Caernarvonshire

Contents

Bangor

"BANGOR, a parish, city, borough, and market town, in the hundred of Uwch-gorfai, in the county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 9 miles to the N.E. of Carnarvon, and 238 miles by railway from London. It is situated on the north coast of the county, at the head of the bay of Beaumaris, and at the entrance to the Menai Strait, and is a station on the Holyhead railway, which is carried across the strait by the great Britannia Tubular Bridge, not far from the city. This place has existed from a very early period; but the precise time of its foundation is not known. It is the oldest see in Wales, except Llandaff, its first bishop having been appointed about A.D. 560. King Edgar confirmed the privileges of the bishopric, and added to its endowments." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

Bibliography

See separate page

Business and Commerce Records

Carter, Vincent & Co., Solicitors, Papers  1747-1925 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
"Carter, Vincent & Co., Solicitors, of Bangor operated in North Wales during the 19th and 20th centuries, dealing with property and individuals in Anglesey, Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire..."

Census

• 1851 Census of Bangor. A full transcription by Joyce & Douglas Hinde in surname order.

Church History

Entries on church plans online

• BANGOR, St. Deiniol (Cathedral) (1818-1828)   Carnarvonshire
• BANGOR, St. James (1863-1866)   Carnarvonshire
• BANGOR, St. Mary (1862-1864)   Carnarvonshire

Penrallt Baptist Church, Bangor

Pearson, Matthew J. The creation of the Bangor Cathedral Chapter    (NLW's site)  Welsh History Review 20

Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is the entry from this book for Bangor chapel (in Welsh )  - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Feb 2010)    Also Bethmaaca chapel - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Sept 2009)        Also Beulah chapel - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Feb 2010)    Also Bangor (Seisnig) chapel   - with translation by Eleri Rowlands (Sept 2010)

Church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 11, North Wales. Ed. by Ieuan Gwynedd Jones, UWP, 1981. The names given towards the end of each entry are those of the informants.

Bangor Parish and City; Statistics; Area 7543 acres; Population 4723 males, 4841 females, total 9564

• Bangor Cathedral     Attendance - Usual number in the Welsh and English services - about 1200 excluding National Scholars            "The National Scholars are about 300 who meet on Sundays in the National School - and attend Church ...."     Together with Pentir Chapel - 5 services in Welsh and 2 in English            Informant; G W Pall
• Pentir Chapel         Rebuilt 1847/8           Attendance - usual number - afternoon 185             Informant; David Thomas, Clerk
•  
• St Mary's, Roman Catholic   Erected 1834       Attendance - morning 103, afternoon 70            "About 30 children attend Catechism and Religious instructions on Sunday evening"   John Tobin, R. Catholic Priest
•  
• Caerrhun Chapel, Calvinistic Methodists           Erected 1831        Attendance - average - 150               "School in afternoon. Adults attend  School as well as children. The demand of sittings is greater than the supply available"         Robert Thomas, Deacon, Brynmawr
• Soar, Wesleyan Methodist             Erected 1836            Attendance - morning 65 scholars, afternoon 88, evening 82              Hugh Michael, Steward, Glasinfryn
• Abelbethmara, Congregational         Erected 1836        Attendance - afternoon 125, evening 100               John Jones, Secretary, Glasinfryn
• Carregcilcoed, Pentir, Calvinistic Methodist             Erected 1829          Attendance - morning 228, afternoon 135, evening 150            Evan Williams, Deacon, Tai Isaf, Pentir
• Bethania, Calvinistic Methodist         Erected 1840           Attendance - morning 127 scholars, afternoon 235, evening 161            Daniel Roberts, Elder, Brynadda
• Elim, Wesleyan Methodist     Erected 1834     Attendance -   morning 52 scholars, afternoon 50 + 12 scholars, evening 120 + 20 scholars               Ellis Thomas, Trustee, Aberpwll
• Siloh, Congregation Independent              Erected 1834         Attendance - average -morning 80/110 scholars, afternoon/evening 180/190         "The Chapel closed up since two weeks for enlargement"               Morris Roberts, Superintendent, Aberpwll
• Beula, Independent               Erected 1839      Attendance - morning 82, afternoon 84, evening 113           Phillip G Thomas, Minister, Beulah, nr Bangor
• Capel y Graig, Calvinistic Methodist        Erected c 1813       Attendance - morning 131 scholars, afternoon 207, evening 206        Ellis Jones, Deacon, Vaynol, nr Bangor
• Horeb Chapel, Wesleyan Methodist         Erected 1839     Attendance - morning 317, afternoon 253 scholars, evening 586              John Evans, Wesleyan Minister
• Ebenezer Chapel, Independents         Erected  1805        Attendance - morning 19 (English) afternoon 42 (Welsh), evening 130 (Welsh)     Arthur Jones, Minister
• Rechabite Hall, English Congregational        Erected 1844   Not used exclusively as a place of worship       Attendance - morning 11, evening 21         "Our Sunday School children are chiefly Welsh and their parents prefer to take them with them to the Welsh places of Worship and that is the reason they do not attend the English Divine service with us"   Daniel Williams, Manager, Slate Works, Garth, Bangor
• Penuel, Baptist          Erected 1813      Attendance - morning (schoolroom) 95 scholars, afternoon 152, evening 160               Wm Williams, Deacon, ? Hirael
• Bethel Chapel, Welsh Congregationalists      Erected 1833  Not a separate building (Occasionally allowed for Temperance Meetings and Moral Lectures)       Attendance - morning 80, afternoon 60 scholars, evening 150             John Williams, Steward, Printer, Drum St
• Tabernacle, Dean St, Calvinistic Methodists        Erected 1804, on another site 1820, enlarged 1834     (Occasionally allowed for Temperance Meetings and Moral Lectures)    Attendance - morning 704, afternoon 577 scholars, evening 1079            John Phillips, Pastor and Minister, Vron
• English Wesleyan Chapel, James' St           Erected  1830    Attendance - morning 23 + 8 scholars, evening 50 + 11 scholars        "The Congregation is muched increased in the summer months by Visitors and Tourists......"        William Henry Lewis, Minister, Uxbridge Square, Caernarvon       
• En-Eglaim Chapel, Calvinistic Methodists          Erected 1843       Attendance - afternoon 257, evening 90              "Sunday Scholars attend the School at the Tabernacle Chapel in the afternoon"        John Phillips, Pastor and Minister, Vron

Church Records

Joyce Hinde has supplied a list of Parish Registers held at the Caernarfon Area Record Office.

Bangor English Methodist Circuit records - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
"........ The Caernavon English [Wesleyan] Circuit, Caernarfonshire, was later known as Caernarvon and Bangor English [Wesleyan] Circuit. In 1897, the Caernarvon and Bangor English [Wesleyan] Circuit established a missioner at Porthmadog. The Caernarvon and Bangor English [Wesleyan] Circuit was later known as Bangor English Methodist Circuit."

Description and Travel

Bangor - on Wikipedia

Heritage Trail site - Bangor (Garth) Pier

Bangor - old photographs - on Andrew Woodvine's site

Bangor - on the old uk photos site

Gazetteers

• The transcription of the section for Bangor from The National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.
• A Topographical Dictionary of Wales by Samuel Lewis, 1833

Maps

Gwynedd Family History Society  have a diagram of the ecclesiastical parishes of Caernarfonshire (under Publications)  - with some links to photographs of parish churches

Newspapers

North Wales Newspapers - The Chronicle

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc. 

Public Records

Bangor Borough Council Records 1819-1974 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
"Bangor Borough Council was formed in 1883..... Bangor Burial Board had been established in 1859, and maintained the cemetery until Bangor Borough Council took over in 1899. The Bangor Water and Gas Company was founded in 1853 as the Bangor Waterworks Company and merged the following year with the Bangor Gas and Coke Company. It was bought by Bangor Local Board of Health in 1878 and run as a public utility until its functions were assumed by the new Bangor Council in 1883. In 1974, the Borough Council was abolished and became part of Arfon Borough Council."

Schools

Papers relating to Administration and Estate lands of Friars' School [post 1536]-1968 - details of extant records on Archives Network Wales
"The Bangor Old Grammar School, Bangor, commonly known as Friars' School, was established in 1557 following instructions in the will of Dr Geoffrey Glyn of Anglesey (d. 1557), a civil lawyer, which provided the site of the dissolved Dominican Friary and its lands in Bangor for a school to educate children from poor families. The Bangor Old Grammar School moved to a new site in 1900. The school is now part of Coleg Menai"

Social Life and Customs

Jones, Peter Ellis.  The urban morphology and social structure of a working class district in the mid-C19th: a case study of Hirael, Bangor, Gwynedd   (NLW's site)   Welsh History Review 15

Societies

Bangor Civic Society - site has a contents listing of all the Caernarvonshire Historical Transactions  published from  1939+

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