Gwyddelwern, Merionethshire, Wales Genealogy

Gwyddelwern is a village, community and ecclesiastical parish, to the north of Corwen in Denbighshire in Wales. The village is part of the Edeirnion district.

The name Gwyddelwern translates into English as "alder marsh in the thickets".

The parish church is dedicated to St Beuno and its churchyard is circular, an indication of the age of the site, which possibly dates back to pre-Christian times.

The ancient parish was divided into three divisions, each made up of several townships:


 * Cwm: Maes Gwyn; Maes Gamedd; Bonyronn & Trebach; Meiarth & Aelhaiarn
 * Uwchmynydd: Bodgynfel & Clegir
 * Uwchafon: Cynwyd Fawr; Cynwyd Fechan; Perseithydd & Bodheulog.

The Uwchafon division was detached from the rest of the parish. In 1854 the townships of Cynwyd Fawr, Cynwyd Fechan and Bodheulog were transferred to the parish of Llangar. In 1864 the township of Persaethydd was transferred to the new parish of Llawr y Betws, togther with the townships of Llawr y Betws (from the parish of Llanfor) and Nantffreiar (from the parish of Llandderfel).

The area is predominantly Welsh-speaking.

Census Records
The parish of Gwyddelwern formed part of the Corwen Registrar's District.

Church Records

 * The original Gwyddelwern Parish Registers, from 1691 to 1936, have been deposited at the National Library in Aberystwyth.
 * The Clwyd Family History Society have published several volumes of the Gwyddelwern parish registers.
 * There are no official records available on the IGI for Gwyddelwern parish.

Civil Records
Births, marriages and deaths in Gwyddelwern will be recorded in the GRO indexes as:

Poor Law Union
Gwyddelwern formed part of the Corwen Union which was created on 13 December 1836 and the workhouse was built at Corwen, but not completed until April 1840.

The records for the Corwen Union are held at the Meirionydd Record Office in Dolgellau.