YSCEIVIOG (YSGEIFIOG), a parish, in the union of HOLYWELL, Caerwys division of the hundred of RHUDDLAN, county of FLINT,
NORTH WALES, 4 miles (S. W. by S.) from Holywell; containing 1740 inhabitants. This place was formerly called Llanvair-
Ysceiviog, but is now known merely by that appellation which was originally only its affix, and which signifies, "a place
abounding in elder trees," a term that appears to have been applied to this locality in reference to the numbers of trees
of that description once growing here, and of which a few still remain in the churchyard. The parish, situated on the road
from Denbigh to Mold and Holywell, is bounded on the north-east by the parish of Holywell, on the east by that of Haikin,
on the south by that of Nannerch, on the west by the county of Denbigh, and on the north-west by the parish of Caerwys;
and comprises by admeasurement 5857 acres, of which between 400 and 500 are wood, a small portion meadow, and the
remainder arable, with the exception of some barren tracts, too lofty and rocky for cultivation. The larger part of the
parish consists of high table land on a substratum of limestone, and the other portion comprehends some well wooded
valleys, exhibiting a variety of beautifully picturesque scenery, and through which run the rivulets called Avon Draws,
Avon Disgynva, and the Whielor, a favourite resort of anglers. A waste tract of 3500 acres in this and the adjacent
parishes of Nannerch and Whitford was inclosed some years ago by act of parliament. The soil in general is fertile and
well adapted to tillage, in which the farmers are chiefly employed. There are limestone quarries on almost every farm, and
the parish contains several mines of lead-ore, but they have not been very profitable during the last few years; calamine
and manganese have also been found in small quantities. The old timber is principally oak, none of which is of great age:
there are several new plantations, comprising beech, large numbers of larch, and some beautiful sycamores, which grow here
very luxuriantly. Most of the mansions formerly occupied by gentlemen have either fallen into decay or been deserted, and
are now become farm-houses. The Marquess of Westminster and Lord Mostyn are among the chief landed proprietors, the former
of whom possesses, as a lessee under the crown, a right to the royalties of the mines and quarries on the lands inclosed
by act of parliament. The village, which is situated on elevated table land near the church, and commands some extensive
prospects, contains about a dozen houses, but the principal part of the population, which consists to a great extent of
persons connected with the mines, who are chiefly employed in the neighbouring parishes, reside at or near a straggling
hamlet called Lixwm, about a mile from the church, and have been much reduced in numbers within the last 10 years, on
account of the operations being suspended or discontinued in many of the lead-mines. A considerable part of the parish is
destitute of running water, and the inhabitants are supplied from ponds or from brooks situated at a great distance from
their habitations. There are four corn-mills, a small wire-mill, and a paper manufactory, employing about 30 hands. The
Holywell race-course, long distinguished as a fashionable resort, is situated in the. The living consists of a rectory and
vicarage united; the rectory rated in the king's books at £18. 10. 10., and the vicarage, which is discharged, at a. a
6i.; present net income, £651, with a house, and a glebe of 9 acres; patron, Bishop of St. Asaph. The old church,
dedicated to St. Mary, was an ancient and spacious edifice, partly Norman, and partly in the early style of English
architecture, with a massive and lofty tower of very rude construction, and consisted of a nave and chancel, with a large
chapel or chantry on each side of the latter, lighted by ranges of lancet-shaped windows: on the north side of the nave
was a very elegant Norman doorway, afterwards walled up, the mouldings of which were richly ornamented and in an excellent
state of preservation; but the body of the edifice was in such a state of dilapidation, that divine service had, for a
short time previous to the erection of the new building, been discontinued, and performed in the National school-room. The
present church, built on the same site, was finished in 1887, at a cost of about £1135, defrayed by the landowners, aided
by grants from the metropolitan and diocesan societies, and is an elegant structure In the early English style, with
lancet windows, and a handsome tower, and measures 90 feet by 44; the number of sittings is 630, of which 801 are free.
There are two places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, and one each for Baptists and Wesleyans. Two day schools are
carried on, one of which, containing 60 children, is supported by subscription; and in the other about 12 are instructed
at the expense of their parents: and four Sunday schools also are conducted by gratuitous teachers, one comprising 60
children, who attend the Established Church, and the others, connected with dissenters, about 780 males and females.
Several charitable donations and bequests have been made in sums varying from £50 to £3, which appeared on three
benefaction tables removed from the old church; the whole amounting to £156: of this £111 were expended in 1794, in
building a house, on extra manorial waste land enjoyed by the parish, for the purpose of picking cotton therein, and now
let to a weaver for £3. 10. per annum, and the field for £1. 5.; the residue of the sum was lent on mortgage, paying an
interest of £2. 5. In addition to these, there is a rent-charge of £1. 6. bequeathed by John Wynne, of unknown date;
which, together with a similar sum included in the above aggregate, is distributed in bread; and the residue of the
produce of that aggregate, £7, is given, in money, to the poor on St. Thomas's-day and Easter-Eve. At Bryn Sion was found,
in the year 1816, a very beautiful torques of pure gold, measuring fifty-two inches in length, and weighing twenty-four
ounces, which was purchased by the Marquess of Westminster, for three hundred guineas, and is now in the cabinet at Eaton
Hall. On the upper ridge of the chain of mountains which separates the parish from the Vale of Clwyd, are the remains of a
distinguished British camp called " Pen-y-Cloddiau," or "the summit of the dikes" fortified by a high rampart, and in the
most accessible parts, by double and triple dikes; and near the village is a noted well, termed Fynnon Vair (St. Mary's
Well), highly reverenced in popish times, but now entirely neglected. The celebrated Dean Shipley was for 59 years
incumbent.