Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales Genealogy

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

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 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.

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:

Civil Records
The parish of Llangollen formed a sub-district of the Corwen Registration District and any entries for births, marriages or deaths from 1837 in Llangollen will appear as Corwen in the GRO Indexes.

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.