LLANEDWEN (LLAN-EDWEN), a parish, in the union of BANGOR-AND-BEAUMARIS, hundred of MENAI, county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES,
5 miles (N. E. by N.) from Carmarthen; containing 283 inhabitants. This parish has been said to derive its name from the
dedication of its church to King Edwin, by whose daughter or niece it was founded, in the year 640; but Dr. Owen Pughe, in
his " Cambrian Biography," states that Edwen was a female saint of Saxon descent, and seems to consider her the tutelar
saint of this church. It is situated on the western shore of the Menai strait, and, with the adjoining parishes of
Llanidan and Llandeiniol, anciently formed a district which was the principal seat of the Druidical priesthood, and in
which the arch-druid is supposed to have had for ages his chief residence. There are still within the district, and
particularly in this parish, considerable remains of those deeply-shaded groves so well adapted to the performance of the
sanguinary rites of the Druidical religion, which obtained for this island the appellation of Ynys Dy well, or "the Shady
Island; and amid them are numerous remains of Druidical temples, altars, circles, and cromlechs. Porthamel, or Porth-Aml,
the only ferry between the Menai bridge and Carnarvon, is celebrated as the place where Suctonius Paulinus, in the reign
of the Emperor Nero, crossed the strait for the invasion of Mona, in which attempt he was opposed by the Druids, who,
having assembled an army of men and women arranged in all the mystic terrors of their idolatrous superstition, and
brandishing lighted torches, drew up on the western shore to oppose their progress. But after spreading a momentary panic
through the Roman ranks, they were quickly repulsed by the rallying troops, and many of them consigned to perish in their
own sacrificial fires. The sacred groves in which their rites were solemnized were cut down, and the reign of Druidism,
which had for ages been established in this isle, as its principal seat, was finally destroyed. At a short distance from
this place is a field still called Macs Mawr Gad, or " the plain of the great army," supposed to have been occupied by the
Roman forces under Julius Agricola, in his successful expedition to regain possession of the island, which Suetonius, by
a general revolt of the British states in his rear, that necessarily caused him to withdraw his forces, had been compelled
to relinquish. Opposite to Moel-y-Don, or " the hill of the wave," in this parish, the English suffered a signal defeat in
the reign of Edward I. Having landed in the island in 1282, under the command of Luke de Tany, a Gascon, after reducing to
obedience such of the inhabitants as had not previously sworn allegiance to that monarch, they constructed a bridge of
boats across the strait, near the spot where Agricola had landed, in order to effect an entrance into the country on the
opposite shore. The Welsh, having hastily thrown up an intrenchment, to defend the pass into the mountains, placed
themselves in ambush, and quietly awaited the result. De Tany having, with a detachment of his troops, rashly ventured at
low water to pass the bridge before it was completed, his retreat was intercepted by the return of the tide; and the
Welsh at this moment rushing from their ambuscade, and impetuously assaulting his detachment, killed the greater number,
and drove the rest into the strait: of this force, which consisted of more than two hundred soldiers, seventeen
gentlemen, and thirteen knights, only one escaped, whose horse swam with him to the bridge. The PARISH, though generally
destitute of wood, of which it is difficult to raise any plantations of considerable extent, is nevertheless in some parts
richly ornamented with timber of ancient growth: these instances, however, are not common, and are probably the remains
of the groves that escaped destruction by the Romans. The shores of the Menai are rocky and precipitous; the scenery is
bold, striking, and in some places beautifully picturesque; and in the parish and its immediate vicinity are several
gentlemen's seats, some of which display elegant specimens both of ancient and recent architecture. Plds Newydd, the seat
of the Marquess of Anglesey, is a splendid mansion of modern erection, built upon the site of a house which once belonged
to the celebrated Gwenllian, a descendant of Cadrod Hardd; and is beautifully situated in a portion of the old
Druidicalgroves, on ground rising gently from the margin of the Menai. The building consists of a semicircular centre and
two semi-octagonal wings: the façade is relieved by octagonal turrets on each side of the centre, and the respective
wings, rising from the base above the parapet, which is embattled; and the entire edifice, as seen from the water, to
which it is open in front, forms a conspicuous and interesting object. It contains a noble suite of apartments, a handsome
library, and a beautiful chapel: the latter is lighted on each side by a fine range of pointed windows, enriched with
tracery of elegant design, and embellished with stained glass; the roof is delicately and elaborately Froined, and the
altar, which has a receding canopy, is beautifully enriched with tabernacle-work. The whole of this elegant mansion is
built of Mona marble from the quarries of Moelvre, near Red Wharf bay, and displays, both in its design and execution, a
high degree of taste and judicious arrangement. The grounds are extensive and pleasingly laid out: in front of the house
is a spacious lawn, sloping to the margin of the strait, from the waves of which it is protected by a strong parapet wall,
on which is a noble terrace; while each side, and the rising ground behind, are sheltered by groves of venerable oak and
ash of luxuriant growth. Plds C6ch, another seat in this parish, the property and residence of Sir William Bulkeley
Hughes, was originally built by Hugh Hughes, attorney-general in the reign of Elizabeth: it is a noble antique mansion,
presenting a fine specimen of the architecture of that age; and over the entrance are the arms of the family of Hughes,
with the date 1569. The parish, which is small, is fertile, and the land for the most part is inclosed and cultivated.
Limestone of excellent quality is found in great abundance within its limits, and some very extensive quarries are worked,
affording employment to a considerable number of the inhabitants: great quantities of this limestone, both for building
and for the purpose of manure, are raised from these quarries, which extend along the shore of the Menai, and are shipped
to Liverpool and other places, in numerous vessels. Through the park of Plfis Newydd runs a bed of granite, in a state of
decomposition, and so soft that it crumbles upon the slightest touch. The LIVING is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the
vicarage of Llanidan: the church is a small but neat edifiCe of great antiquity; and the churchyard is one of the most
beautiful in North Wales, and remarkable as containing the remains of the Rev. Henry Rowland, the eminent antiquary. There
are two day schools, one of which, containing 60 boys, and for which a room was lately built at the expense of the Duchess
of Kent, is supported by private contributions; and the other for 25 girls, is wholly maintained by the Marquess of
Anglesey. Bishop Rowland, in 1616, bequeathed £6 per annum, charged on his estate at Plis Gwyn; Lady Bailey left a small
annual sum, derived from the estate of Phis Newydd; Mr. Bagnal bequeathed a rentcharge of 10s. on the same property;
and Mrs. Rowland, in 1740, gave £100 in money: the three former of which, together with the produce of the latter, are
annually distributed among the poor during the winter. The estate of Llkillew, in the parish, now producing £200 per
annum, was given by the Bishop, as an endowment to the free grammar school which he had founded at Bottwnog. Within the
limits of the park of Pills Newydd is one of the largest cromlechs in the island, supported on five upright stones, which
have been stated by some writers to be six feet in height, but at present do not rise more than two above the ground: the
tabular stone is about twelve feet in length, about the same in breadth, and four feet in thickness. Adjoining this is a
smaller cromlech; and at no great distance, in the woods, is a large carnedd, which was opened some years since, and found
to contain a vault, seven feet in length, and four in breadth, but, after a diligent search, no other relics were
discovered. Near Maes Mawr Gild, in making a fence in the year 1829, several Roman coins, fibulae, buckles, and other
vestiges of Roman antiquity, were dug up; and near Porthamel is a large mount, supposed by Mr. Rowland to mark the scene
of Suetonius' sanguinary victory. Pl&s Crwn, in the parish, was the birth-place and residence of the Rev. Henry Rowland,
the learned author of the Mersa Antiqua Reetentrata: that elaborate and interesting production was composed by the author
at this his patrimonial estate, and the old oak chair in which he sat while writing it is still preserved in the house:
he died here, and was buried in the churchyard, in 1725, as appears by the Latin inscription on his tomb, though his
biographers state his death to have oocarred in the year 1723, in which his work first appeared.