Tydecho

Saint Tydecho was a 6th century saint of Wales. Tydecho was the son of Amwn Ddu (himself son of Emyr Llydaw) and a cousin of Saint Cadfan, with whom he travelled Wales.

He is said to have come to Wales during the time of King Arthur and became an anchorite after the great king's death. Tydecho lived with his sister Tegfedd in the Mawddwy area and was the founder of churches at Llanymawddwy, Mallwyd, Garthbeibio and Cemmaes. Tydecho is also credited with founding a chapel, Capel Tydecho, in Llandegfan.

Tydecho acquired some of the land for his churches by interesting means. His sister Tegfedd was a beautiful woman who attracted the attention of a wealthy man named Cynon, who kidnapped her as he was so taken by her beauty. Tydecho caught up with the man and forced him to release his sister. He was also able to convince Cynon to compensate for his misdeed by ceding some land to Tydecho for a church at Garthbeibio. (Tydecho had previously established a church at Llanymawddwy.) Some people would cross over the mountains to get to church and were not successful in making their crossing. Three women died on the mountain of exposure while trying to get to the Llanymawddwy church. The church built on this land at Garthbeibio made the dangerous journey unnecessary.

Another legend says that a milkmaid working for Tydecho slipped when crossing the river and her pail of milk spilled into the water. Tydecho's response to the accident was to turn the river from its source to the village of Llanymawddwy into a stream of milk; he called this section Llaethnant.