Llanfihangel-y-traethau
| Llanfihangel-y-traethau | |
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 Llanfihangel-y-traethau vicinity c. 1850 |
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 Llanfihangel-y-traethau
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| Coordinates: 52°53′51″N 4°05′25″W / 52.897477°N 4.090183°WCoordinates: 52°53′51″N 4°05′25″W / 52.897477°N 4.090183°W | |
| Country | Wales |
| Gwynedd | Local government area |
| Ardudwy | Area |
Llanfihangel-y-traethau ("St. Michael's on the Beaches") was a parish in Ardudwy, Gwynedd, north-west Wales centred on a church of the same name in the village of Ynys. The original parish church was built in the 12th century on a tidal island. Later the land rose and connected the island to the mainland. Today it is part of the Bro Ardudwy ministry area, which includes Harlech, a few kilometres to the southwest, and Barmouth. The church has a window depicting Saint Tecwyn and is the start of the Saint Tecwyn's Way, a pilgrimage route ending at Saint Tecwyn's church in Llandecwyn.
The name means "St. Michael's on the Beaches", and the church was one of several "St. Michael's Mounts" along the shores of the ancient Celtic world, including the famous St Michael's Mount in Cornwall and Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy. The village name, Ynys, means "island".
The church of Llanfihangel-y-traethau is on the coast 3.25 miles (5.23 km) north by east of Harlech. When the church was built it was on a rocky, tidal island, reached across the sands at low tide or by boat at high tide. The rivers Glaslyn and Dwyryd once met near Llanfihangel Church, then ran southwest to reach the sea at Harlech. The sea between Harlech and Ynys retreated in the late Middle Ages. In 1810 a sea wall was built from Ynys to the 'mainland' near Glan-y-Wern, and another from Glany-Wern to Bont Briwet, then a toll bridge. In 1856 plans were made to drain the marshland between Talsarnau and Harlech, to be followed by construction of the lower road (now the A496) from Talsarnau via Ynys to Harlech.
Originally the parish included the coast from the mouth of the Glaslyn to the parish of Llandanwg, which contained Harlech. The parish included the Penrhyndeudraeth–Portmeirion peninsula. As of 1870 the parish was a sub-district of the Ffestiniog district, Merioneth. The parish covered 7,567 acres (3,062 ha) of which 2,656 acres (1,075 ha) were water. The land near the river Dwyryd was marshy, while further inland it is hilly.Penrhyndeudraeth became a separate parish in 1897.
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