England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Talgarth St Gwendoline

The Parish

The parish of Talgarth lies in southeastern Breconshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Monmouthshire and covering a greater part of the eastern area of the county, it is a very extensive parish. Talgarth is located about 9 miles northeast of the county town of Brecon and sits about a mile south of the A438 which links Brecon through Hay on Wye to Hereford. Talgarth is a former market town which has shrunk to be merely a large village, the A479 heading for Crickhowell & Abergavenny passes through its centre with most of the village's properties lying to its east. Talgarth has an ancient history, according to legend it was the seat of the kingdom of Brycheiniog as early as the 5th century its "llan" was established honouring St Gwendoline, a daughter of the local chieftain Brychan. Through much of the early Middle Ages Talgarth functioned as a typical small market town & borough serving the region by the 14th to 15th centuries it was quietly prosperous enough to build the church and tower house. Gradually many of the market functions were lost to Brecon & Talgarth became dependent upon its livestock markets. Today Talgarth serves as a base for tourism as it sits at the northwestern corner of The Black Mountain, a large upland area making up the majority of the vast parish acreage. Hiking, off-road cycling, fishing and general sight-seeing are all provided for in this attractive area. The other major economic activity is upland farming with most of the area devoted to raising sheep on the moors and hills whilst cattle are kept to the sweeter pastures of the river valleys. Modern developments have come & gone, a railway branch line connecting Talgarth with Brecon has closed and largely disappeared but at least provided a handy route for the town's bypass. Talgarth is drained northwards by Afon Ennig which passes through the village to join the Afon Dulas and shortly after the River Wye, the Wye heads initially east and then south to reach the outer Bristol Channel through the port of Chepstow. Talgarth is sited at between 110 and 150 metres above the sea rising eastwards onto the lower slopes of the Black Mountain. Within the parish's extent lie some of the highest ground within southern Wales with Waun Fach reaching an impressive 811 metres. A survey of c1800 placed the parish acreage as in excess of 90,000 acres within which would have resided around 1,400 parishioners of whom 50% would have resided in the village of Talgarth, itself. Like most of Wales Talgarth is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Gwendoline's church stands on the eastern edges of the village on its higher ground with commanding views across the valleys below, it sits at the junction of School Lane and Church Fields. Talgarth's time of maximum prosperity was that of the 14th & 15th century and the church is largely a product of that prosperity. There would seem to have been a smaller cruciform church here from earlier times, a 13th century stoup reset in the porch whilst the shadow of a former northern transept of similar vintage remains in the chancel's squint. The main body we see today, nave and chancel in one, is from the 15th century Perpendicular period albeit some of the windows show a 14th century origin, Pevsner suspects reuse. The tall and slender western tower is also from the same century. The porch in which the reset stoup resides is a 16th century addition whilst the southern doorway is from Tudor times. Like most churches it received the attentions of the Victorian restorers with a major restoration of 1873 which is responsible for the east window, the open waggon roofs and most of the seating. Talgarth is characterised by winding narrow streets and those around the church comply with that template, a few parking spots may be found on Church Fields. The church sits within an extensive churchyard that is open and uncluttered with no obstacles to concern the photographer.