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Pentrefoelas
"A parochial chapelry, in the Union of Llanrwst, hundred of Isaled, county of Denbigh; 14 miles (SW) from Denbigh, containing 611 inhabitants. This chapelry is situated in the western part of the county, on the right bank of the river Conway, ..... and comprises a portion of the most mountainous and sterile moorlands of the district, together with some boggy patches; and wood, the prevailing timber being larch. Barley and oats are the principal produce. ..... The village consists of only thirteen houses. An excellent road has been constructed from this place to Denbigh, across the mountains. ..... The female inhabitants are chiefly employed in the spinning of woollen yarn, and the knitting of stockings, and the males in attendance upon their herds and flocks." [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833 & 1849, Samuel Lewis]
Pentrefoelas was originally part of the parish of Llannefydd. It became a separate parish in November 1810.
Bibliography
- Bryan, E C. The Red Doctor of Pentrefoelas : Country Quest 30/6 (1989), p. 18-19
- Dathlu 75 mlynedd 1931-2006 [Ysgol Pentrefoelas]. [Llanrwst] : Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2006.
- Eisteddfod Gadeiriol Pentrefoelas gynhelir ddydd Sadwrn, Mehefin 12fed, 1920 : Llanrwst : Evan Pughe, Jones & Co., 1920.
- Heald, George Owen. Cymdeithas Lenyddol Pentrefoelas a'r Cylch, 1849 Trafodion (Denbighshire Historical Society), 41 (1992), p. 105-121
- Roberts, Dewi. Pentrefoelas Country Quest. (November 2004), p. 23
Churches
| (no dedication), Pentrefoelas |
| Cernioge Methodist Chapel (Wesleyan), Cernioge |
| Chapel At Hafod (Calvinistic Methodist), Hafod |
| Rhydlydan Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Rhydlydan, Cernioge-Mawr |
| Bethel Welsh Independent Chapel (Addoldy-Yr-Annibynwyr), Pentrefoelas |
| Capel Y Fidog, Pentrefoelas |
| Glan'rafon Independent Sunday School, Glan'rafon |
| Pisgah Independent Chapel (Sunday School), ?? |
You can also perform a more selective search for churches in the Pentrefoelas area or see them printed on a map.
Church History
Ordnance Survey reference SH 873515.
There is evidence of a "chapel" at Pentrefoelas in the sixteenth century. A new building replaced it in 1766, but it was not consecrated until 23 June 1771.
There were additions in 1774. The church was completely rebuilt in 1857/59.
According to Archdeacon Thomas, the church was not initially licensed for marriages; but as it was some considerable distance from the nearest licensed church, many marriage ceremonies were nevertheless performed. The Bishop of St. Asaph eventually obtained an Act, in 1805, to legalise the marriages.
The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.
Nonconformist Churches
"Welsh Church Commission - County of Denbigh - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905" lists the following nonconformist places of worship in the Civil parish of Pentrefoelas
| Name of Chapel | Denomination | Number of "adherents" |
|---|---|---|
| Rhydlydan | Calvinistic Methodists | 166 |
| Saron | Calvinistic Methodists | Not stated |
| Bethel | Congregationalists | 317 |
Church Records
Parish Registers
- The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin.
They may be viewed on microfilm at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
These microfilms are not available elsewhere.
| Baptisms | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|
| 1782 - 1928 | 1772 - 1966 | 1773 - 1881 |
- Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :
| Baptisms | Marriages | Burials |
|---|---|---|
| 1782 - 1812 | 1772 - 1812 | 1773 - 1812 |
Bishop's Transcripts
- Bishop's Transcripts for the years shown below have been deposited in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Around the year 1951, most of the Bishop's Transcripts which had been deposited at that time were microfilmed by the LDS; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of the LDS.
The films may also be viewed at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales.
In general, the Bishop's Transcripts are less complete than the parish registers.
| Deposited at the National Library of Wales | Microfilmed copies |
|---|---|
| 1773 - 1856 | 1773 - 1856 |
I.G.I.
- The following have been incorporated into the I.G.I., as part of an "official extraction" programme.
They were extracted from the Bishop's Transcripts, not from the Parish Registers.
| Baptisms | Marriages |
|---|---|
| 1782 - 1799 1813 - 1854 |
None |
Civil Registration
When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Pentrefoelas was assigned to the No. 3 ("Yspytty") sub-district of the Llanrwst Registration District; which was co-extensive with the Llanrwst poor law Union.
In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Pentrefoelas are in the format :
- Years 1837 - 1851: Llanrwst XXVII. nnn
- Years 1851 - 1930: Llanrwst 11b. nnn
(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)
Historical Geography
Ask for a calculation of the distance from Pentrefoelas to another place.
Maps
On Clwyd FHS's site there is a diagram showing parish names/positions with links to pages for the parish church
Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348. Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH872515 (Lat/Lon: 53.048809, -3.684223), Pentrefoelas which are provided by:
- This place shown on a Google map.
- Google Streetview
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps.)
- Open StreetMap
- Bing (was Multimap)
- OldMaps (Old Ordnance Survey maps.)
- Old Maps Online (Other old maps.)
- National Library of Scotland (Best site for old maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- Elgin Road Works
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on a Google map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on a Google map.
- Nearby places shown on a Google map.
Population
- In 1831- the population was 616.
- In 1901- the population was 441.
[ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]