LLANVACHRETH (LLAN-FACHRETH), a parish, in the union of DOLGELLEY, hundred of TALY-BONT-AND-MOWDDWY, county of MERIONETH,
NORTH WALES, 3 miles (N. N. E.) from Dolgelley; containing 956 inhabitants. This parish, which derives its name from the
dedication of its church, occupies a sequestered situation nearly in the centre of the county, and extends about nine
miles in length and six in breadth. The surface is boldly varied, rising in some parts into rocky eminences and
mountainous elevations; the latter affording pasturage for young cattle and sheep, for which they are more adapted than
for agricultural purposes; though in the lower parts of the parish there are considerable portions of arable land that
yield good crops. An act of parliament was obtained in 1806, under the provisions of which 9896 acres of waste and common
were inclosed; and a large part has since been brought into cultivation. The surrounding scenery is strikingly
diversified, combining features of rugged grandeur with objects of rural and picturesque -beauty, and enriched with some
well-wooded hills and extensive plantations: the numerous farm-houses, built of stone in the ancient English style, and
scattered through the parish, have a very pleasing effect upon the general appearance of the scenery; and the stream
issuing from the waterfall of Pistyll Mawddach, of which a description is given in the article on DOLGELLEY, forms one of
the natural boundaries of the parish. Nannau, for many years the venerable seat of the ancient family of Nanney, and now
the property and residence of Sir Robert Williames Vaughan, Bart., as an inheritance from his paternal grandmother, is a
handsome and substantially built mansion of stone, about fifty years ago repaired and greatly enlart; It is finely
situated, about two miles and a half DOlgelley, on elevated ground, more than seven hundred feet above the sea; the road
leading to it being an uninterrupted ascent. Within the walls of the gardens was formerly a venerable oak, called Derwen
Ceubren yr Ellyll, " The Goblin's Hollow Tree;" but this tree, which measured twenty-seven feet and a half in girth, and
in which an aperture had been worn by time, in the form of a pointed arch, fell down in July 1813, from natural decay. The
park contains some fine old timber, and is remarkable for its small but excellent venison. Within its limits may be seen
the remains of the house of Howel Sele, kinsman of Owain Glyndwr, who, while pretending to shoot at a deer in the park, in
company with Owain, after a professed reconciliation bad taken place between these two chieftains, who had previously been
at enmity with each other, turning suddenly round, aimed his arrow at the breast of Glyndwr, whom he must have killed, but
for the armour that he wore under his clothes. Owain, earaged at the perfidy of Howel, seized him on the spot, and,
having burnt his house, hurried him away from the place; nor was he again heard of, till about forty years afterwards,
when a skeleton resembling Howel Sele in stature was discovered in the oak above-mentioned, and is generally reputed to
have been his: this tragical event, the recollection of which was afterwards preserved by tradition in the family of
Vaughan, gave rise to a belief among the peasantry that the spot was haunted by the ghost of the murdered Sele, and the
tree was accordingly denominated "the Haunted Oak." Close to the remains of Hewers house, Sir R. W. Vaughan has erected a
handsome Gothic lodge; and behind the mansion is a beautiful mountain lake, called Cynweb, round which a fine carriage
road has been recently made by the proprietor, who has also greatly improved the vicinity, by the construction of many
miles of excellent roads through the parish, and the erection of stone walls for inclosures and fences, of which, within a
period of thirty years, he raised an extent of more than seventy miles. Some pieces of ancient coin were found near the
lodge, in June, 1841; and steps leading to a cellar were also discovered. The parish abounds with peat, which is dug as
the principal fuel of the inhabitants. Copper-ore is supposed to exist to a great extent in the mountainous parts of it,
and considerable quantities have been obtained in a very singular manner. A gentleman residing in Dolgelley, learning that
the ashes of peat procured near DOlvrwynog, in this parish, could not be applied with advantage as a manure, but had the
effect of injuring the land, applied a chemical test to them, by which he discovered that they contained a considerable
proportion of copper. He then employed men to cut and pile up in stacks the peat from which these ashes were produced, and
shipped it to Swansea, where, upon being smelted, it was found to yield copper of very excellent quality. The surrounding
mountains are from this circumstance thought to be richly impregnated with copper-ore, which, through the medium of
springs or otherwise, has saturated the peat in the hollows with a solution of sulphate of copper, from which many
thousand tons of excellent metal have been produced. The village is in a very retired situation, remote from any turnpike-
road, and chiefly inhabited by families employed in agricultural pursuits. Fairs are held on April 22nd, June 30th, and
August 15th, and at Drws-y-Nant, in the neighbourhood, on October 23rd. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with
£800 royal bounty, and £800 parliamentary grant; net income, £92; patron and impropriator, Sir Robert Williames Vaughan,
Bart. The church, dedicated to St. Machraeth, is a neat stone edifice, with a low square tower, surmounted by a spire;
and consists of a nave, chancel, and south transept, the two latter of which were built, in 1820, by Sir R. W. Vaughan, in
testimony of his respect for the memory of his Majesty King George III., as expressed on two tablets, one inscribed in
Welsh, and the other in English: the more ancient portion of the edifice was newly seated, roofed, and otherwise
thoroughly repaired in the year 1800; it contains several 'handsome monuments. From 35 to 40 children (mostly males) are
instructed in a day school, at the expense of their parents; and there are six Sunday schools, connected with
dissenters, in which 490 males and females are taught gratuitously. There are three rent-charges of £2 each, left by
unknown benefactors, in trust to the minister and churchwardens for distribution about Christmas among the poor; who also
receive in small sums, generally on Good Friday, £2. 10. the proceeds of bequests of £20 each, from John David, and Thomas
Price, and X l0 from Mary Jones. Above the seat of Nannau is a lofty rock, the summit of which is encircled with a rampart
of loose stones: it is called Mod Ofrwm, " the hill of sacrifice." There is an old house in the parish, designated
Cynmarch, or Cae March, which is surrounded by a moat, but of which little is known. At Cwmeision is a chalybeate spring,
termed Fynnon Goch; and there is also in the parish a spring of excellent water, styled Fynnon y Capel. Rice Jones, a
noted Welsh bard, author of a work named " Gorchestion y Beirdd," who was a native of this parish, lived and died at Ty.
Ucha, Blaenau, and was -buried in the church of this place.