England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Conway St Mary

The Parish

The parish of Conway (Conwy in Welsh) lies in the extreme northeast of Caernarvonshire forming a lengthy stretch of the county's coastline with both the Irish Sea and with the estuary of Afon Conwy. Conway is located roughly 14 miles northeast of the university city of Bangor and stands on the A55 road which links Chester with Bangor and onwards to Holyhead. Conway is a market town and a port and the administrative capital of the new local authority that takes its name and which incorporates parts of both Caernarvonshire and Denbighshire. Conway sits at the mouth of Afon Conwy, slightly inland from the meeting with the waters of the Irish Sea, it has a long history of conflict between Wales and England before being subdued by the construction of its castle by Edward I. It is reputed to have begun life as a Roman site, Conovium, and it position has always been noted for its defensive situation. The medieval period saw it become the base for the princes of Gwynedd who founded the first castle here in the 12th century, a Cistercian abbey and the hall of the Princes. The present town was re-founded in 1283 by Edward I as a planned settlement surrounding his castle, a charter of 1284 granted the town a trade monopoly encouraging settlement from northwestern England by merchants and craftsmen. The town quickly assumed the role of principal market town for northern Wales along with a flourishing port specialising in timber, lead and slate. A unique local trade exploited the local mussel beds becoming the premier source of pearls in the land, it reputedly sent 4 kilos of pearls a week to London in its heyday. It was the new developments of the 19th century that finally caused Conway to expand beyond its original walled footprint, the arrival of a turnpike along the coast over Telford's iconic suspension bridge in 1825 was followed by the railway in 1848 across Stephenson's tube bridge, both served to promote trade through coaching inns. The final development was the delving of the new A55 North Wales Expressway, a fast dual-carriageway highway which plunges below the Afon Cony in a tunnel emerging north of the town and taking much heavy traffic from its narrow streets, a byproduct of the excavation of the tunnel was the use of the spoil to create a nature reserve on the eastern banks of Afon Conwy. Today Conway remains a small town, it is a popular tourist visit for its castle whilst the creation of a marina has encouraged leisure boating too, a market town it remains even if its port is a shadow of what it once was. As a coastal parish water flows through many routes into either the Afon Conwy or directly into the Irish Sea. Conway is sited between sea level and 70 metres above it in the western suburbs, to the west rises abruptly Cony Mountain which culminates in Castell Caer Seion at 239 metres and Alltwen Fort at 255 metres and which is traversed by the new Wales National Coastal Trail for which Conway provides a popular overnight stop. By the standards of its county Conway parish was towards the smaller end of the scale covering a little over 2,400 acres it would have supported a population of close to 1,350 parishioners. Like most of Wales Conway is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Mary's church sits at the heart of the town, tucked away in an open area but enclosed within surrounding properties, it can only be reached by passing through one of 4 narrow alleyways between properties. The church began life as the church of the Cistercian monks who arrived in the burgeoning town from Strata Florida in 1186, the Abbey church was completed by 1200 but was partially destroyed by English raids of 1245 and the Abbey removed to Maenan during the layout of the planned town in 1283 leaving the reduced church for the town. During the 14th century the former abbey church was remodelled in stages in the Decorated style acquiring both a southern transept and a western tower. The Perpendicular era of the 15th & 16th century saw the tower increased in height as well as the roofs which required the removal of the clerestory, the east window was constructed as well as the screen and the northern porch. In more modern times the church has received a series of at least 4 Victorian and later changes, the first of 1872 reinstated a clerestory, renewed the roofs and restored windows, in 1878 further restoration was conducted, in 1919-21 the northern aisle chapel was re-furnished and finally in 1925 the vestry was added. St Mary is a church for which a town car park should be sought, the narrow streets of the surrounding area being only suitable for foot-traffic. Whichever of the 4 alleyways is chosen you arrive at the central space enclosing the church, a space of no more than 50 metres wide and slightly less in depth, views from most angles are possible with few obstacles other than the size of the building within its space.