England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llangwyllog St Cwyllog

The Parish

The parish of Llangwyllog lies in central Anglesey about 3 miles northwest of the small market town of Llangefni. Llangwyllog is a rather dispersed settlement with no readily defined centre which sits astride the B5111 which connects Llangefni with Amlwch. Llangwyllog's only moment in history was to be site of a battle between the Welsh under Owain Gwynedd against a combined Norwegian and Manx force which saw victory for the Welsh in 1143. Otherwise this was a quiet rural backwater where a mixture of pastoral and arable farming underpinned the local economy. Today little has changed with small neat fields and many cattle through the landscape. Llangwyllog is drained by small tributaries of the Afon Cefni which has been dammed to the southeast of Llangwyllog to form Cefni reservoir, eventually the Afon Cefni drains southwards to reach the Irish Sea through Malltreath and an extensive estuary. Llangwyllog is sited at around 60 metres above the sea in gently undulating countryside with local heights rising to just over 80 metres to the southwest. Llangwyllog parish was fairly typically sized for the island, it covered just over 1,600 acres and would have supported a population of around 250 parishioners. There is no mention of Llangwyllog in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Cwyllog's church sits roughly a half mile north of the notional centre of the parish an sits down a narrow side lane to the west of the B5111. The church is little more than a small oblong box, just 15 foot wide and 45 foot long. The eastern window is perhaps the nest dating clue in the building and this yields a date of the 15th century but there has probably been a church here for much longer. Later features suggest modification in the 16th century and as usual there has been the Victorian restoration, in this case of 1854. St cwyllog's church can be found from the B5111 by reference to a small white sign which points the way down the lane which has tarred tracks with grass down the centre and ends in a small parking area. The churchyard is surrounded by a low local stone wall and a small metal gate grants access. There are a few trees around which somewhat restrict views from the south.