LLANEILIAN (LLAN-EILIAN), a parish, in the hundred of TWRCELYN, union of ANGLESEY and county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES, 2 miles (S.) from Amlwch; containing 1439 inhabitants. This parish is of considerable antiquity, and early in the fifth century was the residence of Caswallon Law-Hir, Prince of North Wales, who had a palace on the summit of Llaneilian mountain, the site of which is at present occupied by a small cottage, called from that circumstance " Llks Caswallon.' It derives its name from St. Eilian, who, in 450, founded a church here, which was munificently endowed by Caswallon, and adjoining to which that prince erected a chapel; and these edifices, with the exception only of Llanbadrig church, were the earliest places of Christian worship erected in the principality. St. Eilian, who was bishop of Lindisfarne, was celebrated for the sanctity of his life; and the high veneration in which his memory was held drew multitudes from the remotest parts of Britain to this place, in which he had resided, in order to obtain, by their pilgrimage and votive offerings, the highly appreciated benefit of his favour and protection. The offerings of the pilgrims upon these occasions amounted annually to a large sum, and were received in a chest kept in the church for that purpose, and called cv Eilian, from the contents of which the church of St. Eilian and the chapel of Caswallon were elegantly rebuilt, and two farms purchased, the rents of which, till within a very recent period, were applied to keeping them in repair. It was the custom of the devotees to visit a well called Fynnon Eilian, situated in a barren part of the parish, among wild and broken rocks, on the eve of the Baines festival, and, after drinking the water, to kneel for some time before the altar of a small chapel erected over it; they afterwards repaired to the parish church, where they performed other ceremonies, concluding with an offering to the saint. This custom even at present prevails to a small extent, and though the spring is nearly dried up and the chapel in ruins, many persons still annually resort to this place, for the purpose of imploring the intercession of the saint for persons labouring under grievous sickness; and their offerings upon these occasions are annually distributed among the poor. The parish, which is extensive, is situated at the northern extremity of the island, upon the shore of the Irish Sea, into which a part of it considerably projects, forming a headland, called by Caswallon, in honour of his tutor, Hilary's Point, a name it still bears; and off the coast is good anchorage for coasting vessels, of which many are employed in conveying copper-ore and other mineral produce from the Parys mountain, which is partly in this parish. The surface is varied, and, with the exception of the mountainous portion, and several acres of turbary and moor land, is generally inclosed and cultivated. Several attempts have been made at various times, on Llaneilian mountain, to discover copper-ore, of which a considerable vein has recently been found on RhOs Myneich, and several men are at present employed in working it for a Cornish mining company. The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacies of Coedanna and RhOsbeirio annexed, rated in the king's books at £14. 1. 8.; present net income, £400, with a glebe-house; patron, Bishop of Bangor. The church, dedicated to St. Eilian, is an elegant structure, partly in the early and partly in the decorated style of English architecture, with a tower surmounted by a spire; the entire edifice, which is embattled, is handsomely and substantially built of gritstone, with quoins and cornices of freestone. It comprises a nave and chancel, the roofs of which are internally of ancient carved oak, that of the latter resting upon finely sculptured corbels of angels playing on musical instruments. A splendid screen of richly carved oak, ornamented with a portrait of St. Eilian, but much defaced with paint, separates the chancel from the nave, in the former of which are four stalls of tabernacle- work, with the date 1533, and an altar-piece of carved oak, of inferior execution. The east window, of three lights, enriched with tracery, and surmounted by an elegant ogee canopy, contains some portions of ancient stained glass. Within a few yards of the church, and now communicating with the chancel by means of a covered passage, which greatly disfigures the appearance of the building, is the small Chapel of Caswallon, a beautiful structure, containing an altar-piece of oak, richly and elaborately carved, and ornamented with an east window of elegant design: in this chapel is kept the oak chest, called Cif Eilian, in which are still deposited the offerings of the devotees at the shrine of this saint. About the middle of the seventeenth century, a considerable sum of money was expended for oil paintings of the Apostles and St. Eilfan, of which that of the latter is the only one now remaining. In digging a grave in the churchyard, many years since, a deep trench was discovered, extending about twenty yards in length, and containing a great quantity of human bones, supposed to be the place of interment of a number of sailors, who at some remote period perished upon this coast in a storm. There is a place of worship for Calvinistic Methodists; and about 200 children are instructed gratuitously in a Sunday school. The parish is possessed of two farms, but how they became its property, or for what purpose, cannot now be ascertained with accuracy, as the minister's house, containing the documents, was burned down about a century since. One farm, situated in the parish of Llanvechell, contains about sixteen acres and three-quarters, and is let, with two small houses contiguous, at £13 per annum; the other is let to the curate at £6. 10., and contains, with another small parcel of land, six acres and a quarter: but only the rent of the latter farm is at present appropriated to the benefit of the poor, as the tenant of the former advanced £120 for the repairs of the church, a great portion of which sum still remains unpaid. The village wakes, commonly called Giryl Mab Saint, formerly continued for three weeks, and though now lasting only for about half that time, are still very numerously attended.