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Pentrefoelas

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"A parochial chapelry, in the Union of Llanrwst, hundred of Isaled, county of Denbigh; 14 miles (SW) from Denbigh, containing 611 inhabitants. This chapelry is situated in the western part of the county, on the right bank of the river Conway, ..... and comprises a portion of the most mountainous and sterile moorlands of the district, together with some boggy patches; and wood, the prevailing timber being larch. Barley and oats are the principal produce. ..... The village consists of only thirteen houses. An excellent road has been constructed from this place to Denbigh, across the mountains. ..... The female inhabitants are chiefly employed in the spinning of woollen yarn, and the knitting of stockings, and the males in attendance upon their herds and flocks." [A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, 1833 & 1849, Samuel Lewis]

Pentrefoelas was originally part of the parish of Llannefydd. It became a separate parish in November 1810.

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Bibliography

  • Bryan, E C.    The Red Doctor of Pentrefoelas :        Country Quest 30/6 (1989), p. 18-19
  • Dathlu 75 mlynedd 1931-2006 [Ysgol Pentrefoelas].          [Llanrwst] : Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 2006.
  • Eisteddfod Gadeiriol Pentrefoelas gynhelir ddydd Sadwrn, Mehefin 12fed, 1920 :         Llanrwst : Evan Pughe, Jones & Co., 1920.
  • Heald, George Owen.    Cymdeithas Lenyddol Pentrefoelas a'r Cylch, 1849        Trafodion (Denbighshire Historical Society), 41 (1992), p. 105-121
  • Roberts, Dewi.    Pentrefoelas         Country Quest. (November 2004), p. 23
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Church History

Ordnance Survey reference SH 873515.
There is evidence of a "chapel" at Pentrefoelas in the sixteenth century. A new building replaced it in 1766, but it was not consecrated until 23 June 1771.
There were additions in 1774. The church was completely rebuilt in 1857/59.
According to Archdeacon Thomas, the church was not initially licensed for marriages; but as it was some considerable distance from the nearest licensed church, many marriage ceremonies were nevertheless performed. The Bishop of St. Asaph eventually obtained an Act, in 1805, to legalise the marriages.

The Clwyd FHS website has a photograph of the church.

 Church, Pentrefoelas   -  on the People's Collection Wales site

Nonconformist Churches

"Welsh Church Commission - County of Denbigh - The Statistics of the Nonconformist Churches for 1905" lists the following nonconformist places of worship in the Civil parish of Pentrefoelas

Name of ChapelDenominationNumber of "adherents"
RhydlydanCalvinistic Methodists166
SaronCalvinistic MethodistsNot stated
BethelCongregationalists317
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Church Records

Parish Registers

  • The following Parish Registers have been deposited at the Denbighshire Record Office, Ruthin.
    They may be viewed on microfilm at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    These microfilms are not available elsewhere.
BaptismsMarriagesBurials
1782 - 19281772 - 19661773 - 1881
  • Clwyd FHS has published full transcriptions of the registers (complete with indexes) for the following years :
BaptismsMarriagesBurials
1782 - 18121772 - 18121773 - 1812

Bishop's Transcripts

  • Bishop's Transcripts for the years shown below have been deposited in the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
    Around the year 1951, most of the Bishop's Transcripts which had been deposited at that time were microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the films are available on request at Family History Centres of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    The films may also be viewed at the Denbighshire and Flintshire Record Offices, and at the National Library of Wales.
    In general, the Bishop's Transcripts are less complete than the parish registers.
Deposited at the National Library of WalesMicrofilmed copies
1773 - 18561773 - 1856

I.G.I.

  • The following have been incorporated into the I.G.I., as part of an "official extraction" programme.
    They were extracted from the Bishop's Transcripts, not from the Parish Registers.
BaptismsMarriages
1782 - 1799
1813 - 1854
None
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Civil Registration

When Civil Registration was introduced (on 1 July 1837), the parish of Pentrefoelas was assigned to the No. 3 ("Yspytty") sub-district of the Llanrwst Registration District; which was co-extensive with the Llanrwst poor law Union.

In the GRO indexes to civil registration, entries for Pentrefoelas are in the format :

  • Years 1837 - 1851: Llanrwst XXVII. nnn
  • Years 1851 - 1930: Llanrwst 11b. nnn

(GRO index references have no relevance at the local Superintendent Registrar's Office)

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Description & Travel

Various landscapes/buildings   -  on the People's Collection Wales site

You can see pictures of Pentrefoelas which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

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

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Maps

"North-East Wales Churches and Ancient Parish Boundaries" produced by Clwyd Record Office in 1994, published by Genuki with the permission of Flintshire Record Office and Denbighshire Archives

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

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SH890540 (Lat/Lon: 53.071557, -3.658061), Pentrefoelas which are provided by:

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Occupations

FOELAS CORN MILL;MELIN FOELAS, PENTREFOELAS   -  on the People's Collection Wales site

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Population

  • In 1831- the population was 616.
  • In 1901- the population was 441.
    [ Royal Commission on the Welsh Church - October 1907]