Llangybi ''( English: Cybi's Church)'' is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the Eifionydd area of the Welsh county of Gwynedd, near Llanarmon. The parish was abolished in 1934 and divided between

Llanystumdwy Llanystumdwy is a predominantly Welsh-speaking village, community and electoral ward on the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales. It lies in the traditional county of Caernarfonshire but is currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Gwyned ...

and Llannor. St Cybi's Church, Llangybi (8454)

St Cybi's church is a grade II* building. As well as various

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...

and stone circles in the countryside around, the village is particularly noted for a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

, Ffynnon Gybi ''( English: St Cybi's Well)''. According to local tradition the girls who wished to know their lover's intentions would spread their pocket-handkerchiefs on the water of the well, and, if the water pushed the handkerchiefs to the south they knew that everything was right and that their lovers were honest and honourable in their intentions; but, if the water shifted the handkerchiefs northwards, they concluded the contrary. A reference to this is made in severe terms by a modern Welsh poet.

"This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to Saint Cybi, an eminent British saint, who flourished towards the close of the sixth century, is pleasantly situated in the south-western portion of the county, and nearly in the centre of the promontory which separates Cardigan bay from the bay of Carnarvon. It is of very considerable extent, and the lands are mostly enclosed and in a good state of cultivation : the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified, comprising some fine views of the adjacent country, which abounds with varied and picturesque beauty. At Pontrhyd Goch is a slate quarry, which, however, is worked only on a limited scale, the slates being of rather an inferior quality, and the demand for them confined principally to the immediate neighbour-hood. The road from Carnarvon to Pwllheli passes through the parish." Samuel Lewis, ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales'' (1833)

References

Bibliography

''Sacred Wells in Wales'' by John Rhys and T. E. Morris, in ''Folklore'', Vol. 4, No. 1 (Mar., 1893), pp. 55–79 {{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Llanystumdwy Water wells in Wales