LLANVIHANGEL-Y-TRAETHAU (LLAN-FIHANGEL-Y-TRAETHAU), a parish, in the union of FESTINIOG, hundred of ARDUDWY, county of
MERIONETH, NORTH WALES, 3 miles (lc by E.) from Harlech; containing 1339 inhabitants. The name of this parish, which
consists of the hamlets of Llanvihangel and Ynys, with part of that of Penrhyn, (the rest being in the parish of
Llandecwyn,) is derived from the dedication of its church, and its distinguishing adjunct from its situation on the
southern bank of the Traeth Bach, an extensive tract of sands, forming the wide estuary of the river Dwyryd, which here
pours its waters into the bay of Cardigan. In 1073, at a place called Bron-yr-Erw, in this parish, on the point of land
that intervenes between the estuaries of the Traeth Bach and Traeth Mawr, was fought a sanguinary battle between Trehaern
ab Caradoc, Prince of North Wales, and a claimant of the sovereignty, named Grufydd ab Cynan, in which the latter was
defeated and compelled to return into Anglesey, from which island be had advanced into the heart of Trehaern's dominions.
The road from Harlech over the sands to TrAmadoc passes near the village; and the parish, which includes also a tract on
the northern bank of the Traeth, named Penrhyn-Deudraeth, is also intersected by the road between Tan-y-Bwlch and the same
town. An act of parliament was obtained in the year 1806, for inclosing the common and waste in this and the adjoining
parish of Llandanwg, under the provisions of which one thousand three hundred and sixty-five acres were allotted to this
parish, which comprises altogether between six and seven thousand acres of land, partly hilly and partly flat; some
marshes, formerly subject to inundation by the waters of the Traeth Bach, have of late years been inclosed. Within the
parish are several small lakes, the largest of which are 1.1j7n y Vedw and L1S,n Eiddaw: Glynn, an ancient mansion
belonging to Mr. Ormsby Gore, also forms an ornament to it. The soil is various, consisting on the higher ground of a dark
red substance, and in the low lands of clay, sand, and peat. The scenery is pleasingly varied; and there are some good
views, embracing on the west a portion of Cardigan bay, and on the south the stately remains of Harlech Castle. Vessels of
small burthen can ascend the river as far as TS?' Gwyn y Gamlas, within a few hundred yards of the church, where they
receive or discharge their freight. The living is a perpetual curacy, with that of Llandecwyn annexed, and endowed with
£200 royal bounty; net income, £107; patron and appropriator, the Treasurer of Bangor Cathedral: upon the last vacancy of
the treasurership, the new treasurer, as rector of these parishes, and in compliance with the Bishop's recommendation,
assigned the glebe in favour of the perpetual curate; and a new house of residence was built, which is a great improvement
to the benefice. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is an ancient structure, appropriately fitted up for the
performance of divine service: in the churchyard is a monumental stone, six feet high, bearing the inscription, " Hoc est
sepulchrum lull. Dermae de Defer, qui primus edificavit bane Ecclesiam, in tempore Ewini Regis." There are places of
worship for Baptists and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. The Reverend John Jones, D. D., in 1719, bequeathed £50, the
interest of which he directed to be appropriated to the education of ten poor children of this and of the adjoining parish
of Llandecwyn; the school contains 40 children, 30 of whom are instructed at the expense of their parents. There is
another day school, in which 25 children are taught at their parents' cost; and five Sunday schools, in connexion with
different denominations of dissenters, afford gratuitous instruction to about 390 males and females. A cottage, with two
gardens and about an acre of land, is in possession of the parish, supported from a grant of Catherine Humphreys, in 1706;
and a person of a similar name, in 1751, gave £10 for the poor, a part of which sum was expended in in-closing this
piece of land. It is occupied by an indigent family rent-free; but the interest of the bequest is, notwithstanding, paid
by the parish, and with a small rent-charge of 1Ps. granted by Mrs. Lloyd in 1784, distributed among the poor. In that
part of the parish called Penrhyn-Deudraeth is said formerly to have stood a castle belonging to one of the sons of Owain
Gwynedd. The Rev. Humphrey Humphreys, D. D., Bishop of Bangor, and afterwards translated to the see of Hereford, was born
at Hendre Isfiv, in this parish: he died at Hereford, on the 20th of November, 1712, and was interred near the altar in
the cathedral church of that city; he presided over the see of Bangor from 1689 till 1701, and over the see of Hereford
from that time till his death.