LLANWNDA (LLAN-WYNDAF), a parish, in the hundred of UWCHGORVAI, union of CARNARVON and county of CARNARVON, NORTH WALES, 3
miles (S. by W.) from Carnarvon; containing 1587 inhabitants. The name of this place is derived from the dedication of its
church to St. Gwyndav, who flourished during the sixth century. The parish is situated on the turnpike-road from Carnarvon
to Pwllheli, and is bounded on the north by the parish of Llanbeblig, on the south by that of Llandwrog, on the east by
that of Bettws-Garmon, and on the west by the Irish Channel. It comprises 7000 acres, about one-fourth of which is arable,
and the rest a dreary mountainous tract of rocky ground, covered only by a very thin layer of earth; the lower portion has
a loamy soil, producing oats, barley, and a little wheat, and is ornamented with the windings of the river Gorvai, which
separates this parish from that of Llanbeblig, and with sprinklings in various places of oak, ash, and alder trees. Slate
of excellent quality is found among the mountains, and very considerable quarries have been opened; but from the
difficulty of conveying the produce to any shipping-place, they are not wrought to their full extent. Large quantities of
copper-ore have also been discovered, but so mixed with iron as to require great labour and expense in separating it, for
which reason the works are not carried on to any advantage, especially as the low price of that metal is insufficient to
remunerate the adventurers for the trouble of procuring it. The railroad from Llanllyvni to Carnarvon passes near the
south side of the churchyard, but does not appear to have been made available for the exportation of the mineral produce
of the parish, by the construction of any collateral communication with the quarries or the mines. The village is small,
being chiefly inhabited by persons employed in the quarries and in agriculture. Of the rateable annual value of the parish
the return made amounts to £3883. 5. The living consists of both a rectory and a vicarage: the rectory, which is a
sinecure, is annexed to the headship of Jesus' College, Oxford; and the vicarage, which is discharged, and to which the
perpetual curacy of Llanvagdalen is annexed, is endowed with £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the Bishop of
Bangor; net income of the latter, less than £200. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £460, of which £370
is the amount payable to the Principal of Jesus' College, and £90 to the vicar. The church is an ancient structure,
measuring in the interior 51 feet by 17, and containing accommodation for between three hundred and four hundred persons,
but the pews are in a state of great dilapidation: the chancel is lighted by three lancet-shaped windows; and the edifice
displays, within, some good specimens of architectural beauty: there are some monuments of the Baron Hill family, but in a
very neglected state, and the whole appears to be rapidly falling into ruin. There are places of worship for Independents,
and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. A National school was maintained for a long period at the sole expense of the
curate, but has been lately discontinued. A small school-house was built many years since, on the north side of the
church, and some bequests were made for teaching children, but they have been lost. There are four Sunday schools, which
appertain to dissenters, and afford gratuitous instruction to about 240 adults and children. Mrs. Ellen Williams, in 1714,
left £200 for the augmentation of the vicar's stipend, and £100, the interest of which she directed to be distributed
among the poor annually. The Rev. Lewis Jones, in 169-2, bequeathed £100, directing a moiety of the interest to be divided
among twelve aged men or women, and a rent-charge of £3, to be divided among twelve natives of the parish, or, in default
of such, among inhabitants of seven years' standing. Near a farm named Bedaden some slight traces of a Roman road are
still discernible, pointing to the ancient Segontium, near Carnarvon. There are likewise some remains of two British
fortifications, called respectively Yr Hen Gastell and Dinas Gorvan, or Gorvai, the latter probably deriving its name from
its position on the aver Gorvai: of the former but very slight vestiges are discernible, and the latter, which is situated
near Pont Newydd, has been so much damaged by the action of the rapid stream of the Gorvai, during times of flood, against
its base, that the upper part has fallen, and only a portion of the foundations can now be distinguished. The Rev. Mr.
Farringdon, who employed a considerable portion of his time in antiquarian pursuits, was for some years vicar of the
parish.