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Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr

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"CWM-TOYDDWR (CWM-DAUDDWR), otherwise LLANSANTFRAID CWM-TOYDDWR, a parish in the hundred of RHAIADR, county of RADNOR, SOUTH WALES, 1/4 of a mile (W. S. W.) from Rhaiadr, containing 867 inhabitants. The name of this place, signifying " the dingle of the two rivers," or " the church of St. Bridget in the dingle of the two rivers," is derived from that of the saint to whom the church is dedicated, and its situation near the confluence of the rivers Wye and Elain, which unite towards the southern extremity of the parish. From this latter circumstance some etymologists have supposed the name to have been originally Cymmer Dau Ddwr, signifying " the junction of two rivers," from which they derive its present appellation. The parish, which is pleasantly situated on the western side of the river Wye, by which it is separated from the town of Rhaiadr, extends nearly ten miles in length, and in the central part is nearly five miles in breadth : ...........In the vale of the Elain are the Cwm Elain lead mines, discovered in 1796, which have been for some time discontinued ; and in other parts of the parish there are some quarries of good slate. ...........The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Brecknock, and diocese of St. David's, endowed with £200 royal bounty, and £400 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the Bishop of St. David's. ............The church, dedicated to St. Bridget, and rebuilt in 1778..............At Nant Wyllt, about four miles from the mother church, is a small but well-built chapel of ease, erected in the year 1772. ..........Vestiges of two ancient chapels are still visible, called respectively Capel Madoc and Aber Henllau : they are supposed to be of more ancient foundation than the original parish church,.............The name of a neighbouring farm, called Coed y Mynach, or "the monks' wood," has led to an opinion that there was anciently a monastery at this place ;.............The average annual expenditure for the support of the poor amounts to £414. " ( A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, Samuel Lewis, 1833)

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Bibliography

Bidgood, Ruth.           Early families of Rhydoldog, Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr.           Radnorshire Society Transactions   Vol 56  1986         Welsh Journals Online  &   Vol 57  1987         Welsh Journals Online  

Bidgood, Ruth             Nantgwyllt            Radnorshire Society Transactions, vol. 65 1995    Welsh Journals Online &  vol. 66 1996    Welsh Journals Online

Hawkins, Desmond     The Groves of Cwm Elan            Radnorshire Society Transactions   Vol 55  1985          Welsh Journals Online      

Jones, T Thornley      The giants' graves                   Radnorshire Society Transactions, vol. 21 1951 Welsh Journals Online  

Jones, T Thornley         The 'Llannau' of Cwmdaudddwr parish         Radnorshire Society Transactions Vol 36 1966         Welsh Journals Online

Lewis,Stedman R          Extracts from "The Manor of the Grange, Cwmtoyddwr Presentment Book"      Radnorshire Society Transactions Vol 34 1964         Welsh Journals Online   

Lewis, Stedman  R            'This Cupboard is not bare'            Radnorshire Society Transactions Vol 35 1965         Welsh Journals Online

Oliver, R C B    The 'Gwardole' letters of 1843              Radnorshire Society Transactions, vol. 62 1992    Welsh Journals Online

Price, Hetty          Cwmdauddwr memories                Radnorshire Society Transactions Vol 18 1948           Welsh Journals Online

Pugh, Jonathan Argoed     Notes on the Parish of Cwmteuddwr          Radnorshire Society Transactions, vol. 6 1936   Welsh Journals Online

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Church History

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 given towards the end of each entry are those of the informants.

Cwmteuddwr Parish consisting of the Townships of Dyffryn-Gwy and Dyffryn-Elan; Statistics; Area 32000 acres;; Population 416 males, 419 females, total 835

  • Dyffryn-Gwy Township
  • Llan St Fread              Erected 1782      Attendance - morning 80    1 service alternately in Welsh and English               Informant, David Evans
  • Dyffryn-Elan Township
  • Nantgwillt Chapel of England      Erected 1785      Attendance - afternoon 65 + 30 scholars    (......chapel of ease, erected 1772, four miles from the mother church of Llansantfraid-Cwm-Toyddwr - Lewis 1848)       1 service in the chapel, alternately English and Welsh             Informant, Thos. Meredith, Parish Clerk
  • Bethany, Elan Vale, Particular Baptist          Erected  1845       Attendance - morning 60, evening 160     "....... I cannot mention the average number of attendants here because as our vicinity is mountainous  the inhabitants dispersing, and the weather changable, so if the weather be fair we would have a very good congregation, but if the weather be wintry the attendants are very few."    Richard Davies, Minister
  • Pentreceithon, Calvinisticv Methodist       Erected before 1815   Not a separate building          Attendance - morning 26 scholars, afternoon 66       Edward Davies, Superintendant

See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph of Elan Valley, Bethania Baptist Chapel, Elan Valley

Church of St Winifred, Llansantffraed Cwmdeuddwr on the Radnorshire Churches Survey site

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    Church Records

    Detailed information on deposited registers and transcripts for this parish is given on the Powys Archives page Radnorshire parish registers

    As a guide only, the principal extant parochial church records for this parish span the dates shown below (as detailed in Parish Registers of Wales, NLW 2000) but exact current holdings should be confirmed with the individual Archives;

    • Baptisms 1737-1811, 1813-1897; Marriages 1737-1837, 1972-1978, Nant-gwyllt 1875-1971; Burials 1737-1811, 1813-1936
      Parish Registers, or copies, for all or part of these dates are held at the NLW and/or Powys Archives.  
      Bishops Transcripts for various periods are held at the NLW   
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    Description & Travel

    You can see pictures of Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr which are provided by:

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    Gazetteers

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    Land & Property

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

    • Lewis family, of Y Neuadd, Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr , papers     "Records of the Lewis-Lloyd and Lewis families of Nantgwyllt and of their estates, mainly in Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr , and Rhayader, Radnorshire and Llanwrthwl, Brecknockshire, including deeds and documents relating to the Nantgwyllt and Camdeuddwr estates in Radnorshire, 1579-1902,........"
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    Maps

    Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R., Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. Colchester, Essex: History Data Service, UK Data Archive [distributor], 17 May 2001. SN: 4348.   Here is a gazetteer/finding aid plus a set of overview maps to accurately identify the position of parishes within the county

    Family Search have an interactive map called "England and Wales Jurisdictions 1851" showing parish (and other) boundaries with optional background maps such as Ordnance Survey. There is also a Search facility, do read the guidance notes to get maximum benefit from this useful resource. See here for further background information to assist in the interpretation of this data

    You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN895687 (Lat/Lon: 52.305099, -3.622484), Llansanffraid Cwmteuddwr which are provided by: