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Upton

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"UPTON, a parish in the hundred of NARBERTH (but Rawlins says Castlemartin hundred), county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 3 1/2 miles (N.E.) from Pembroke, containing 6 inhabitants. This parish, which is exceedingly small, and inhabited only by one gentleman's family, who is proprietor of the whole, occupies an elevated site above a creek of Milford Haven. It was formerly distinguished for its ancient castle which, if not originally built, was anciently occupied, by the family of Maliphant, from whom it passed by marriage to that of Bowen. The castle and its dependencies were subsequently purchased by Mr. Tasker, who devised his estates among his three nieces, one of whom, by marriage, conveyed the castle and a portion of this property to the Rev. William Evans, who is now the owner of the parish. The remains of the ancient castle have been incorporated in the buildings of the present mansion: they consist principally of the entrance gateway, and the two circular bastions by which it was defended; one of these now forms a projecting window in one of the apartments. The present seat occupies a charming situation, and commands beautiful and picturesque views of the surrounding country, and of the ruins of Carew castle, washed at their base by the converging aestuaries which unite to form this branch of the haven. The living is annexed to the rectory of Nash, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's. The church is a small and very ancient edifice, supposed to have been built at the same time as the castle, to which it was formerly attached: it contains some ancient monuments, among which is one having a recumbent effigy of a warrior in complete armour, under a richly sculptured canopy of stone: a clenched hand, issuing from the wall, forms a candelabrum for a taper, for the maintenance of which some fund has been probably left by the deceased or his relatives. There are also several mural monuments to the more recent proprietors of the estate. The average annual expenditure for the relief of the poor, during the few years preceding 1829, amounted to £18. 10." [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 - 0464344
  • 1851 Census - 0104233
  • 1861 Census - 0543242
  • 1871 Census - 0850853
  • 1881 Census - 1342303
  • 1891 Census - 6099638
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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

  • Upton included with Nash parish and described as a hamlet - no return as such

Parish entry for Pembroke Dock and Nash with Upton from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

  • St John B (Acreage 1,096; Population 10,653) & St Patrick & St Teilo & St Mary (Nash) (Acreage 598; Population 100) & Upton Chapel (disused) (Acreage 333)
  • Incumbent and Curates; J J Davies (E Jenkyns; R H Davies; E L Saunders)
  • Rural Deanery of Castlemartin
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    Church Records

    See Nash parish for PR

    See Nash parish for Bishop's Transcripts.

    Nonconformist Chapels: None found

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    Description & Travel

    Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority site - Upton Castle Gardens and its history, also coverage of " the unique Upton Chapel, dedicated to St. Giles, which is open to the public. The chapel contains several important features including effigies of the Anglo-Norman Malefant family dating from the 13th - 15th century."

      You can see pictures of Upton which are provided by:

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      Gazetteers

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

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      Genealogy

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

      • Tasker, John; Evans family, and Tasker-Evans family, of Upton Castle, papers "Papers of John Tasker of the East India Company and Upton Castle, 1775-1802; papers of the Rev. William Evans, 1795-1837, including personal and estate matters, papers of the Rev. William Paynter Evans, 1826-1853; papers of Dr John Tasker Evans, 1833-1891; papers of Admiral Richard Evans of Upton Court, 1881-1927; and prints and photographs, [c. 1800]-1932."
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      History

      Hughes, Basil Jottings on the History of Pembrokeshire Cosheston, Upton, Nash [Kindle Edition 2013]

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      Maps

      Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

      You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN020050 (Lat/Lon: 51.708495, -4.867715), Upton which are provided by:

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      Names, Geographical

      Places, villages, farms etc within Upton 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)

      • Upton (145); Upton.