England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llangorse St Paulinus

The Parish

The parish of Llangorse (often spelt these days without the terminal "e") lies in eastern Breconshire roughly 6 miles east of the county town of Brecon. Llangorse sitsa little over 2 miles north of the A40 road which links Brecon with Abergavenny. Llangorse is a small and compact village lying on the linking B4560 which runs from Bwlch to Talgarth and stands on the northern shores of Llangorse Lake, a nature reserve beloved by wildlife and fishermen alike. Most properties within the village either line the B road or a side lane heading northeast from the same. Llangorse sits between two mountain ranges, to the west lie the Brecon Beacons (now known as Bannau Brycheiniog) whilst to the east are the Black Mountains, between is a lush oasis of good quality land that was farmed in roughly equal measure between arable and pastoral methods. Llangorse is drained northwards by the Afon Llyfni which passes Talgarth before meeting the Wye and turning back southeastwards to eventually reach the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Llangorse is sited at between 170 & 180 metres above the sea, already a high altitude but nothing compared to the Black Mountains which quickly rise to a high point of 609 metres at the summit of Mynydd Troed. Most of Breconshire parishes are rather extensive, Llangorse was toward the smaller end of the scale at around 2,800 acres which would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llangorse is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Paulinus' church stands in the heart of the village on the eastern side of the B4560 and almost opposite the Red Lion Inn. The church is essentially one from the late medieval period of the 15th century and Perpendicular in style. The nave northern face has lancet styled windows but these are not of the 13th century but hark back to the Early English Gothic style. Both nave and chancel date from the first half of the 15th century whilst the battlemented western tower dates from the latter half of the same century. Slightly later still is the priest's door which displays a style more typical of the Tudor period of the 16th century. As is fairly typical a Victorian restoration, here of an extended phase between 1873 & 1875, took place within which most of the chancel was rebuilt along with a more general restoration of the remainder. Despite the late-medieval nature of the church it clearly sits within an ancient christian site as pre-Conquest worked stones have been found within its circular "llan". The church sits immediately north of a sharp bend in the course of the B4560 and street parking is safest away from that corner, the churchyard has a few trees to the south of the church which limit the traditional views but enough angles remain for the photo00000000000000000000000000000000000grapher.