England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Treflys St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Treflys lies on Caernarvonshire's southern coast, that of Cardigan Bay roughly 3 miles west of the small town of Porthmadog. Treflys sits a little over 2 miles south of A497 road which forms the main coastal route between Porthmadog & Criccieth and onward to Pwllheli. Treflys is a tiny place, so much so that modern Ordnance Survey maps do not even show its name, a loose scatter of farms & cottages a half mile inland from the popular beaches at Black Rock Sands. Despite its coastal location Treflys seems to have been a farming parish, pastoral farming here being the norm at the time this far west. Modern developments have come to Treflys, the coast-hugging railway line headed for Pwllheli passes through to the west. Treflys sits on a knoll to the east of Llyn Ystumllyn which drains the parish into nearby Cardigan Bay. Treflys is sited at around 50 metres above the seam the parish covering from sea level to here in a half mile, the area is, however, dominated by the isolated knoll of Moel y Gest which tops out at 262 metres and around which the coastal road must deviate to reach Porthmadog. Treflys parish was one of the county's smaller ones, covering almost exactly 1,000 acres it would have barely supported 100 parishioners. Like most of Wales Treflys is mot mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Michael's church sits amongst fields to the east of the narrow lane which connects Black Rock Sands with the A497, the site has uninterrupted views south to the waters of the bay. A very small and very simple church as befits the tiny congregation it consists of nave and chancel all topped off by a sturdy gabled western bellcote. Like many small and remote churches St Michael has been around little changed for centuries. Pevsner identifies much of the fabric as dating from the 13th century, a time when Early English Gothic was in vogue. The narrow windows of the church are typical of that style. The church did receive substantial Victorian attention, however, as the chancel was largely rebuilt in changes wrought in the late 1880s, previously there was a rough round opening which was replaced with a neat new arch whilst some of those lancet windows are Victorian in date but consistent with rest of the church. The church sits well back from the road with a gated rough track leading to a substantial car park allowing an extended visit.  A few scattered trees within the churchyard are mainly to the church's north and little inconvenience to the photographer.