MAENTWROG (MAEN-TWROG), a parish, in the union of FESTINIOG, hundred of ARDUDWY, County of MER1ONETH, NORTH WALES,
4 of a mile from the post-office at Tan-y-Bwlch, and 18 miles (N. N. W.) from Dedgelley; containing 882 inhabitants. This
parish derives its name from a large upright stone still remaining at one angle of the church, which is called ca Maen
Twrog," and was erected to the memory of Twrog, an eminent British saint, who flourished at the close of the fifth and
beginning of the sixth centuries, and to whom the church is dedicated. It is surrounded by the parishes of Festiniog,
Llandeowyn, and Trawsvynydd, and contains 52t 8a. Br. 17p., of which the amble compared with the pasture forms about one-
third, but a very considerable portion is under wood, the prevailing species being oak. The surface is partly rugged and
hilly, embracing one half of the Vale of Festiniog, but is not so much so as that parish, there being here more flat and
level land, with a soil for the most part light and gravelly, producing oats and barley. The village, in which is a
comfortable inn, is situated in the north-western part of the parish, and in the most romantic portion of the fertile and
highly picturesque Vale of Festiniog; and on the southern bank of the river Dwyryd, which falls into Traeth Bach in the
bay of Cardigan; and on the turnpike-road leading from Dolgelley to Carnarvon. Roads also branch off from it north-west
to Tremadoc, northeast to Festiniog, and south-west to Harlech. The surrounding scenery is richly diversified with verdant
meadows and luxuriant groves, beautifully contrasting with the barren and precipitous mountains by which this portion of
the vale is inclosed. About a mile from the village are two fine waterfalls, one called Rhaiadr DU, or " the black fall,"
and the other LISm-y-Gwynryn, both formed by the small river Velinrhyd. The latter, which consists of six different falls,
each about thirty feet in extent, is beautifully picturesque, and, as seen from the base of the rocks over which the river
descends, has a sublime and romantic grandeur of effect. The river Dwyryd is navigable to the village, and receives the
Cynval, a small river: and there are two other streams named Llechrwd and Velinrhyd, that form the boundary between this
and the parish of Llandecwyn and part of Trawsvynydd. The manufacture of flannel and the knitting of stockings are carried
on to a moderate extent, affording employment to a portion of the inhabitants; and fairs are held on March 3rd, April
14th, May 15th, August 15th, September 19th, and November 10th. The living is a discharged rectory, consolidated with the
rectory of Festiniog: the church, rebuilt in 1814, on the site of the ancient structure, is a neat stone edifice, with a
square embattled tower, about 50 feet long and 36 broad, and contains 232 sittings, of which 60 are free. There are places
of worship for Independents and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. A school-house has been built by Mrs. Oakeley, in
which between 70 and 80 children are instructed at her sole expense; and there are also four Sunday schools, appertaining
to the dissenters, in which about 240 males and females are taught gratuitously. Some of the children of this parish
attend the National school at Festiniog. Mrs. Jones, in 1742, bequeathed £30; Evan Lloyd, in 1691, £20; and John Roberts
£5; with which sums, and other monies, three cottages and gardens were purchased in a remote part of the parish many years
since, in which three poor families are permitted to reside rent-free; but the interest of the above sums is still
annually distributed among the poor. The Roman road leading from Uriconium to Segoatium; another from Tommen-y-Miir, in
the parish, where the kings of England employed in the conquest of Wales frequently encamped, to Caer Gai; and another to
Sam Helen, passed through this place; and several Roman antiquities have been found in the parish, consisting of coins,
urns, and inscribed stones, of which last, some were in the possession of the late W. Gruffydd Oakeley, Esq., of Tan-y-
Bwlch Hall, and of John Lloyd, Esq., of Pen-y-Ghinau, who has also an extensive collection of antiquities discovered in
different parts of the principality. Among the inscriptions in the hands of the late Mr. Oakeley are, a bordered stone,
ornamented at the extremities, and divided longitudinally into two compartments, in the upper of which are the characters
D AND, and in the lower PXXXIX.; another stone, fourteen inches in length and nine inches broad, with the inscription ›.
vEi MANS; and a third, fifteen inches longand seven inches broad, bearing the inscription IMAY.XXXIX. The Rev. Edmund
Prys, Archdeacon of Merioneth, one of the most eminent poets of his time, was rector of the parish for many years. He
translated the metrical version of the Psalms of David used in the Welsh churches, one of which he is said to have
versified every time he had service in this church, in which the whole were sung previously to their being published; and
he also assisted Bishop Morgan in his translation of the Welsh Bible. He was born at Gerddi Bluog, in the parish of
Llanvair, in 1544, and was interred under the communion table of this church.