England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llanllwynfel Parish Church

The Parish

The parish of Llanllwynfel, often spelt Llanlleonfel, lies in northern Breconshire about 7 miles west of the small market town of Builth Wells. Llanllwynfel sits on the A483 road which connects Builth Wells with Llanwrtyd Wells and onward to Llandovery. Llanllwynfel is such a tiny place that it doesn't even merit an entry on modern maps, its principal settlements are Garth, roughly a mile east of the church. and Beulah, almost 2 miles northwest. This is an upland area of the country with pastoral farming dominating the landscape, on the more elevated areas this would have been rough moorland grazi0ng for sheep whilst in the valley systems cattle grazed the richer pastures. Despite the remoteness, modern developments have come to the region, the railway line from Craven Arms to Llanelli cuts through the parish giving Garth a station. Llanllwynfel is drained by two rivers Afon Irwon to the west and Afon Dulas to the east, they meet at Garth with the former heading eastward to meet the Wye at Builth Wells, the Wye meets the Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Garth is sited at around 169 metres above the sea with the church some 30 metres higher, the more upland reaches to the northwest summit at 487 metres on Pen y Garn Goch. By upland Wales standards Llanllwynfel parish was relatively small, covering close to 2,700 acres it would have supported a population of around 250 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llanllwynfel is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

Llanllwynfel parish church, there is no known dedication, sits just south of the A483 and a little over a mile west of Garth, a gravel track leads up to the tree-lined "llan" in which it sits. Whilst the presence of the round "llan" is indicative of an early Christian site, the church which sits there today is largely a product of the Victorian era. A simple single-chambered church with chancel and nave combined it fell into near ruin such that in 1874 the church was virtually rebuilt. The presence of lancet windows is perhaps indicative of the lost medieval style of the original church. The original church bore a central and substantial bellcote above the chancel arch whereas the rebuild saw the present smaller western version. There is no sign to mark the track to the churchyard, travellers from Garth should note the large lay-by and expect it in a few hundred yards, the tree-clad hilltop being visible to the left. The churchyard is surrounded by a thin band of trees but within there are no obstacles for the photographer.