Pembrokeshire Contents

FREYSTROP

Parish based sketch map of the hundred

"FREYSTROP, a parish in the hundred of RHÔS county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 2 1/2 miles (S. by E.) from Haverfordwest, on the road by Pembroke Ferry to Pembroke, comprising the divisions of Higher and Lower Freystrop, and containing 636 inhabitants. Within the limits of this parish is situated Clareston, an elegant modernized mansion, the seat of George Clayton Roch, Esq., which was originally the residence of the family of Powel, and came by marriage to the ancestors of the present proprietor; it is pleasantly situated, and the grounds are well laid out. The lands are almost entirely in a state of good cultivation, and the soil is tolerably fertile. Culm is found in abundance, and is principally worked on the estates of Sir Herbert Packington and Sir R.B. P.Philipps, Barts., and shipped, for the supply of the neighbouring districts, at Hook Quay on the river Cleddy. The living is a discharged rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St.David's, rated in the king's books at £5.13. 9., endowed with £400 royal bounty, and in the patronage of the King, as Prince of Wales. The church is not distinguished by any remarkable architectural feature. There is a place of worship for Methodists. A spring, the water of which crosses the turnpike road, and is strongly impregnated with iron, is called by the villagers the Red Water, from the colour of its deposite. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £117. 7." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1833).]

• Census
• Church History
• Church Records
• Description and Travel
• Genealogy
• History
• Land and Property
• Maps

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 - 0464345
• 1851 Census - 0104235
• 1861 Census - 0543243
• 1871 Census - 0850855
• 1881 Census - 1342305
• 1891 Census - 6099644

Church History

Bethel Congregational Church, Middle Hill,  Freystrop

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

• Freystrop Parish Church                   D W Adams, Curate
• Bethel, Middle Hill     Ind        Erected in 1818, rebuilt in 1840           Nathaniel Harries, Minister, Merlin's Bridge

Parish entry for Freystrop with Haroldston St Issell from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

• Parish Church
• &
• St Issell (Haroldston St Issell)
• Incumbent and Curates; W Williams
• Rural Deanery of Roose
• Acreage 1,620 & 1,104; Population 338 & 248

 

Cousins, T.P. A brief history of Middle Hill Congregational Chapel, Freystrop, [Freystrop, Haverfordwest, Pembs.], Western Telegraph (1969) [4] p. : ill.

Church Records

Parish registers: Christenings (1729-1876), Marriages (1740-3, 1754-84, 1813-1969) Banns (1863-1947), Burials (1729-1891) at Pem.RO

Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1799-1801, 1804-7, 1809-70, 1883-5) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by the LDS - Call Number: 0105141.

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on  FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

• Bethel, in Middle Hill  [Independents, 1818].       Records ; baptisms , 1831-37 PRO RG4/4074 and have been microfilmed by the LDS - Call Number: 813551, IGI           SM95661185    Built 1818-19, rebuilt 1840-41 and 1884.      Still open 1993    Coflein               On Dyfed FHS
  Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is the entry from this book for this chapel (in Welsh )  - with translation by Maureen Saycell (April 2008)

Dyfed FHS have published a series of indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials from Pembrokeshire hundreds for various periods.

Description and Travel

Places, villages, farms etc within Freystrop 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 Barry Johnson)

• Freystrop (90); Cardmaker's Pool, Clareston, Cranham, Freystrop Cross, Little Milford, Lower Freystrop, Middle Hill, Targate

Genealogy

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

• Harcourt Roberts Papers     "T. W. Harcourt Roberts was the general manager of Hook Colliery in the mid 20th century. The Roberts family lived on the Little Milford Estate in Freystrop, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire......."      "Papers of T. W. Harcourt Roberts, 1817-1948, including papers relating to the Hook Colliery, 1884-1948; papers relating to Pembrokeshire Portland Cement Scheme, 1946-1948; records of the Little Milford estate, 1886-1935; and postcards, 1902-1915"

History

There are historical snippets about this parish on Not everyone knows this..

Land and Property

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

• Little Milford Estate, Freystrop, Pembrokeshire, papers   1913-1949   "The Little Milford Estate is in Freystrop, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. It was the home of the Roberts family in 1907. The family were involved in mining in the Freystrop parish at Hook. In 1884, Thomas Roberts and William Canton leased the West Park Colliery in Hook, and considerable mining activities were carried on in Freystrop. In 1911, a new shaft, called the 'Margaret' after Joseph Robert's wife (d. 1923), was opened. ..........................."

Maps

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[Gareth Hicks: 29 Dec 2012]

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