LLANVAETHLU (LLAN-FAETHLU), a parish, in the hundred of TALYBOLION, union of ANGLESEY and county of ANGLESEY, NORTH WALES,
5 miles (N. by W.) from Bodedern; containing 483 inhabitants. This parish, which is of very considerable extent, is
pleasantly situated on a tract of rising ground above Holyhead Roads, and commands an extensive view over the Irish Sea,
by which it is bounded on the west. It is considered to have been known at a very early period to the Romans, who are
thought to have had a smelting place here, for the ore of the Parys mountain; and this supposition is confirmed in some
degree by the discovery of a cake of copper-ore, weighing fifty-four lb., and stamped with a mark resembling the Roman
letter L, about the year 1757, and by the quantities of charcoal and scoria of copper that are frequently turned up by the
plough in tilling the land upon the higher grounds. The surface is inclosed, and, with the exception only of a small
proportion, in a good state of cultivation; the immediate neighbourhood is enlivened with some handsome seats. Within the
parish is Carreg Lwyd, the ancient family mansion of the Griffiths, by whom it has been occupied for centuries: the
grounds are extensive, and ornamented with well-grown timber, and within them is a lake of considerable size. Near this
spot is a signal station, communicating with Holyhead on the west, and Llaneilian on the east, and forming a link in the
chain of posts between Holyhead and Liverpool. Limestone of very superior quality abounds in the parish, and the working
of it would be attended with much advantage. The living is a rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Llanvwrog annexed,
rated in the king's books at £16. 17. 1.; patron, Bishop of Bangor: the tithes of both parishes have been commuted for a
rent- charge of £636; and there are an excellent and well built glebe-house, erected by the present incumbent, and a glebe
of nearly 21f acres, valued at £60 per annum altogether. The church, dedicated to St. Maethlu, and situated on a lofty
eminence overlooking the Irish Sea, is a small and handsome structure of modern erection; and the interior, which is one
of the neatest in the island, is ornamented with a good east window of three ogee-headed lights, embellished with modern
stained glass: on the south side of the church are some ancient monuments to the memory of deceased members of the family
of Griffith. There are places of worship for Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. About 30 children are instructed in a
day school, at the expense of their parents, with the exception of a few who are paid for by the rector and another
gentleman; and there is a Sunday school, in which about 50 males and females are taught gratuitously by the Baptists. A
charitable bequest of £38 was made to the poor by an unknown benefactor, besides which there are a few smaller donations,
the produce of which is annually distributed among the poor; together with £7, the rent accruing from a cottage and about
five acres of land, acquired by the parish nearly a century and a half since.