- Llysfaen
infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name=Llysfaen
constituency_welsh_assembly=Clwyd West
latitude=53.283
longitude=-3.666
official_name= Llysfaen
unitary_wales= Conwy
population= 2,652 -2001 Census
lieutenancy_wales= Clwyd
constituency_westminster= Clwyd West
post_town=COLWYN BAY
postcode_district = LL29
postcode_area= LL
dial_code= 01492
os_grid_reference= SH888771Llysfaen is a
village inConwy county borough on the coast of northWales . For local government purposes, it is also a community andConwy County Borough Council ward.Introduction
Llysfaen is located one kilometre (0.6 miles) inland, halfway between the coastal towns of
Abergele andColwyn Bay . Neighbouring villages includeOld Colwyn ,Llanddulas ,Dolwyn andBetws-yn-Rhos . It is also immediately west ofMynydd Marian , amountain known for itslimestone grassland and the rare dwarf sub-species of theSilver-studded Blue butterfly.The council ward, including the village centre and surrounding precincts, occupies 5.11 square kilometres (1,260 acres, 511 hectares). The community's
population has remained relatively static in recent times, estimated to be,as of 2005 , 2,680. [http://www.conwy.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=1863&doc=1345]The community is currently part of
Conwy county borough . However, it historically formed anexclave ofCaernarfonshire assumed by the surrounding Denbighshire in 1923; subsequent local government reorganisation saw it administered as part ofClwyd (1974–1996).The name, "Llysfaen" is Welsh for "stone court" (i.e. a court built of stone).
Throughout much of Llysfaen's recent history, many of its villagers worked at the nearby Llysfaen and Llanddulas
Limestone Quarry from where lime was shipped toLiverpool orFleetwood using Rayne's Jetty inLlanddulas Bay .Facilities
The village has a small number of facilities including a primary school,
Ysgol Cynfran , accepting pupils from nursery age to 11; aSPAR convenience store ; themediæval St. Cynfran's parish church (see below); thevillage hall ; a playgroup; threepark s, and two telephone boxes, and post boxes.Llysfaen currently has a number of youth football teams catering for ages from 7 to 18. A majority of the teams' games are played on the village's Banana Pitch, so called because it dips heavily in the middle. The names of the teams are themed on
big cats (e.g. the Snow Leopards, the Bobcats). Llysfaen has abowling green which is home to a locally well-knownlawn bowls team.History
The
patron saint of Llysfaen isSaint Cynfran , who is traditionally believed to have, in 777, founded the eponymous church in the village, above whose entrance is a carving in rock of the saint. The primary school is also named after Cynfran.In the 1254
Norwich Taxation , Llysfaen was recorded as "Ecc'a de Llesvaen", and in the 1291 taxation as "Rectoria di Lisnaen" and taxed at £4.St. Cynfran's church has been rebuilt a number of times; the current twin-
nave d building is said to date from 1377 but is believed to incorporate stones from the original church. In 1870, the building was the subject of an extensive £1,950 internal restoration with only a few panels remaining from theMiddle Ages , although the mediæval stone walls remain. The rectilinearchurchyard contains memorials going back as far as the17th century . The churchyard is surrounded by a stone wall withyew tree s both in and outside the walls, and there is a holywell , the Ffynnon Gynfran, about 100 metres to the north.The ancient
parish of Llysfaen was anexclave of thecwmwd (equivalent to a hundred) ofCreuddyn within the county ofCaernarvonshire , and comprised the townships ofIsallt ,Isyffordd , Pant (or "Tre'r Pant"),Penmaen andRhwngyddwyffordd . According to theRoyal Commission of the Welsh Church , the then parish had a population of 585 in 1831 rising to 1,489 in 1901.The parish was originally slightly larger than today with an area of 1,772 acres (7.17 square kilometres) in the 1840s. In 1872, part of the parish was lost to
Colwyn but the township ofTwynnan was gained fromLlanelian-yn-Rhos . Around 1910 the parish had increased to 1,879 acres (7.6 square kilometres).In 1873, the local lime quarrying firm, Raynes & Co. Ltd, was established by James Trevelyan Raynes II to make
sodium carbonate andlimestone dust for use inglass manufacture. [http://www.raynesandco.com/about/ahistory.htm]20th Century
In 1923, the parish of Llysfaen was moved from
Caernarvonshire (of which it had been anenclave ) to the surrounding Denbighshire.In 1927,
United Alkali Co. Ltd took over Raynes & Co. and were then purchased themselves in the same year byImperial Chemical Industries (ICI).In 1931,
Llysfaen Railway Station closed, but the signal box was not removed until 1983 as it served sidings used by the ICI lime works. [http://www.signalbox.org/gallery/lm/llysfaen.htm]On
23 November ,1964 , the last cargo of limestone from the quarry was shipped on the "M.V. Calcium".In 1972, the church was subject to another restoration.
In 1974, the vast majority of the county of Denbighshire including Llysfaen was assumed by the larger
Clwyd with Llysfaen also becoming part of the borough ofColwyn .In 1996, as part of the reorganisation of Wales into
unitary authorities , Llysfaen became part of thecounty borough of Conwy.External links
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/DEN/Llysfaen/ GENUKI page]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3488827 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llysfaen and surrounding area]
* [http://www.cpat.demon.co.uk/projects/longer/churches/conwy/16901.htm Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust: Church of St Cynfran, Llysfaen]
* [http://www.clwydfhs.org.uk/churches/Llysfaen/ Clwyd Family History Society: Church photographs] (picture of St Cynfan's)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.