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Llangain

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"LLANGAIN (LLAN-GAIN), a parish, in the higher division of the hundred of DERLLYS, union and county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES, 4 miles (S.S.W.) from Carmarthen; containing 403 inhabitants. This parish is beautifully situated on the north bank of the river Towy, which is navigable for ships of considerable burthen; and comprises a large extent of arable and pasture land, inclosed and in a good state of cultivation. The soil is extremely favourable to the growth of corn, of which great quantities are raised of a quality not surpassed by that of any other part of the principalIty; and the surrounding scenery is richly diversified, the views comprehending a portion of the beautiful vale of Towy, with the ivy-mantled ruins of Green Castle overhanging the river, and other picturesque and pleasing features. . . The church, dedicated to St. Synin, is a neat edifice, occupying the summit of a lofty eminence above the vale of Towy . . . About 25 children are educated at a day school at the expense of their parents; and 60 in a Sunday school gratuitously." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]

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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

  • Llangain Parish Church John Thomas, Perpetual Curate
  • Smyrna Ind Erected in 1834 David Davies, Deacon, Porthylciniau

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

  • St Cain
  • Incumbent and Curates; E Jones
  • Rural Deanery of Carmarthen
  • Acreage 2,695; Population 244

Various items - on the People's Collection Wales site

  • N. W. view of new Parish Church, Llangain, Carmarthenshire
  • Interior of new Parish Church, Llangain, Carmarthenshire

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 Gain

    Williams, H. St. Cain's Church, Llangain: a brief history and guide, Llangain, Dyfed, Llangain Parochial Church Council (1989) 32 p., ill.

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    Church Records

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

    PR CB (1772-1812) recorded in 1831 and (1760-1806) in 1933 apparently lost. A former curate of this parish is alleged to have given an earlier PR of unknown extent to a Carmarthen solicitor who had offered him £40 for it. PR going back ' about 50 years' recorded c1790.

    Parish registers: Christenings (1807-1993), Marriages (1772-1837) Banns (1825-45) , Burials (1813-1993) are at the Carmarthenshire Record Office.

    Copy ts PR index C (1813-74) M (1772-1875) B (1813-75) at NLW and Carm.RO

    Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (?1672, 1679, 1681-3, 1694, 1696-9, 1701, 1703, 1707-8, 1711, 1713, 1717-18, 1720-7, 1729-47, 1749-62, 1765-70, 1772-88, 1790-1800, 1802-12, 1814-37, 1842-7, 1849-56, 1858-65) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    An Index to Christenings (1813-1875), Marriages (1772-1875) and Burials (1813-1875) is available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS.

    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:

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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 2660 acres; Population 203 males, 242 females, total 445
      You can see pictures of Llangain which are provided by:

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      Gazetteers

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

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      History

      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, here are snippets for this parish;

      • History of the Church in the County /Puritan Domination, a period of depression ; The bishopric remained vacant until ... the appointment of George Bull....the presentment of church wardens at his primary visitation in 1705 ..... supply evidence as to the state of the churches in the various parishes at the beginning of the 18th century...;
        "At Llangain the 'minister' is described as ' a studious, painstaking man, of sober life, and unblemished character.' He preaches every Lord's Day and administered the Holy Sacrament monthly. There was no glebe house, and he resided on his own farm outside the parish. "
      • History of the Church in the County /Puritan Domination, a period of depression ; ".....in addition to the commissioners, twenty five Puritan ministers, or 'approvers' ,were selected......these 'approvers, or any five of them, were responsible for the filling of the churches ordered vacant by the Commissioners. Carmarthenshire again had not a single representative among the approvers. The clergy were ejected from the following parishes........ Llangain....."
      • The Age of the Native Princes/ Carmarthenshire under Henry I; ".....other endowments of the priory (Carmarthen) were .....and one carucate , with appurtenances, at Llangain, given by Alfred Drue..." and "In the former commote of Penrhyn, two small lordships have been erected, the one at Llangain, under Anschetil Driue.."
      • Castles, Boroughs, and Religious Houses/ Castles; "Green Castle may well have been built by Alfred son of Anschetil Driue, whose lands lay in the neighbourhood of Llangain...." and "Note the wonderful situation of Green Castle at a point where, after some miles of cross country, the road from the sea emerges to touch the estuary of the Towy.
      • The Age of the Native Princes/ The Early Church,The Rise of the Kingdom of Deheubarth; At least eight Carmarthenshire churches belonged to the Brychan (of Brycheiniog) group..... his daughters, Tybie, Cain (etc) as in .... Llangain ...."
      • Prehistoric and Roman Times/ List of Carmarthenshire Megaliths; Dolmens, includes;- Rhyd Lydan Cromlech, Llangain, and also Llwyn Du Cromlech, Llangain. Standing Stones, includes;- Near Colomendy Farm, Llangain, and, Gilfach and Hendy Farms (two stones), Llangain
      • Prehistoric and Roman Times/ Native Sites/Topographical Index; includes;- ..." Llangain, Gilfach Farm, Quern-stone (?Roman) [RCAM,444]. "
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      Land & Property

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

      • Llangain deeds 1767-1888 "The Bludworth family of Holt, Hampshire, owned property in the parish of Llangain, Carmarthenshire, during the 18th century. The land, called Llettypenhen, was leased to William David Morris (d. 1785) in 1767.........................."

      Held at Carmarthen Archives;

      • Title deeds relating to Llangain parish, C17 & C18.
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      Maps

      Plan of the parish of Llangain in the County of Carmarthen - on the People's Collection Wales site

      Parish map(Kain/Oliver)

      You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN387161 (Lat/Lon: 51.819831, -4.341745), Llangain which are provided by:

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      Names, Geographical

      Places, villages, farms etc within Llangain 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)

      • Llangain (73); Castle; Clomendy; Cwrt-hir; Dolau-meinion; Gilfach; Llangain (village); Llwyn-du; Pil-roath; River Towy; Wern ddu; Ystrad-Walter
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      Public Records

      Llangain Parish Council Records and Community Council Records 1894-1985