England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llanwrthwl St Gwrthwl

The Parish

The parish of Llanwrthwl lies in the extreme northwest of Breconshire, indeed it forms not only part of the boundary with neighbouring Radnorshire but also with neighbouring Cardiganshire. Llanwrthwl is located in the infant Wye valley about 3 miles south of the Radnorshire market town of Rhayader and 6 miles northwest of the spa town of Llandrindod Wells. Llanwrthwl village is small and compact sitting on the western side of the Wye whereas its nearest major road the A470 running between Rhayader and Builth Wells follows the eastern side, a bridge links the settlement. The countryside is extensively upland and whilst attempts were made to mine & process copper they were not successful so upland farming, pastoral grazing of cattle in the valley and sheep on the moors, predominated within the parish. Llanwrthwl parish covered an extensive area of northern Breconshire and only a relatively small proportion of the population resided within the village, the remainder were dispersed over numerous upland farms. The Wye drains Llanwrthwl to the southeast making its long and meandering way to the Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Llanwrthwl is sited at around 180 metres above the sea but land rises steeply from the |Wye valley to local heights of over 600 metres on Gorllwyn to the southwest. Llanwrthwl parish was extensive but so were many Breconshire parishes, Llanwrthwl covered around 12,000 acres and would have supported a population of around 500 parishioners. In common with most of Wales Llanwrthwl is not mentioned in Domesday Book which doesn't cover this area.

The Church

St Gwrthwl's church sits at the southern end of the village facing the lane crossing the valley to the A470. Sadly the church is a Victorian replacement for the former ancient mediaeval structure. The present church was built in 1875 and consists of a simple nave & chancel design. The churchyard, however, is circular and may, Pevsner speculates, be pre-Christian. The standing stone by the south porch is reputed to be Druidic in origin but is probably early Christian. The church is clearly of little interest to Pevsner as his description is terse and covers barely 3 lines. The churchyard is surrounded by a low local stone wall and a gateway at the southeastern corner grants access. There are few restrictions to photography within the site.