
inhabitants; but they were pursued by the men of Clwyd, and overtaken at this place, where a sharp conflict ensued, in
which the former were defeated and slain: they nevertheless appear to have secured the affections of the females, who,
rather than return home, are said to have rushed into an adjacent piece of water, called from this circumstance Llkn y
Morwynion, or " the Maidens' Lake," and there to have perished. A silver seal, now in the possession of W. Oakeley, Esq.,
of Glan William, was found near the mountain of Moelwyn, in 1831: it bears the inscription " S. LODOWICI EPI. BANGOREN.
AD CAUSAS," having been the seal of Lewis, Bishop of Bangor, whose identity, prior to this discovery, had not been
satisfactorily ascertained: he lived in the reign of Henry IV., and, having taken part in the insurrection of Owain
Glyndwr, was apprehended in Yorkshire, and deprived of his bishoprick: in old chronicles he is simply called " the Bishop
of Bangor." The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to A309. 10.