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Dihewyd

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"DIHEWYD, a parish partly in the hundred of TROEDYRAUR and partly in that of MOYTHEN, county of CARDIGAN, SOUTH WALES, 8 miles (N. W. by W.) from Lampeter, containing 533 inhabitants. This parish is situated near the pleasant Vale of Aëron and not far from the river Mydur; the scenery is beautifully diversified, and towards the vale becomes highly picturesque. A fair is held at Llanwyddalys, within its limits, annually on the 9th of May. It constitutes the endowment of a prebend, formerly in the college of Llandewy-Brevi, but now in the collegiate church of Brecknock, rated in the king's books at £6.13.4., and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. David's. The living is a perpetual curacy, consolidated with that of Llanychaëron,in the archdeaconry of Cardigan, and diocese of St. David's, endowed with £800 royal bounty. The church, dedicated to St. Vitalis, was rebuilt within the last five years, and is a neat edifice, consisting of a nave and chancel. There is a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists. On the summit of a lofty hill, called Moel Dihewyd, are the remains of an ancient encampment, of the origin and history of which nothing is known. The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor is £96.17."
[From Samuel Lewis's A Topographical Dictionary of Wales 1833]

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Church History

Some church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales. Ed. by I.G Jones, & D. Williams. UWP, Cardiff, 1976. The names are those of the informants.

  • Dihewyd Parish Church Licensed in 1824 " Dihewyd Church was rebuilt in the year 1827 in lieu of an old one........" Thomas Davies, Curate

Parish entry for Dihewyd with Mydroilyn from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

  • St Vitalis & Holy Trinity (Mydroilyn)
  • Incumbent and Curates; D T Jones
  • Rural Deanery of Glyn Aeron
  • Acreage 3,867 ; Population 989

St Vitalis Church - photograph on Dyfed FHS

See Chapels database

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Church Records

See Notes on Church/Chapel Records page

Parish Register;
Baptisms 1807-1953. Marriages 1807-1970 [Banns 1828-71]. Burials 1807-1993 NLW with copies of most dates at Cer.RO
PR CMB 1718-1807 recorded in 1831 seemingly lost. A description of it, with extracts, appears in G Eyre Evans, Cardiganshire and its Antiquities[1903], 217
Bishops Transcripts;
1676, 1678-81, 1683, 1685-6, 1705, 1800-3, 1806-15, 1818-78 NLW

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

I.G.I; Baptisms 1800-1878

Nonconformist Chapels; see Chapels database

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Description & Travel

The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales., by Jones, I.G. & Williams, D. UWP, Cardiff, 1976. These statistics for this parish are extracted from this book which in turn got them from the 1851 census itself;

  • Area 3215 acres; Population 219 males, 270 females, total 489

With the kind permission of the publisher, these selected extracts below are taken from "The History of Cardiganshire" by S R Meyrick, 1810, specifically the reprint of the 1907 imprint published by Stephen Collard in July 2000.

  • "Sometimes called Dichwood, is situated near the pleasant vale of Aeron. Dihewyd literally signifies 'void of ardency', or 'zeal', but how it is applied in this instance I am at a loss to tell."
  • "The church is dedicated to St Vitalis, and is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vaughan family, of Crosswood, and the Lewis family, of Llanych-aeron, who presently alternately, receive all the tithes, and allow the curate five pounds per annum. The last three incumbents are as follows ; the Rev.Mr David Davies, the Rev. Mr Jenkin Jenkins, and the Rev. Mr John Lloyd."
You can see pictures of Dihewyd which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Dihewyd from The National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

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Land & Property

Documents held at the NLW :

  • Cardiganshire Rentals ;
    18. Lordship of Mebwynion, 1924 (Ciliau Aeron, Dihewyd, Lampeter, Llanfihangel Ystrad).
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Maps

Map of the parish of Dihewyd in the County of Cardigan  - on the People's Collection Wales site

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN495545 (Lat/Lon: 52.168289, -4.201798), Dihewyd which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Places, villages, farms etc within Dihewyd as shown on the online parish map from the CD of Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.). (Extracted by Gareth Hicks)

  • Dihewyd (69); Afon Feinog; Afon Gwili; Bryn-cesig; Castlehill; Cillhwch; Dihewid (village); Dre-wen; Feinog -uchaf; Ffron-ddu; Ffynnon-dallis; Pant-y-gwiail; Pant-y-rhew; Pen-bryn; Pen-graig; Pont marchog; Towerhill; Tre-berfedd; Troed-y-rhiw; Ty-coch; Woollen Factory; Ynys-felen
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Occupations

 Various items  - on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Dihewyd Y.F.C., c.1950 
  •  John Harris, 'Teiliwr Bach Dihewyd,' with his wife and children