Pembrokeshire Contents

LETTERSTON [TRELETERT]

Parish based sketch map of the hundred

"LETTERSON, LETTARDSTON, or LETTERSTON, a parish in the hundred of DEWISLAND, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES,10 Miles (N.) from Haverfordwest, containing 493 inhabitants. This place derived its name from the ancient family of the Lettards, to whom the parish anciently belonged, and who gave the advowson of the living, together with the chapel of Llanvair, to the preceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which had been founded at Slebech, in this county. The parish is pleasantly situated in the north-western part of the county, and is intersected by the turnpike road from Haverfordwest to Fishguard. The surrounding scenery is pleasing, and in certain places somewhat picturesque: the distant views embrace an extensive tract of finely diversified and richly cultivated country. In the vicinity are some handsome seats and pleasing villas :and within the parish is Heathfield Lodge, the property of John Hill Harris, Esq., of Priskilly Forest, and now the residence of that gentleman's brother-in-law, William. Jones, Esq. The living is a discharged rectory, with the perpetual curacy of Llanvair-Nant-y-Gove annexed, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £12. 11. 0 1/2., and in the patronage of the King, as Prince of Wales. The church, dedicated to St. Giles is not remarkable for any striking architectural features. The rectory house has been recently rebuilt, under the provisions of Gilbert's act of parliament, by the present incumbent, and is a handsome edifice. In this parish, on a common near the road, are several tumuli, supposed to be sepulchral. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £65.12." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1833).]

• Business and Commerce Records
• Census
• Church History
• Church Records
• Description and Travel
• Genealogy
• History
• Land and Property
• Maps
• Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Business and Commerce Records

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

• William Evans (Cas-Mael and Treletert)  1913-1945   "William Evans was a grocer and general merchant in Puncheston and Letterston (Cas-Mael and Treletert), Pembrokeshire, in the early 20th century."

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 - 0104238
• 1861 Census - 0543245
• 1871 Census - 0850858
• 1881 Census - 1342306
• 1891 Census - 6099650

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

• Letterston Parish Church                  George Harries, Rector
• Saron   Baptist                 Erected before 1800               Benjamin Owen, Minister, Good Hope
• Wesleyan Methodist                  Erected in 1813                        Isaac Jenkins, Minister, St David's

Parish entry for Letterston with Llanfair Nantygof from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

• St Giles
• &
• St Mary (Llanfair Nantygof)
• Incumbent and Curates; J M Griffiths
• Rural Deanery of Fishguard
• Acreage 2,292 & 2,620; Population 710

Church Records

The earliest registers reputedly destroyed at the time of the French invasion 1797 [1831 survey]. Diocesan records suggest that c1790 the registers went back only 36 years.

Parish registers: Christenings (1801-1975), Marriages (1801-1992) Banns (1801-1941), Burials (1801-1976) at Pem.RO

Copy ts PR [extracts] C (1813-70) at NLW

Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1773, 1799, 1802-65, 1886-9, 1891) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by the LDS - Call Number: 0105149.

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on  FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

• Saron [Baptists, 1828].     Records ; See Llangloffan/Granston parish         SM94282963    Built 1828, rebuilt 1869, 1884 and 1903   Still open 1998   Coflein      On Dyfed FHS 
•  
• Horeb Ind chapel, Treletert (no parish)               On Dyfed FHS                Shown as still open on the Union of Welsh Independents site (Dec 2006)
•  
• Chapel [Wesleyan Methodists, 1813].                Records ; See Bethel/St Davids parish            SM9429    Built 1813      Coflein 

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 Letterston 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 Peter D Hall)

• Letterston [37]; Green Plain, Heathfield, Letterston, Mathry Rd Stn, Midland, Newbridge, Rhos-teneu, Rhysgwyllt, Ridge, Skybir

Letterston Today. The County Echo site which also features the following articles ;

• The History of the St Davids Lifeboats 26 Jun 00
• The History of the Fishguard Lifeboats 26 Jun 00
• Places of Worship 1909 26 Jun 00
• Sea-Trading in Pembrokeshire 26 Jun 00
• From: Obituary of Levi Evans, the County Echo, November 1927.  26 Jun 00
• The County Echo over 100 years 26 Jun 00

Genealogy

Davies, C T.  Davies of Letterston. Dyfed FHS journal, Vol 7/13. The author explores the reasons for his ancestors migrating to Blaengarw, Glamorganshire, in the late 19th century

Bosworth, Nikki. A Court Leet held for the Purpose of Defining the Boundary of Letterson Common.   Dyfed FHS journal, Vol 7/5 Aug 2001. A short article but with a list of people living in Letterston in 1780.

History

Letterston War Memorial - on the Roll of Honour site

Land and Property

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

• Harries family, of Priskilly, Heathfield and Tregwynt, paper  1722-1920     ".....The Harries family built Heathfield, Letterston Pembrokeshire, at the beginning of the 19th century......"
• Harries, John Hill, archives  1661-1932    "The Harries family had settled at Tregwynt since about 1600, when Llewelyn Harries was the owner. They were also successively known as of Tresissyllt, of Priskilly and of Heathfield, Letterston, Pembrokeshire................"
• Sir J.E.G.A. Philipps, dec. Papers      "Deeds relating to the Harries family of Heathfield, Letterston, Pembrokeshire, 1840-1914."

Maps

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

Poor Law records for this parish have the LDS Call Number: 0104230

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[Gareth Hicks: 27 Dec 2012]

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