GWYDIR, a township, in that part of the parish of LLANRWST which is in the hundred of NANTCONWAY, county of CARNARVON,
NORTH WALES, on the western bank of the river Conway, a mile west from Lianrwst, containing 376 inhabitants. The name is
a contraction of Gwaed-dir, " the bloody land," either from this having been the scene of some battles fought by
Llywarch Hen, about the year 610, or from a sanguinary conflict which occurred, in 952, between the sons of Hywel Dda and
the princes Ievav and Iago. The surface of this township is exceedingly hilly, and within its limits is comprised the
greater part of the vast lofty mountain called Moel Siabod, one of the most prominent of the Snowdonian chain. The estate
of Gwydir comprises thirty-one thousand acres, of which upwards of two thousand consist of plantations, formed since 1790,
and five hundred are in lakes, twelve in number: it includes the whole of this township, and extends into the parishes of
Trevriw, Llanrhychwyn, Bettws y Coed, and Dedwyddelan, and contains an abundance of lead-ore, zinc, and pyrites, all
worked, besides four extensive slate-quarries, in active operation. It came into the possession of the family of Wynne by
purchase from a descendant of Howel Coytmor, grandson of Davydd, brother of Llewelyn, the last prince of Wales, whose
monument is in the Gwydir chapel adjoining Llanrwst church, and continued for several generations to belong to that
family, until it passed, in the year 1678, into that of the Duke of Ancaster, by the marriage of Mary, daughter and
heiress of Sir Richard Wynne, with Robert Marquis of Lindsay. Priscilla, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, elder sister of
Robert Duke of Ancaster, having espoused Sir Peter Burrell, Bart., the mansion and estate of Gwydir became the property of
that gentleman, who in 1796 was created Baron Gwydir; and, at his death in 1820, it descended to his eldest son, Peter
Robert Drummond Burrell, second Lord Gwydir, and present Lord Willoughby de Eresby. The ancient mansion was situated
beneath the wood-clad rock, called Carreg y Gwalch, or " The Rock of the Falcon: " it was built by John Wynne ab
Meredydd, in 1555, and consisted of a greater and a lesser court, but was taken down in 1816, since which time the present
structure, on a much smaller scale, has been erected: a small portion of the former mansion still remains, and is now
being fitted up in an antique and elegant style: the grounds are laid out with corresponding judgment and taste. In the
plantations above the Lower Gwydir stood another edifice, called the Upper Gwydir, which was pulled down several years
ago, and the walls of which were almost covered with inscriptions; it was erected in 1604, by Sir John Wynne, who
distinguished himself by his partiality to antiquarian researches, and by compiling the memoirs of his family, as a kind
of summer house, embracing a fine prospect of the rich and beautiful Vale of Conway, and of the picturesque scenery with
which this mountainous district abounds. Near its site stands a small handsome chapel, built by Sir Richard Wynne, in
1673, and lately improved by the present noble possessor of the estate, whose domestic chaplain performs divine service in
it, every Sunday, in the English language, which affords great accommodation to the numerous English families resident in
the neighbourhood. Carreg y Gwalch was the retreat of Davydd ab Shenkin, a noted partisan of the house of Lancaster, who
for some time concealed himself in a cave, called from that circumstance Ogo Davydd ab Shenkin. Mr. Pennant says that the
" noblest oaks in all Wales grew on this rock, within memory of man," although they are " totally destitute of earth for a
considerable way, so that the nutriment which the oaks received must have been derived from the deep penetration of the
roots, through the fissures of the stones, into some nutritive matter." This township is separately assessed for the
maintenance of its poor, the average annual expenditure amounting to £164. 4.