Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales Genealogy

Llangollen is a small town in the north-east of Wales, situated on the banks of the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains.

Until 1974 Llangollen was in the ancient county of Denbighshire, and between 1974 and 1996 it was part of the newly formed county of Clwyd. Since 1996 it has been part of the newly formed county of Denbighshire.

History
Llangollen takes its name from St. Collen, a 7th century monk who founded a church besides the river here. St Collen is said to have arrived in Llangollen by coracle. It is thought that this St. Collen may also have connections in both St. Collen, in Cornwall and Langolen, in Brittany.

Standing high above the town to the north is Castell Dinas Brân, the former stronghold of the Princes of Powys.

Valle Crucis Abbey (Welsh: Glyn y Groes) was established in nearby Llangwestl in about 1201, under the patronage of Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor of Castell Dinas Brân.

The bridge across the River Dee in the centre of at Llangollen was built in about 1345 by John Trevor, of nearby Trevor Hall, who later became Bishop of St Asaph.

On the outskirts of the town is Plas Newydd, where The Honourable Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler, the Ladies of Llangollen lived.

Llangollen was an important coaching stop for the mail coach on the old mail route along the A5 road from London to Holyhead.

The ancient parish of Llangollen was divided into three treanau ("trean" being the Welsh for "third"):
 * Llangollen Traean contained the townships of Bachau, Cysylltau, Llangollen Abad, Llangollen Fawr, Llangollen Fechan, Feifod, Pengwern and Rhisgog.
 * Trefor Traean contained the townships of Cilmediw, Dinbren, Eglwysegl, Trefor Isaf and Trefor Uchaf.
 * Glyn Traean contained the townships of Cilcochwyn, Crogeniddon, Crogenwladus, Erwallo, Hafodgynfor, Nantygwryd, Pennant and Talygarth.

Llangollen was predominantly a farming and agricultural area. Most of the farms in the hills around the town would have been involved in sheep farming and weaving was an important cottage industry in the area for centuries. Several factories were later built along the banks of the River Dee where both wool and cotton were processed. Today Llangollen relies heavily on the tourist industry.

The Ellesmere Canal was intended to connect the coal mines and ironworks at Ruabon and Wrexham to the canal network and then to the sea via the River Mersey and the River Severn. A feeder branch to Llangollen) was constructed from the canal at Trevor to tap water from the River Dee at Llantysilio (at the weir called "Horseshoe Falls"). This canal eventually became part of the Shropshire Union System. The Llangollen Canal today is a major tourist attraction.

The railway had been extended from Ruabon, via Acrefair and Trevor, to reach Llangollen by 1865. Eventually the completed Ruabon-Barmouth line later became part of the Great Western Railway but, one hundred year later, the line was closed in 1964. However, part of the line was later restored and now operates as the Llangollen Railway, another important local tourist attraction.

The town of Llangollen is world-famous for its annual International Eisteddfod, held in July.

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

Church Records
The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth:

Nonconformist Church Records
The following registers are available on the IGI:

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

Poor Law Union
The parish of Llangollen formed part of the Corwen Union, which was created on 13 December 1836. 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.