LLANGEVNI (LLAN-GEFNI), a market-town and parish, in the hundred of MENAI, union of ANGLESEY and county of ANGLESEY, NORTH
WALES, 13 miles (W.) from Beaumaris, and 248 (N. W. by W.) from London; containing 1754 inhabitants. This place, which
derives its name from the river Cevni, upon which it is situated, was, towards the close of the last century, but a small
and inconsiderable village, consisting only of two or three solitary houses; but owing to its central situation, and the
establishment of a market here, it has, since that period, amazingly increased in extent and population, and is at present
one of the best market-towns in the island. It is beautifully situated in a rich and fertile vale, watered by the river,
(which nearly encircles the town, and over which two handsome bridges of stone have been erected), and upon the old
Holyhead road, at the distance of a mile from the new line of road from the Menai bridge to Holyhead, which has been
constructed under the authority of government for the more expeditious conveyance of the mail. The parish has that of
Tregayan on the north, that of Llanvihangel-Ysceiviog on the south, that of Lianfinnan on the east, and those of Heneglwys
and Llanwillog on the west and north-west; and comprises about 2300 acres, by computation, of which half consists of
amble, and grass land used for hay, and the remainder of pasture, with the exception of 20 acres of woodland. The greater
portion is inclosed and cultivated, though one part forms a tract of common, which affords good pasturage for cattle and
sheep; the soil in general is a rich loamy earth lands	wheat, barley, oats, &c., and the pasture a supply excellent grass
for black cattle, sheep, and horses. The surface is flat, and the local scenery tame and uninteresting; but some fine
views may be obtained of the Carnarvonshire mountains in the distance: the parish contains the mansions of Tregarnedd,
Vron, and Pencraig; and the principal estates are in several places studded with trees of oak, ash, elm, and Sr. The town
is well built and of prepossessing appearance, consisting of several regular and well-formed streets, with a neat market-
house. On the river Cevni is a small factory for carding and spinning wool, and for bleaching and weaving woollen cloth,
which is manufactured on a limited scale. The market, which was formerly on Friday, ia now on Thursday, and is well
supplied with provisions of every kind: it was instituted in the year 1785, and is one of the best attended in the island.
Fairs are annually held on March 14th, April 17th, June 10th, August 17th, September 15th, and Oct. 23rd; and six great
cattle markets take place on the six marks days preceding Christmas. A post-office under that of Bangor, from which place
it is distant eleven miles, has been established in the town, for the accommodation of its greatly increased population;
and under the act of 1832, for " Amending the representation of the People," Llangevni is a polling-place in the election
of a knight for the shire. The living is a discharged rectory, with Tregayan annexed, rated in the king's books at £9. 13.
4.; patron, Bishop of Bangor; present net income, £446. The church, dedicated to St. Cyngar, is a spacious and handsome
structure, 33 yards long and 10 wide, in the later style of English architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower,
crowned with pinnacles; it was rebuilt in 1824, by subscription, aided by a grant of £250 from the Incorporated Society
for the building and enlargement of churches and chapels, to defray the cost of three hundred and eighty-three additional
sittings, of which two hundred and ninety-seven are free; making the total number of sittings between 500 and 600, and of
free sittings betwen 300 and 400. The late Lord Bulkeley gave the land on which the church is built, and £300 towards its
erection; also a plot of ground on which to build a glebe-house, with the grounds attached to it, and a portion of land
for the enlargement of the churchyard. The Rev. Evan Williams, M.A., the rector, built, in 1822, an excellent, commodious,
and well-planned rectory-house, and contributed £100 towards the building of the church; and the proprietors of land in
the parish subscribed liberally towards the accomplishment of the same work. 1 here are places of worship for Baptists,
Independents, and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. A day and Sunday National school, which is held in a large room
over the market-place, built expressly for that purpose by the late Lord Bulkeley, was established in 1818, and is
supported by subscription, for the gratuitous education of poor children, of whom 160 at present attend; and there are
three other day schools, in which about 50 children are instructed at the expense of the parents; and four Sunday school)]
held in the dissenters' chapels, each of which contains from 70 to 100 males and females. Numerous small donations and
bequests have been made by various benefactors for the relief of the poor; but they have all either been lost, or expended
in building cottages, with the exception of £1. 15. per Ann u ro, which is distributed according to the intention of the
donors. There are three small houses in the parish, built in 1796, which are occupied by poor families rent-free; and in
1812 an allotment of six acres of RhOs-y-Meirch common, was assigned to the inhabitants under an inclosure act, but the
soil being of a clayey nature and not adapted for supplying fuel, six cottages were erected on the plot, at the expense of
the parish, with stone drawn from three quarries on the property. About a mile from the town, within the limits of the
parish, is situated Tregarnedd, anciently the residence of Ednyved Vychan, the valiant commander of the forces and chief
councillor of Llewelyn the Great, and ancestor of Owain Tewdwr, and of the sovereigns of that house who subsequently
succeeded to the throne of England. Tregarnedd, which took its name from a large earnedd, a sepulchral heap of stones, in
an adjoining field, was also the birth-place of Sir Grufydd Llwyd, grandson of Ednyved, who was knighted by Edward I., in
1284, on announcing to that monarch, then at Rhuddlan, the intelligence of the birth of Prince Edward, in the castle of
Carnarvon. Sir Grufydd was greatly distinguished by the royal favour, both in the reign of Edward and during part of that
of his son; but in 1317 he attempted to form an alliance with Edward Bruce, who had assumed the crown of Ireland, and in
1322 openly revolted, ravaging the whole country, and committing various acts of atrocity: the English giving him battle,
in which he sustained considerable loss, he retreated to his fortress of Tregarnedd, which he had previously garrisoned,
and also constructed another strong hold, called Yap; Gevni, in the marsh at a short distance from his mansion, and
surrounded it with a broad and deep fosse, Of which part is still remaining. In this strong position he maintained himself
for some time, but was finally taken prisoner, and conveyed to Rhuddlan castle, where he was soon afterwards beheaded. The
site of TrOgarnedd is now occupied only by some mean farm-buildings; but the whole extent is clearly marked by the
intrenehments which encircle it, and which inclose an area of nearly five acres: part of the moat on the north-west side
is quite perfect. The adjacent carnedd, which consisted of an extensive pile of stones, surrounded by a circle of upright
stones about eighty-six yards in diameter, was wholly removed in 1822, for the purpose of building a wall to divide the
field. Of the fortress in the marsh, the site of which is still called Ynys Gevni, nothing but some small vestiges of the
intrenchments are now visible, the continued overflowing of the river having swept away every vestige of the ancient
buildings. About a mile from the town are considerable remains of a paved road, which may be traced for a distance of two
miles, in parts in a very perfect state, being paved in some places with large masses of jasper, which is found in a
quarry at no great distance, intermixed with grit-stone. It is supposed by some antiquaries to be part of a Roman road
that anciently led from the Moel-y-Don ferry across the Menai to the station at Holyhead. In taking down the old church,
in 1824, a large stone was discovered beneath the foundation, with a very curious inscription in rude Roman characters, of
which, owing to its mutilated condition, the following part only is legible; CVLIDON. IACIT. SECVND	: it is now
placedupright in the churchyard, upon the spot where it was found. In 1829, in removing a small fence at Glinhwva, near
the town, forty human skeletons were dug up, which, from the position in which they lay, appeared to have been hastily
interred; and in the adjoining field great numbers of human bones are scattered in every direction: these are thought to
be the remains of the men who fell at the siege of Ynys Gevni. Adjoining the town is a chalybeate spring, formerly in
great repute, but now, owing to an admixture of other water, by which its medicinal efficacy is weakened, altogether
disused.