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Manorbier

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" MANORBEER (MAENOR-BYR), a parish in the hundred of CASTLEMARTIN, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 4 1/2 miles (W. S. W.) from Tenby, containing 582 inhabitants. . . The parish is situated on the small bay to which it gives name, in the Bristol channel, and within two miles to the south of the turnpike road leading from Tenby to Pembroke: it contains a moderate portion of good arable and pasture land in good cultivation, and a small tract of hilly and barren waste; and, with the exception of such as are employed in the limestone quarries, which are worked only to a small extent, the population is wholly engaged in agriculture. The stone obtained from these quarries is shipped in small vessels, and sent into Cardiganshire: at Lydstep haven vessels of one hundred and thirty tons' burden can ride in security. . . The sands on this part of the coast are fine, specially at Lydstep haven, where they are well adapted for sea-bathing; and the beauty of its situation, and its convenient distance from Tenby, render this a favourite excursion from that watering-place. Within the limits of the parish are two small villages, called Jamestown and Manorbeer Newton. . . The church, dedicated to St. James, is an ancient and spacious structure, in the early style of English architecture, with a lofty square embattled tower, and is in a rather dilapidated condition. . . There are places of worship for Calvinistic and Primitive Methodists. . . " [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1833).]

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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 - 0104233
  • 1861 Census - 0543242
  • 1871 Census - 0850852
  • 1881 Census - 1342303
  • 1891 Census - 6099637
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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

  • Manobier (sic) Parish Church Henry Hughes, Minister
  • Jamestown Primitive Methodist chapel Erected in 1828 John Bittle, Chapel Steward, Jamestown
  • Independent chapel, Newton Erected in 1822 James Eddy, Minister
  • Penuel Particular Baptist Erected in 1850 William Freeman, Deacon; James Cook, Manager, Jamestown

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

  • St James & Jamestown Mission Church
  • Incumbent and Curates; P Rigby
  • Rural Deanery of Castlemartin
  • Acreage 3,623; Population 650

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph

Various church and chapel photographs etc on the People's Collection Wales site

  • 'Manorbier Church and Castle', by W. H. Davies, watercolour and drawing, c.1870
  • Penuel English Baptist Chapel, Manorbier
  • Manorbier Newton Congregational Chapel

Davies, John Garfield. Manorbier Church and parish . Tenby : Five Arches Press, [1969] 16p

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Church Records

Parish register: Christenings (1761-1993), Marriages (1755-1971), Burials (1761-1993) at Pem.RO

Facsimile copies C (1813-70) M (1755-1837) B (1813-87) at NLW

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

Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1685-6, 1799-1804, 1806-21, 1823-85) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 0105187.

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

  • Penuel, in Jameston [Baptists, 1850] SS06669893 Built 1850, renovated or rebuilt 1883 Still open 1998 Coflein On Dyfed FHS
  • Jameston , in Jameston [Primitive Methodists, 1828]. Records ; baptisms, 1847-1907, at Pem RO ; other types of records are also deposited at Pem RO including accounts, minute books etc. On Dyfed FHS
  • Jameston Friends Meeting House (Quakers), Jameston SS0598   Coflein
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Court Records

Walker, R. F. (Ronald F.) . The Manorbier court rolls, 1686-1698, and the Trefloyne rentals, 1711-1736 . National Library of Wales Journal 29 (1995), p. 39-62

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Description & Travel

Manorbier - on Wikipedia

Manorbier Historic Landscape Characterisation - a Dyfed Archaeological Trust site

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

You can see pictures of Manorbier which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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

Transcript of complete entry in Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales of 1833.

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Genealogy

Pembrokeshire Families

Hughes, John. A Problem Shared..... Dyfed FHS journal, Vol 7/5 Aug 2001. A genealogy problem relating to the Lewis and Hitchings families of Manorbier, Penally, Cosheston, Caldey Island......

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History

Manorbier War Memorial - on the Roll of Honour site

Manorbier Castle - a Castles of Wales site. " ...located in Pembrokeshire ...., it rests in the lovely Welsh countryside described by that famous Welsh renaissance man, Giraldus Cambrensis as "the pleasantest spot in Wales". "

Manorbier Castle on the People's Collection Wales site

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

Hughes, Basil Jottings on the History of Pembrokeshire Manorbier, St Florence and Redberth [Kindle Edition 2013]

Vlitos, Roger. Manorbier Castle & Gerald of Wales .Llandeilo : Dragon Publishing Ltd, (1986?) 32p

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Land & Property

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

  • Picton Castle Estate Records "Including ..... manorial records of the manors of Manorbier, Penally, etc., 1601-1851........."

 

Walker, R. F. (Ronald F.) .The manor of Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, in the early seventeenth century . National Library of Wales Journal 27 (1991), p. 131-74

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Maps

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SS064987 (Lat/Lon: 51.653465, -4.80051), Manorbier which are provided by:

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Military History

Manorbier Women's Voluntary Aid Detachment, 22 April, 1914 - on the People's Collection Wales site

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Names, Geographical

Places, villages, farms etc within Manorbier 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)

  • Manorbier (142); Baldwin's Moor, Beaver's Hill, Calvesland, Coomb, East Moor Cliff, Hill Fm.,Jameston, Lydstep, Lydstep Haven, Lydstep Point, Manorbier, Manorbier Bay, Manorbier Newton, Manorbier St., Moor Fms., Norchard, Old Castle Head, Park Fm., Presipe, Rock, Skrinkle, Skrinkle Haven, Slade, Sunny Hill, Swanlake Bay, West Moor Cliff