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St Nicholas

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"NICHOLAS' (ST.), a parish in the hundred of DEWISLAND, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 5 miles (W. by S.) from Fishguard, containing 315 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated in the north-western part of the county, and at no great distance from St. George's channel, comprises a moderate portion of good arable and pasture land, which is enclosed and in a good state of cultivation: from the high grounds in the north and south parts of it some fine views are obtained of St. George's channel. It constitutes the only prebend, in the cathedral church of St.David's, to which a residence in that city is attached, and is usually called St. Nicholas Pen y Voes: the prebend is valued in the king's books at £5. 4. 6 1/2., and is in the patronage of the Bishop. The living is a discharged vicarage, annexed, with that of Granston, to the vicarage of Mathrey, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's: the great tithes of the parish are held on lease by George Rock, Esq., of Butter Hill. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is not remarkable for any architectural details. There is a place of worship for Presbyterians. In the fence of the churchyard is a stone, about a yard and a half in length, and three-quarters of a yard in breadth, with the inscription TVNCCFTACCVXSORDAAR ! ! HICIA CIT+. At no great distance from the church, just above the village of Trellys, are the remains of an ancient cromlech, the table stone of which rests only upon two supporters. The poor are maintained by an average annual expenditure amounting to £95. 3." [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 - 0464342
  • 1851 Census - 0104238
  • 1861 Census - 0543245
  • 1871 Census - 0850858
  • 1881 Census - 1342306
  • 1891 Census - 6099651
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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 Nicholas Parish Church Rowland Daniel, Vicar, Letterston
  • Rhosycaeran Independents or Congregationalists Erected before 1800 "Every Sunday evening Divine Services are held in different parts of the neighbourhood................" David Bateman, Minister, Fishguard

Parish entry for Grandston and St Nicholas from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

  • St Catherine & St Nicholas (St Nicholas)
  • Incumbent and Curates; S Evans
  • Rural Deanery of Fishguard
  • Acreage 1,711; Population 332

Eglwys Sant Niclas = St Nicholas Church. [Abergwaun?] : [Menter Preseli?], [1996?] 1 sheet : ill ; 30x21cm. This project was initiated by local communities in North Pembrokeshire and co-ordinated by Menter Preseli.

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Church Records

PR (1758-) in poor condition in 1933 apparently lost. CB (1793-1803) entered in PR Granston. Diocesan records suggest that c1790 the registers went back to 1727.

Parish registers: Christenings (1793-1803, 1806-1993), Marriages (1779-1971) Banns (1780-1817, 1907), Burials (1793-1803, 1806-1992) at Pem.RO

Copy ms/ts PR C (1783-1874) M (1782-1899) B (1783-1898) at NLW

Copy ts PR [extracts] C (1810-74) M (1782-1899) B (1799-1898) at Pem.RO

Bishops Transcripts for this parish , included in Granston's, have the LDS Call Number: 0105141.

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

  • Bethel Baptist chapel, St Nicholas SM90123560 Built 1804 Not still open 1997 Coflein      On Dyfed FHS
  • Rhosycaerau. Pen-caer, Rhosycaerau [Independents, 1724]. Records ; 1. Baptismal register, 1775-1820 ; also burial register, 1788-1836, at PRO RG4/3913, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 813550, IGI. 2. Account book, 1876-1912 at NLW Ms 1138B On Dyfed FHS Shown as still open on the Union of Welsh Independents site (Dec 2006)
    See Welsh Chapels and Churches for a photograph
    Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is the entry from this book for this chapel (in Welsh ) - with translation by Maureen Saycell (Feb 2009)
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Description & Travel

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

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Gazetteers

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

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Land & Property

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

  • Ffynondrudion, St Nicholas, Llethr, Brawdy and Cruglas, St David's, Records "Records relating mainly to three Pembrokeshire farms, 1765-1927, consisting of Ffynondrudion, St Nicholas, 1765-1927; Llethr, Brawdy 1787-1906; and Cruglas, St Davids, 1843-1913.............."
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Maps

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SM910361 (Lat/Lon: 51.98366, -5.044527), St Nicholas which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Places, villages, farms etc within St Nicholas 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 Peter D Hall)

  • St Nicholas [34]; Carn Segan, Ffynnon-Druidion, Llan-druidion, Maildy, Rhos-y-caerau, St Nicholas, St Nicholas Cross, Trefayog, Trefelgarn, Tregyddulan, Tre-llys-y-cnwe, Tre-llys-y-coed
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Social Life & Customs

Jones, Llewelyn . Schoolin's Log. 1980 (Michael Joseph), life in St Nicholas 1920s-30s.