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Tre-Lech A'r Betws
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"TRELÊCH-AR-BETTWS (TRÉF-LLÊCH A'R BETTWS), a parish, in the higher division of the hundred of ELVET, union and county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES, 8 miles (N.W. by W.) from Carmarthen; containing 1620 inhabitants. This parish comprises a large tract of arable and pasture, inclosed, and a very extensive district of uncultivated land, consisting chiefly of heath and turbaries, from which latter the inhabitants principally obtain their fuel, and which also afford a supply to the neighbouring parishes. The surface is uneven and in some parts hilly. The petty-sessions for the hundred are held here every month. . . The church, dedicated to St. Teilo, and situated within two miles of the turnpike-road from Carmarthen to Cardigan, was rebuilt in 1834, and is a neat and commodious structure: Capel Bettws is a chapel of ease for it. There are two places of worship for Independents, one for Methodists, and one for Baptists. A school was founded in 1804 . . . it contains about 70 children . . . There are also three day schools, in which about 110 children are educated at their parents' expense; and five Sunday schools, containing about 385 males and females, supported by subscription. . . In the parish is a remarkable barrow, called Crûg-y-Deyrn, or the "King's Barrow,", about sixty paces in circumference at the base . . ." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1844).]
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Biography of the Rev Thomas Thomas (1741-1826) - born at Castell Gorfod in this parish (Contributed by Jeni Molyneux).
- He was the brother of both Samson Thomas 1739-1807 Tregadwgan Pembrokeshire and Rosamund Thomas 1744-1814 the wife of Thomas Howell 1738-1811 (See also under John Howell 1781/1819)
- Also included are two verses of poetry by the Rev Thomas concerning Tre-lech
Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
- John E. Richards, Wholesale and Retail Merchant, Gellywen, Records 1882-1908 "John E. Richards of Gellywen, Tre-lech a'r Betws, Carmarthenshire, was a wholesale and retail merchant active in the late 19th century."
| Capel Bettws, Church Site, Glifach-Y-Bettws, Tre-lech a'r Betws (Church in Wales) |
| St Teilo, Trelech-A'R-Betws (Church in Wales) |
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
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Parish entry for Trelech-a'r-Bettws with Bettws from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by (Archive CD Books).
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Davies, B. Cofgolofn: sef byr-hanes eglwys Capel y Graig, Trelech, o'i sefydliad hyd ymweliad y Gymanfa Dair-sirol â hi yn 1896, (Llandysul, 1896), 48p.
Griffiths, G. Milwyn. A Visitation of the Archdeaconry of Carmarthen, 1710 National Library of Wales journal. 1974, Summer Vol XVIII/3. Includes the parish of Tre 'Lech and chapel of ease of Bettws
Dyfed FHS have photographs and data relating to various churches and chapels on their site
Parish registers: Christenings (1663-1897), Marriages (1663-1970) and Burials (1663-1886) are at the Carmarthenshire Record Office.
Facsimile Parish registers: Christenings, Marriages and Burials (1663-1796) are at the National Library of Wales.
Copy ts PR index CB (1813-75) M (1663-1875) at NLW and Carm.RO
Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1678-86, 1690-1, 1693-1703, 1705, 1707-8, 1710-11, 1713, 1715, 1717-18, 1720-2, 1724-62, 1764-72, 1774-8, 1780-1, 1783-90, 1792-7, 1802-8, 1810-14, 1816-77) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Here is a partial and ongoing transcription of the Bishops Transcripts for this parish by Katherine Hocking
An Index to Christenings (1813-1875), Marriages (1663-1875) and Burials (1813-1875) is available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS.
Marriage index for this parish - see Dyfed Marriages, 1813-1837, Vol. 15 - Elvet Hundred (Dyfed Family History Society, c1989)
See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg
Nonconformist Chapels:
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The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales., byJones, I.G. & Williams, D. UWP, Cardiff, 1976. These statistics for this parish are extracted from this book which in turn got them from the 1851 census itself;
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The transcription of the section for Trelech a'r Bettws from The National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.
- Ask for a calculation of the distance from Tre-Lech A'r Betws to another place.
Samson Thomas (1739- 1807) born at Castell Swarwyn (possibly Castell Gorwyn) in the parish of Tre’lech ar Bettws - Early Calvinistic Methodist Minister
PENRIWBAILY, Trelech a'r Bettws - Benjamin Howell Yeoman: Will 6th March 1743 & Lettice Howell will 1759. These wills are of particular interest in view of the large number of people and places mentioned
Lloyd, Sir John E., (Ed.). A History of Carmarthenshire (2 vols.), Cardiff, London Carmarthenshire Society (1935, 1939). Extracts from this book can be accessed on some parish pages, see here for this parish
Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
- Davies collection of Morgan family deeds and papers 1808-1911 "Deeds and documents relating to properties in Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, including Gilvach and Penrhiw farms and other properties in Tre-lech a'r Betws, Carmarthenshire, and properties in Cardigan, Cardiganshire, 1808-1911; and copies, 1880, of wills of the Morgan family (1839-1876)."
Parish map(Kain/Oliver)
You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SN287272 (Lat/Lon: 51.916907, -4.49212), Tre-Lech A'r Betws which are provided by:
- OpenStreetMap
- Google Maps
- StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
- OpenStreetMap Cymru (Welsh counties only)
- Bing (was Multimap)
- Old Maps Online
- National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
- Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
- Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
- GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)
- All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
- Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.
Places, villages, farms etc within Tre-Lech a'r Betws 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 Katherine Hocking)
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Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;
- Account of Lead Ore Weighed at Cileinon, [Trelech a'r Betws] 1862-1864
Carmarthen United (Linked site forbidden 8/2023) . An example of undercapitalisation in a mid 19th century lead venture. "Although undoubtedly the site of a much earlier working the Trelech mine was opened up as Carmarthen United in about 1855 / 56.........."
Personal names included in "Amounts due to miners and surface workers for work carried out at Carmarthen United Mine, November 1859 to March 1860 inclusive."
Claughton, Peter. Carmarthen United: an example of undercapitalisation in a mid 19th century lead venture, British Mining No. 50, 1994, pp.149 - 157.[See above.]. See also the diaries of Williams, David, a carpenter working for Lewis Evans at the Llanfyrnach Mine.From this it is clear that Trelech (Carmarthen United) Mine was actively investigated by Evans during 1888. The diaries have been published in part in Clebran (papur bro'r Preseli) Rhif 235, Ionawr 1996.