Eglwysilan is an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in Wales, within the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Aber Valley Aber Valley is a valley community in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales. It has two main communities, Abertridwr and Senghenydd, which grew around the mining industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Senghenydd has a longer histor ...

in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

Caerphilly County Borough Caerphilly County Borough () is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council. Its main and largest town is Caerphilly. Other towns in the county borough are, Risca, Ystrad Mynach, Newbrid ...

Eglwysilan - Church of St Ilan - geograph

History of the parish

During the 12th-century

Norman invasion of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fer ...

, the formal parish was defined – an area of more than , including

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

.History Page on official parish website
accessed 30 January 2012 The parish church of Saint Ilan was built on the ridge between the

Taff Valley Taff may refer to: * River Taff, a large river in Wales * ''Taff'' (TV series), a German tabloid news programme * Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, an organisation for science fiction fandom People * a demonym for anyone from south Wales * Jerry Taff ( ...

and

, on what was thought to have been the site of an earlier chapel or monastic cell. The parish website speculates that it may originally have been the home of a 6th-century monk. The site lies on the ancient pilgrimage route from

Llantarnam Llantarnam () is a village of Cwmbran, and is a community and electoral ward in the county borough of Torfaen in south east Wales. The ward covers the same area as the community, but also includes Southville. It is equidistant from Cwmbran town c ...

Penrhys Penrhys is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated on a hillside overlooking both valleys of Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. It is situated around 1,100 ft above sea level and is a district of Tylorstown. Until t ...

.The Cistercian Way: Llantarnam to Penrhys
, accessed 30 January 2012 Originally

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, the church became

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

following the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

led by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. In due course, eleven Anglican parishes were founded from it, causing a reduction in the territory remaining with the mother church.GenUKI page 'Eglwysilan'
accessed 30 January 2012, which quotes ''A Topographical Dictionary of The Dominion of Wales'' by

Nicholas Carlisle Sir Nicholas Carlisle, Royal Guelphic Order, KH, Royal Society#Fellows, FRS, Royal Irish Academy, MRIA, (1771 in York, England – 27 August 1847 in Margate, England) was an English people, English antiquary and librarian. In 1806, he became a c ...

, London, 1811. In 1801, the parish had dependent chapels at Llanfabon and St Martin. The resident population was reckoned to number 1885 people, 'residing in the hamlets of Eglwys Ilan, Ener Glynn, Glynn Tâff, Hendredenny, Parc, Rhyd y Byddin, and The Town of Caerphilly'. In 2012, the parish website stated the parish contained 8,000 people 'serving all of the Aber Valley and including the villages of Abertridwr and Senghenydd together with the hamlets of Eglwysilan and Groeswen'. The final service was held at the church on 17 December 2023, and its future is unclear. The churchyard contains the grade II* listed tomb of the bridge builder William Edwards and many of the victims of the

Senghenydd Colliery Disaster The Senghenydd colliery disaster, also known as the Senghenydd explosion (), occurred at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales, on 14 October 1913. The explosion, which killed 439 miners and a rescuer, is the ...

of 1913. Evan James, who wrote the lyrics of the Welsh national anthem, was baptised at the church.

Identity of the patron saint

:''Note that this section discusses a saint whose name is Ilan with a capital (Ilan), which could easily be confused with the Welsh term Llan (Llan), which commonly indicates a church or place named after a saint.'' The dedication of the church is ambiguous. Its own website currently states it to be the church of 'Saint Ilan' (Ilan). Rice Rees offers the opinion that Ilan may have been an early Celtic saint of whom no other trace survives.An Essay on the Welsh Saints, or the Primitive Christians usually considered to have been the founders of churches in Wales.
Revd Rice Rees, Longman &c., 1836, pages 99, 104, 267. The Cistercian Way website offers an unsourced tradition that Ilan may have been a pre-Norman bishop of

Llandaf Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese w ...

, and says that the 12th-century Book of Llandaf denotes the church at Eglwysilan as the resting place of the relics of Ilan.The Cistercian Way: Eglwysilan page
, accessed 30 January 2012 Rees is sceptical of an 18th-century reference in Ecton's Thesaurus, which suggests that 'Ilan' is a corrupt form of Helen, mother of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

; nevertheless, the post-reformation Roman Catholic parish erected to cover the same territory in the 20th century took the name of 'Saint Helen'.Registers at the Roman Catholic Church of St Dyfrig
accessed 30 January 2012 Although Rees acknowledges that the 4th-century noblewoman

Elen Luyddog Saint Elen (, lit. "Helen of the Hosts"), often anglicized as Helen, was a late 4th-century founder of churches in Wales. Although never formally canonized by Rome, Elen is traditionally considered a saint in the Welsh Church; in English s ...

may have become confused with the Empress Helena in historical records, he does not explicitly suggest Elen as a candidate for the patronage of Eglwysilan. In a text from 1801, the parish was said to be dedicated to 'Saint Elian'. There existed a 5th-century saint, Elian, active in north Wales and in Cornwall; Rees acknowledges his presence in north Wales under the name Elian Geimiad, but again, does not propose this saint as a patron of Eglwysilan.

Notable people

William Edwards William Edwards may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Edwards (architect) (1719–1789), Welsh architect of the Pontypridd bridge in south Wales * William Camden Edwards (1777–1855), Welsh engraver *William Augustus Edwards (1866–1939), ...

(1719–1789) - minister and bridge builder. Built the

Old Bridge, Pontypridd The Old Bridge (), which is now also known as the William Edwards Bridge or Pontypridd Bridge, was originally known as the New Bridge or Newbridge, is an arch bridge, arched single-span footbridge that spans the River Taff at Pontypridd in Wale ...

and

Dolauhirion Bridge Dolauhirion Bridge () is a single arch stone bridge which carries road traffic from Llandovery to Cilycwm over the River Towy () in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a grade I listed structure. At the time the bridge was built the road was the main ...

* David Williams (1738–1816) - theologian and founder of the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

. * Thomas Pardoe (1770–1823) -

porcelain painter China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects, such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porce ...

buried in the churchyard.

References

External links

Official website of the parish

UK & Ireland Genealogy record

Glamorgan Archives - Eglwysilan Ecclesiastical Parish records

Vision of Britain - demographic information
{{authority control Villages in Caerphilly County Borough