England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Vaynor St Gwynno

The Parish

The parish of Vaynor (Y Faenor in Welsh) lies in the extreme south of Breconshire forming a extensive stretch of the border with neighbouring Glamorgan. Vaynor is located roughly 4 miles north of Glamorgan's industrial town of Merthyr Tydfil and sits a little over 2 miles north of the A465 (Heads of the Valleys) road which crosses the northernmost extremes of South Wales' industrial valleys from Abergavenny to Neath. Vaynor is a mixture of small places, besides Vaynor itself the parish contains Ponsticill, Trefechan & Cefn-coed-y-Cymmer as centres of population, all lie along the deeply etched valley of the Upper Taff river. The area has changed enormously as a result of the industrial revolution, prior to industrialisation all was tough upland moors, early gazetteers describe over 60% of the parish acreage as "waste" a term used to describe undeveloped upland grazing, the home of hardy sheep. Besides these hill farms, a few patches of arable also existed. Following the industrialisation of neighbouring Merthyr Tydfil, Vaynor also became involved, extracting limestone to support the iron-works. Cefn-coed-y-cymmer was almost exclusively populated by folk working in Merthyr Tydfil's many industries. Modern developments abounded, railway tracks, mostly for freight, criss-cross the area but almost all are now disused, the main line along the Taff valley being re-purposed into the local Taff Trail. Today Vaynor has a post-industrial feel with most of the heavy industry gone, some to be replaced by nostalgic "heritage" sites show-casing the history of the area. Vaynor is drained southwards by the Taff which heads through "the valleys" to reach the outer Bristol Channel arriving through the port of Cardiff. Vaynor is sited at between 260 metres, at both the church and Cefn-coed-y-cymmer up to 320 metres in the upper parts of Ponsticill, land continues rising onto the bleak moors to the north which reach 528 metres in Gwaun-y-Pynt before rising still further into the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. Vaynor was an extensive upland parish covering almost 6,700 acres within which would, eventually, have resided a growing population reaching close to 2,300 at the height of its industrial prime. Like most of Wales Vaynor is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Gwynno's church (he was a 6th century monk from Llantwit Major monastery) sits on a shelf of flattish land high above the incised Taff at the end of a long lane running south from Vaynor. Early gazetteers describe the church as "an ancient edifice, consisting of a nave, chancel, and small tower" but sadly that medieval church is now gone, it was the venue of these marriages before being replaced by today's more quirky church. Built in 1870 it does not impress Pevsner who describes it as "a crude performance" with ill-proportioned trefoiled lancets and stonework showing a "crazy-pavement" effect. The gabled cap to the southwestern tower also failed to inspire favourable comment. Thankfully, given the length of the approach lane there is room to park outside a churchyard which has few obstacles for the photographer.