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Llanfihangel Abercywyn

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"LLANVIHANGEL-ABERCOWIN (LLAN-FIHANGEL-ABER-CYWYN), a parish, in the higher division of the hundred of DERLLYS, union and county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES, 9 miles (S.W. by W.) from Carmarthen; containing 809 inhabitants. The parish derives its distingiuished appelation from its situation on the Cowin, near its confluence with the Tâf . . . and is intersected by the turnpike-road from Carmarthen to St. Clear's, from which it is distant about two miles and a half to the south-east. Within its limits is a village, forming a kind of suburb to St. Clear's, and it derives a considerable portion of traffic from the situation, and an air of cheerfulness and activity from the frequent passing of travellers. . . The church, dedicated to *St. Michael*[see below], stands very near the confluence of the rivers, but is not distinguished by any architectural features. There are places of worship for Baptists and Welsh Calvinistic Methodists; about 30 children are instructed in a day school, at the expense of their parents; and there are three Sunday schools, two appertaining to Calvinistic Methodists, and one to Baptists . . . " [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]

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*To avoid confusion, the reference to St Michael's church in the above quotation relates to the original parish church of that name which is shown as a ruin on modern maps at  OS grid reference SN303134. It is situated just to the west of the River Cowin on the opposite bank to the site of St Teilo's church, Llandeilo Abercowyn.  The main maps on this page actually point at the NEW St Michael's parish church built in 1847 at which time the old one was abandoned.

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Biography

Thomas Charles - on Wikipedia "Thomas Charles (1755 - 1814) was a Welsh Nonconformist clergyman of considerable importance in the history of modern Wales. He was born of humble parentage at Longmoor, in the parish of Llanfihangel Abercywyn.................."

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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

  • St Michael, Llanfihangel Abercowin Parish Church Erected in 1847 Joseph Howell, Churchwarden
  • Llanfihangel chapel CM Erected in 1829 Michael Davies, Steward
  • Bancyfelin CM Erected before 1800 Joshua Phillips, Minister
  • Salem Baptist Erected in 1769, re-built in 1812 "They are huge seats..." David Williams, Minister

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

  • St Michael & (Pilgrims Church in ruins)
  • Incumbent and Curates; E Jones
  • Rural Deanery of St Clears
  • Acreage 5,311 ; Population 879

    Griffiths, G. Milwyn. A Visitation of the Archdeaconry of Carmarthen, 1710 National Library of Wales journal. 1974, Summer Vol XVIII/3. Includes the parish of Llan Fihangel Abercowyn

     

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      Church Records

      Dyfed FHS have photographs and data relating to various churches and chapels on their site

      PR C (1759-1812) recorded in 1831 apparently lost. It would be reasonable to suppose that the said register contained Burials (1759-1812) although the return reported that no register of burials could be found. Diocesan records suggest that c1790 there was here a PR going back to 1665.

      Parish registers: Christenings (1813-1993), Marriages (1754-1970), Burials (1813-1993) are at the Carmarthenshire Record Office,

      An Index to Christenings (1813-1875), Marriages (1769-1875) and Burials (1813-1875) is available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS.

      Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1672, 1676-8, 1681, 1683-4, 1686-7, 1690-1, 1693-7, 1705, 1708, ?1715, 1717-18, 1721-2, 1724, 1726-45, 1747-82, 1784-91, 1793-7, 1803-4, 1806-41, 1844, 1846, 1848-57) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

      Marriage index for this parish - see Dyfed Marriages, 1813-1837, Vol. 14 - Derllys Hundred (Dyfed Family History Society, c1989)

      See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

      Nonconformist Chapels:

      • Salem (Baptist, 1737), near Pencoed farm / Esgair Records with those of Cilfowyr (Manordeifi, Pembrokeshire) and Rhydywilym (Llandisilio) SN27891978 Built 1769; enlarged 1812 & rebuilt 1852, further alteration, repair and rebuilding up until 1923 Still open 1998 Coflein On Dyfed FHS
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      • Bancyfelin (Calvinistic Methodist, bef 1760), Bancyfelin Births and baptisms (1811-37) PRO RG4/3862, LDS 828108, IGI. On Dyfed FHS
      • Trinity (Calvinistic Methodist, c1825). SN28271654 Built 1829/30, rebuilt 1872 and restored 1924 Coflein   Trinity, Heol yr Orsaf, San Cler (St Clears) Calvinistic Methodist chapel is still open in 2006
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      Description & Travel

      The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales., byJones, 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 5180 acres; Population 396 males, 456 females, total 852
        You can see pictures of Llanfihangel Abercywyn which are provided by:

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        Gazetteers

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

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        History

        Evans, C. The Story of a Parish: Llanfihangel Abercywyn, Swansea, Crown Printers (1975). Here is an index by Gail Thomas (Aug 2010)

        Lloyd, Sir John E., (Ed.). A History of Carmarthenshire (2 vols.), Cardiff, London Carmarthenshire Society (1935, 1939). Extracts from this book can be accessed on some parish pages, see here for this parish

        You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN300169 (Lat/Lon: 51.824572, -4.468346), Llanfihangel Abercywyn which are provided by:

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        Names, Geographical

        Places, villages, farms etc within Llanfihangel Abercywyn 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 Lynne Kleingertner)

        • Llanfihangel Abercywyn (61); Asgood,Banc-y-felin, Blew-gyd, Castell-y-waun, Esgair, Gwar-wenallt, Hendre, Inn, Llain-lwyd, Llanfihangel Abercowin, Llwyn-dyrysi, Lower court, Maen Llwyd, Manardd-wylan, Pant-dwfn, Pant-yr-hendre, Pen-coed, Plas parciau, Plas-y-gwer, Pont Ddu, Pwll-y-grafel, Rushmoor, St Clears, Trefenty, Ty'r-gate, Waun, Wern, Wenallt
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        Public Records

        Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

        • Llanfihangel Abercywyn Parish Council Records 1897-1950