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Bosherston

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"BOSHERSTON, a parish, in the hundred of CASTLEMARTIN, union and county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 6 miles, (S. by W.) from Pembroke; containing 225 inhabitants. This parish is pleasantly situated on the shore of the Bristol channel, by which it is bounded on the south, and the rocks on this part of the coast are, by the repeated action of the sea, worn into caverns of considerable depth, and of singular and romantic appearance. Of these Bosherton Meer, about a quarter mile from the sea, is the most remarkable: at the entrance it presents only a small opening on the surface of the ground, but gradually expands into a cavern of increasing depth, which has never yet been explored. Previously to the commencement of a storm, the confined air is greatly agitated, and the most terrific noises issue from the cavern: during the violence of the tempest immense columns of spray are occasionally thrown up to a great height. By far the greater part of this parish is inclosed and in a state of cultivation, but there is a considerable portion forming an expanse of open downs . . . The church, dedicated to St. Michael, is a neat edifice . . . There is a small day school, in which 7 or 8 children are educated at the expense of their parents; also a Sunday school, containing about 25 children . . . A little to the east of Bosherton Meer, and also within the parish, is the hermitage of St. Gawen. . . The scenery around this sequestered spot is of the wildest and most romantic character . . ." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]

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Census

The 1851 census for this parish has been indexed by Dyfed Family History Society.

Census Returns for this parish have the following LDS Call Numbers:

  • 1841 Census - 0464342
  • 1851 Census - 0104234
  • 1861 Census - 0543243
  • 1871 Census - 0850854
  • 1881 Census - 1342304
  • 1891 Census - 6099641
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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

  • Bosherston Parish Church William Allen, Rector

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

  • St Michael
  • Incumbent and Curates; J Aubrey
  • Rural Deanery of Castlemartin
  • Acreage 1,664; Population 128

St Michael's Church, Bosherston on the People's Collection Wales site

St Govan's chapel, Pembrokeshire on the People's Collection Wales site

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    Church Records

    Parish registers: Christenings (1670-1991), Marriages (1670-1752, 1754-1906), Burials (1670-1783, 1787-1990) are at the National Library of Wales with Mf/Fac copies at Pem.RO.

    Copy ts PR CMB (1670-1991) arranged alphabetically at NLW and Pem.RO

    Copy ts PR M (pre 1813) with index at NLW and Pem.RO

    Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1799-1807, 1809-87) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 0105129.

    See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

     

    Nonconformist Chapels: None found

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    Description & Travel

    Various landscape photographs of Bosherston and surrounds on the People's Collection Wales site

    You can see pictures of Bosherston which are provided by:

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    Gazetteers

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

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    History

    Bosherston War Memorial - on the Roll of Honour site

    Thomas, Patrick. Govan and the pirates : a holy man of the Pembrokeshire cliffs. In Cambria 1/4 (1998), p. 33-5
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    Maps

    Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

    You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SR959942 (Lat/Lon: 51.609834, -4.949126), Bosherston which are provided by:

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    Names, Geographical

    Places, villages, farms etc within Bosherston parish 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 John Richards)

    • Bosherston (160); Bosherston, Buckspool, Castle Tank, Crinkmail, Huntsman's Leap, Long Matthew Point, Mewsford Point, Newton, Saddle Head, St. Gowans Head, The Castle, Trevalen Downs, Trevalen, Tumulus