Flintshire

Parishes

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St. Asaph / Llanelwy

"The houses in the principal streets are brick, and in general small, though neatly built; the streets are kept clean. The view of the city from many points around it, is particularly striking; its elevated position on an eminence near the termination of the Vale of Clwyd, crowned on its summit with the Cathedral, and having the parish church at its base, makes it a conspicuous object from every point of view, and the luxuriant grove of trees in which it is deeply embosomed give it a pleasingly romantic appearance. The surrounding scenery, which in every direction abounds with objects of interest and beauty, is seen to great advantage from the eminence on which the city is built, and from the high grounds in the immediate vicinity."
[From Handbook of the Vale of Clwyd , William Davis, 1856]

The ancient parish of St. Asaph consisted of 13 townships. From 1310, responsibility for the "cure of souls" in the parish was shared by the four Vicars-Choral of the Cathedral; and for this purpose, the townships were grouped as follows:

1. Brynpolyn, Cyrchynan, Gwernglefryd.
2. Bodelwyddan, Pengwern, Fanol.
3. Meriadog, Wigfair (or Wickwer) - both in old Denbighshire.
4. Bodeugan, Cilowen, Gwerneigron, Rhyllon, Talar.

On 3 August 1860, the townships of Bodelwyddan, Pengwern and Fanol were lost to the newly created parish of Bodelwyddan.
In 1865, the townships of Meriadog and Wigfair were lost to the newly created parish of St. Mary's, Cefn (which is in old Denbighshire).

St. Asaph is often claimed to be the smallest city in Wales.

Church History Church Records Civil Registration

Population Statistics

Church History

The parish church (Ordnance Survey reference SJ 040744) lies a short distance to the west of the Cathedral, at the bottom of the High Street. It dates from the thirteenth century, and is dedicated to Saint Kentigern and Saint Asaph. There have been additions and alterations over the years - there was an extensive restoration in 1872.
The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the parish church.

Nonconformist Churches

Name of Chapel	Denomination	Number of "adherents"
Not named - Welsh	Baptist	53
Not named	Calvinistic Methodist	381
Bethlehem - Welsh	Congregational	70
Not named - Welsh	Wesleyan	85

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Church Records

"The registers date from 1593, and although in chronological, are not in consecutive order, each Vicar having his own pages for his own cure ... "
[From The History of the Diocese of St. Asaph , Ven. D.R. Thomas, 1908-1913]

Parish Registers

• The following Parish Registers have been deposited at Flintshire Record Office, Hawarden. They may be viewed on microfilm at the Flintshire Record Office, the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin, and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. These microfilms are not available elsewhere.

Baptisms	Marriages	Burials
1593 - 1971	1603 - 1983	1594 - 1952

• Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :

Baptisms	Marriages	Burials
1593 - 1812	1603 - 1812	1594 - 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 Flintshire and Denbighshire 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
1667 - 1836	1667 - 1836

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.

Type of Record	Years Covered	I.G.I. Batch Number
Baptisms	1813 - 1836	C056721
Marriages	None	-

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Nonconformist Records

• The following nonconformist registers for the St. Asaph area are held at the Public Record Office, Kew.
  They may be viewed on microfilm at LDS Family History Centres; and at the Flintshire Record Office, the Denbighshire Record Office and the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
  They have also been incorporated into the I.G.I., as part of an "official extraction" programme :

Name of Chapel	Denomination	Type of Record	Years Covered	I.G.I. Batch Number
Ebeneser, Gemmig Street	Calvinistic Methodist	Baptisms	1811 - 1837	C101241
Bethlehem	Presbyterian / Congregational	Baptisms	1810 - 1837	C098501

• The following nonconformist registers for the St. Asaph area are held at the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin.
  They have not been filmed; and they have not been incorporated into the I.G.I. :

Name of Chapel	Denomination	Type of Record	Years Covered
Ebeneser, Gemmig Street	Calvinistic Methodist	Baptisms	1925 - 1938

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Civil Registration

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for St. Asaph are found under:

• Years 1837 - 1851: St. Asaph XXVII.nnn
• Years 1852 - 1946: St. Asaph 11b.nnn

(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)

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Population

• In 1831- the population was 3144.
• In 1901- the population was 2000.
  [Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]

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Statistics

Archdeacon Thomas (1911) gives the area of the parish as 3444 acres.

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