Llanfihangel Penbedw | |
---|---|
St Michael's Church, 2007 | |
Location within Pembrokeshire | |
OS grid reference | SN2039 |
Community | |
Principal area | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Boncath |
Postcode district | SA |
Dialling code | 01239 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Llanfihangel Penbedw is a parish in the former Hundred of Kilgerran in northeast Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish, a joint curacy with Capel Colman, in the Diocese of St David's in the Church in Wales, included the village of Boncath and part of the village of Blaenffos. The parish church is abandoned and the civil parish has been absorbed into Boncath Community.
Llanfihangel refers to St Michael the Archangel, to whom the parish church is dedicated. Penbedw refers to a headland of birch trees, which relates to the similarly named Birkenhead on Merseyside. Penbedw has also been translated as birch-covered hill. [1]
The earliest recorded date of the parish is 1325, with the patronage before that date belonging to the Earl of Pembroke. [2]
Llanfihangel Penbedw (as Llanyhangel Penbedu) appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. [3] The living of the parish was presented to George Owen Harry (or Henry) in 1594 by George Owen, Lord of Cemais. Harry held the living until his death in 1614. [4] Richard Fenton the Welsh topographer and poet in his 1811 work A Historical Tour through Pembrokeshire made liberal use of Harry's manuscripts. [5]
Parish records exist from the 17th century to 1970, with the last recorded burial in 1916. [6] The church was rebuilt on the old foundations in the 19th century. [7]
Throughout the 19th century the population of the parish remained relatively constant at between 200 and 350. [1] In 1833 the parish had 353 inhabitants [8] and was under the patronage of the Crown with the 1,000 acres (400 ha) valued at £70 10s. [9] Falling under Cardigan Union, the Poor Law Commissioners reported that an average of £88 was expended on the poor of the parish between 1834 and 1836. [10] Tithe maps and archives of 1840 are held at the National Archives. [11]
The land in the parish was described as "good Sporting Country and surrounded by well-preserved Estates" in a notice of 1869 where over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of arable, grass and woodland across five parishes was for sale freehold. [12] The parish area was 2,410 acres (980 ha) in the 1870s and had a population of 287. [13] In 1881 the majority of males in the parish were working in agriculture. [14]
The perpetual curacy of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Capel Colman resulted in joint events; for example, the 1878 Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held at Capel Colman in the morning and at Llanfihangel Penbedw in the afternoon, with sermons and services in English and Welsh by clergy from several neighbouring parishes. All the clergy were invited to dinner by Mrs Lloyd of Kilrhue. [15]
The final extension of the railway line from Whitland to Cardigan was completed in 1886, with a station at Boncath. The line passed within about 100 yards (91 m) of the church. The line was closed in 1962 and the track lifted.
In 1888 David Worthington was appointed to the curacy of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Capel Colman, [16] replacing David Lewis. [17]
In 1891 the parish, with twelve other neighbouring parishes, was the subject of an alert regarding possible difficulties in collecting tithe arrears totalling £500. While neither the bailiff nor the chief-constable of Pembrokeshire expected violence, in the opinion of some of the clergy the possibility could not be dismissed. [18]
In 1897 Rev. Morris James Marsden BA was appointed. [19]
By 1961 the number of houses (66) in the parish had fallen from 86 some 120 years earlier. [20] The number of Welsh speakers fell to 75% in the last quarter of the 20th century. [1] The church was abandoned during the same period [2] and was described in 2004 as "miserably abandoned and overgrown"; [21] the growth was cleared subsequently but the church remains in a poor state internally.
The name of the former civil parish continues in Llanfihangel Ward in Boncath Community.
Cilgerran is both a village, a parish, and also a community, situated on the south bank of the River Teifi in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formerly an incorporated market town.
Crymych is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a community in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately 800 feet (240 m) above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains, on the old Tenby to Cardigan turnpike road, now the A478.
Llechryd is a rural village on the A484 road approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) from Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. Situated on the north bank of the tidal River Teifi, Llechryd is the first point upstream of Cardigan where crossing is possible. Most of the village has developed along the A484, with some estates branching off into the valley.
The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcopal see is the Cathedral Church of St David in the City of St Davids, Pembrokeshire. The present cathedral, which was begun in 1181, stands on the site of a monastery founded in the 6th century by Saint David.
Eglwyswrw is a village, community and parish in the former Cantref of Cemais, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village lies between Newport and Cardigan at the junction of the A487 road and the B4332 at an altitude of 130 metres (430 ft).
The Hundred of Cilgerran was a hundred in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formed by the Act of Union of 1536 from the commote of the pre-Norman cantref of Emlyn included by the Act in Pembrokeshire and is otherwise called in Welsh Emlyn Is Cuch, with the addition of the Cemais parish of Llantood. The area of the commote was about 106 km2: that of the hundred was 113 km2.
Manordeifi is a parish and community in the hundred of Cilgerran, in the northeast corner of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The population of the community in 2001 was 478. It has an elected community council and is part of the Cilgerran electoral ward for the purposes of elections to Pembrokeshire County Council.
Boncath is a village, community and postal district in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Newcastle Emlyn.
Clydau is a community and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Bridell is a small settlement and parish in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish includes the village of Pen-y-bryn. Together with the parishes of Cilgerran and Llantood, it is in the community of Cilgerran.
Eglwyswen is a scattered rural settlement and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north slopes of the Preseli Hills, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of Crymych. The south-western part of the parish is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and includes the settlements of Pontyglasier and Penygroes. The parish is part of the community of Crymych.
Llanfihangel can refer to the following places in Wales:
Felindre Farchog is a small village in the community of Nevern in Pembrokeshire, Wales, located around 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Cardigan, and within the parish of Bayvil. The A487 road from Cardigan to Newport runs through the village.
Blaenffos is a small village of around 200 inhabitants in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Boncath. It sits on the boundary between the former parishes of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Castellan Chapelry.
Penrydd is a former parish in the Hundred of Kilgerran, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish's history is closely linked with that of Castellan, and included parts of the present villages of Blaenffos and Crymych.
Llantood is a hamlet and parish in Cilgerran community, north Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Capel Colman is a parish in northeast Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Boncath. Formerly in the Hundred of Cilgerran, Capel Colman is a small, rural parish of some 750 acres (300 ha) surrounded by the larger parishes of Cilgerran, Manordeifi, Clydau, Penrydd and Llanfihangel Penbedw. The parish is in the Manordeifi group in the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.
Henry's Moat is a hamlet and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Puncheston. It is 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Fishguard and 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Haverfordwest. The nearest railway station is Clarbeston Road 5 miles (8 km) to the south. It was in the ancient Hundred of Cemais.
Pontyglasier(English: Bridge of the glacier - origin obscure), sometimes recorded as Pontyglazier, is a small village 1.3 miles (2 km) south of Eglwyswrw in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on an unclassified road 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Crosswell. It is a scattered rural settlement with few amenities.
Llanfihangel Penbedw.