Caernarvonshire

Towns & Parishes

Contents

CONWAY

"CONWAY, (or Conwy), a parish, market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, in the hundred of Isaf, and county of Carnarvon, North Wales, 22 miles N.E. of Carnarvon, and 323 N.W. of London by road, or 233¼ miles by the North-Western and Chester and Holyhead railways. It is situated on the left bank near the mouth of the river Conway, hence called by the Welsh, Aber-Conway. The town is supposed by some antiquarians to occupy the site of the Roman station Conovium, and many antiquities have been found in the vicinity; but it is more probable that Caer-Rhun, a small village 5 miles higher up the river, was the ancient Conovium." [From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

• Archives and Libraries
• Bibliography
• Cemeteries
• Church History
• Church Records
• Description and Travel
• Gazetteers
• Maps
• Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.
• Public Records
• Schools

Archives and Libraries

Bibliography

See separate page

Cemeteries

On Caryl Williams's site - Memorial Inscriptions from the St Mary's Parish Church Conwy

Church History

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 Conwy  chapel (in Welsh )

Church Records

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

Parish Registers of Conway 1541-1793 - CD available for purchase on Archive Cd Books

Description and Travel

County Borough of Conwy

Welcome to Conwy

A Castle Wales site - Conwy Castle  &  Conwy's Town Walls

National Trust site - Conwy Suspension Bridge

The Town Walls of Conwy

Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy

Gazetteers

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

Maps

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Conway workhouse - on Peter Higginbotham's site

See below for further Poor Law material

Public Records

• Conway Borough and Conwy Urban District Council Records [mid 17th century]-1974 
  "The castle and town of Conway was founded in 1283 by Edward I. The Borough was granted charters by Edward III in 1331 and Elizabeth I in 1561. It was administered by a Corporation consisting of a mayor, aldermen and the borough's burgesses ............"
• Conwy Community Councils records 1331-1983 (accumulated 1977-1983)
  "From the late 19th century, civil parish councils formed the lowest tier of administration in areas covered by Rural District Councils. In 1974, Local Government re-organisation in Wales led to the renaming of Civil Parishes as Communities, and the creation of Community Councils in urban areas........"
• Conwy (Conway) Borough and Parish Records 1570-1949
  "The collection consists of Poor Law records (1745-1783) and ...... borough and parish administrative material (1570-1786) ..................."

Schools

• Conwy School Boards (Byrddau Ysgol Conwy) records 1873-1903
  "School Boards were reponsible for providing schools for a parish or group of parishes, following the Education Act 1872..."
• Conwy Schools (Ysgolion Conwy) records 1838-1998
  "The school records typically comprise log books, attendance registers, and Local Management Committee minutes and papers...."
• List of Conwy School Children    
  "A list of burgesses' children entered to Joseph Sheldon, schoolmaster, 2 November 1760 and November 1761-November 1762."

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