Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 18:03:23 EST
From: Daviesplus(a)aol.com
I think Eglwysilan is a parish (?) and certainly a church in its own right ...
Will Davies
Yes, Will you are correct. There is/was a parish of Eglwysilan and it
covers a much wider area than the neighbourhood of the church itself.
I do not have a parish map, but Pontypridd seems to have been divided
into at least 3 parishes. Eglwysilan was to the east of the River Taff;
Llantrisant was to the west of the River Taff, and Llanwonno was to the
north - perhaps between the River Rhondda and the River Taff.
As I say I do not have a map and am basing this on the birthplaces of
my family. e.g. I was born in Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd, parish of Eglwysilan,
my mother was born in Cilfynydd a fair distance away but still on the east
of the river and still in the parish of Eglwysilan. My father was born on the
Graig to the east of the river, and his birth certificate states that was
in the
parish of Llantrisant. I cannot verify the area of the parish of Llanwonno
as none of my family was born there, but it does show up in census records
of the area - it is a similar situation to that of Eglwysilan where the
church is
on the top of the mountain, seemingly remote from current areas of population.
Llanwonno is famous for the story of Guto Nyth Bran - a Welsh Pheidippides.
The story goes that his mother had put the kettle on to boil for tea, when she
discovered that she did not have any tea leaves. Guto said no problem I'll run
and get some, and be back before the kettle boils. As my mother told this
to me she said that he was running downhill to Pontypridd to buy the tea and
then running back uphill, no mean feat. Does anyone know if he made it?
My mother thought that he had dropped dead at his mother's feet, but my
mother was a pessimist par excellence.
Pob hwyl
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Jean Gilson E-mail <jmgilson(a)mts.net>
Winnipeg, Canada