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St Issells

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"ISSEL'S, ST., (ST. ISSELL'S), * a parish in the hundred of NARBERTH, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 3 1/2 miles (N.) from Tenby, containing 1226 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated at the western extremity of Carmarthen bay, has its surface singularly diversified with abrupt and precipitous eminences and deep dingles, which, being richly wooded, form a striking contrast to the dingy and sterile appearance occasioned by the coal mines in the immediate vicinity. . . Iron-ore is also found in connexion with the strata of coal, and was formerly wrought to a considerable extent by the Pembrey Iron Company . . . The sands on this part of the coast are extremely favourable for sea-bathing, and a few families, who prefer retirement and tranquillity, resort hither during the summer season, prefering the humbler, but more peaceable, accommodations which the inns of this place afford, to the gaieties of Tenby. . . The church is romantically situated in one of the richly wooded dells with which the parish abounds, and is a neat structure in the early style of English architecture, with a square embattled tower. . . The free school was founded by John Jones, Esq., who, in 1757, bequeathed £300 in trust for the gratuitous instruction of an equal number of children of both sexes, in reading and writing . . ." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1833).] * See also below under Description and Travel

*What is the Welsh name for St Issells? (the NLW publications PRW and NRW disagree).
"It appears that 'Parish Registers of Wales' has followed the form found in Elwyn Davies, 'Rhestr o Enwau Lleoedd/A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-names (Caerdydd, 1967). The database 'Capeli Cymru' on which 'Nonconformist Registers of Wales' is based has obviously used Melville Richards, 'Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units' (Cardiff, 1969).In an annotated copy of Dr Elwyn Davies's work kept here among his papers, the form Llanusullt (St Issels) is found for the parish and church at map reference 22/1305 and the source E. Llwyd Williams, 'Crwydro Sir Benfro' is quoted. Dr Davies has St Issels, gw. Llanusullt and St Issells gw. Saint Ishel." (NLW, Feb 2002)

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Cemeteries

Nonconformist Burials in the Begelly & St Issells area - databases by Jon Mein

St Issells Burial Board Register of Burials 1862-1922.
Pembrokeshire Record Office catalogue HSPC/18/3. There is also a plan of the yard dated 1893, HSPC/18/104
The register lists:

  • Deceased's name; Occupation/status; Age at death; Residence at death; Occasionally details of death (such as cause, place if different from residence etc); Date of burial; Name of minister conducting service (can be used to trace possible religious affiliations of deceased)

All burials are (confusingly) at the St Issells parish churchyard but cover not only the church but members of the following chapels:

  • Hebron - Baptists; Bethany - Calvinistic ; Bethel/Thomas Memorial - Congregationalist; Saundersfoot - Wesleyan; Kingsmoor - Primitive

The above data was contributed by Jon Mein who further states; "about 40% of the 1008 entries in the register are burials for non-conformists"

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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 - 0464344
  • 1851 Census - 0104232
  • 1861 Census - 0543242
  • 1871 Census - 0850852
  • 1881 Census - 1342302
  • 1891 Census - 6099636
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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

  • St Issells Parish Church James Dalton, Vicar
  • Sardis Ind Erected in 1808 William Thomas, Minister
  • Bethesda CM Erected in 1826 Thomas Ashford, Minister, Begelly
  • Bethel Ind Erected in 1838 William Thomas, Independent Minister, Saundersfoot
  • Hill chapel, Kingsmoor Primitive Methodist Erected in 1837 John Maylard, Minister, Pembroke Dock

Parish entry for St Issell's with Kilgetty (Saundersfoot) from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

  • St Issell & Mission Church (Kilgetty)
  • Incumbent and Curates; E O Jones (T R Lloyd)
  • Rural Deanery of Narberth
  • Acreage 3,787 ; Population 2,064

'St. Issel's Church', by S. Loxton, pen and ink sketch made for the Bristol Observer, late 19th C. - on the People's Collection Wales site

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Church Records

PR CB (1753-66) recorded in 1831 apparently lost

Parish registers: Christenings (1766-83, 1787-1922), Marriages (1778-1938), Burials (1766-75, 1783-1908) at NLW with Mf copies at Pem.RO

Copy ts Pr [extracts] CMB (1766-1829) and ts PR/BT (1656, 1685, 1775, 1799-1837) at Pem.RO

Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1685-6, 1775, 1799-1837, 1839-89, 1892, 1895-8) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 0105207

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

  • Hebron Baptist chapel, Church Terrace, Saundersfoot SN13540502 Built 1854, restored 1881. Still open 1998 Coflein On Dyfed FHS
  • Kingsmoor, in Kingsmoor [Primitive Methodists, 1837]. Records ; Baptisms, 1847-1907 ; other records such as accounts, Sunday School papers, and minutes are deposited at the Pem RO. On Dyfed FHS
  • Bethel, (Thomas Memorial) in Saundersfoot village [Independents, 1838]. Records ; See Sardis/St Issells parish On Dyfed FHS
    Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is a translation of the entry from this book for this chapel contributed by Jon Mein
  • Sardis [Independents, 1809]. Records ; births and bapts, 1803-37 in connection with Bethel/St Florence at PRO RG4/3919, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 819966, IGI On Dyfed FHS
    Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is a translation of the entry from this book for this chapel contributed by Jon Mein
  • Saundersfoot Wesleyan chapel, Saundersfoot SN13420493 Built 1892 Still open 2000 Coflein On Dyfed FHS
  • St Bride's Saundersfoot RC church On Dyfed FHS
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Description & Travel

Books marked * have an entry on the separate 'Review/Contents' page.

Daniels, D. Ken. Saundersfoot and Tenby. Stroud: Chalford, 1995. 159p : ill, facsims,map,ports ; 24cm. Series title Archive photographs

*Howells, Roscoe. Old Saundersfoot from Monkstone to Marros. 2 ed. 1987, Gomer, 125 pp.+ glossary of local dialect and index, 225 illust.

Price, M R C. The Saundersfoot Railway. Lingfield, 1964.

You can see pictures of St Issells which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for St Issells 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

St Issells wills - a database compiled by Owen Vaughan

Harris, Gordon J. Harris to Harry. Dyfed FHS journal Vol 7/4 April 2001. Concerns George Henry Harris of Saundersfoot [1864-1937]

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History

Books marked * have an entry on the separate 'Review/Contents' page.

*Stickings, Thomas G. The Story of Saundersfoot. 1st ed. 1970, 169 pp, with glossary of dialect terms.

Price, M R C. Industrial Saundersfoot, Llandysul, 1982.

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Land & Property

Held at the NLW ;

  • Deeds deposited by Miss N. Thomas, Saundersfoot relating to properties in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen and Cardiganshire, 1553-1877.
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Maps

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN127069 (Lat/Lon: 51.729569, -4.713263), St Issells which are provided by:

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Merchant Marine

Morris, Ray. Ships at Saundersfoot Harbour During the 1861 and 1871 censuses. Dyfed FHS journal Vol 7/3 Dec 2000. Saundersfoot Harbour in the mid to late 1800s was a thriving coal port, the article details the names of the ships and crew in port on these census nights.

Morris, Ray. Ships at Saundersfoot Harbour During the 1891 census. Dyfed FHS journal, Vol 7/7, April 2002.

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Names, Geographical

Places, villages, farms etc within St Issells 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)

  • St. Issells (126); Blackmoor, Bonville's Court, Catershook, Catershook Gate, Hean Castle, Hill, Kilgetty Fm., Kilgetty Ho. (Antiquity), King's Moor, Newton Fm., Pentlepoir, Ridgeway, St.Bride's Hill, Sardis Mountain, Saundersfoot, Saundersfoot Sta., Stammers, Stepaside, Stonybridge, The Valley, Tre-berth, Tregallet, Trewern, Woodside.
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Occupations

Kilgetty (Stepaside) Ironworks and Grove Colliery.(Linked site forbidden 8/2023) " This was a mid 19th century iron works erected to take advantage of local anthracite and coal measure iron stone resources. For historical detail see Price, M. R. C., Industrial Saundersfoot, (Llandysul, 1982).

Bonvilles Court Colliery, Saundersfoot on the Welsh Coal Mines site

A Pembrokeshire Mining Community - Some thoughts on the history of the coalmining community around Begelly and Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire