England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Tydweiliog St Cwyfan

The Parish

The parish of Tydweiliog, usually rendered Tudweiliog today, lies in southwestern Caernarvonshire on the Lleyn Peninsula and roughly 8 miles west of the town of Pwllheli. Tydweiliog sits on the coastal B4417 road which links Nefyn with Aberdaron. Tydweiliog is a small compact village sitting on a low ridge of land between two small streams that run down to the nearby coast. Most properties are clustered along the B4417 with side branches to both east and west, to the north is the subsidiary hamlet of Rhos y Llan whilst a beach car park and a few properties sit at the beach of Porth Towyn. Tydweiliog had a mixed economy, the nearby Irish Sea provided rich herring fishing but for most of the year arable and pastoral farming in a mixed operation occupied most folk, hardy cereals such as oats and rye plus root crops were the mainstays. Today tourism plays an important role not just for day trips to the beach but also for hikers tackling the Lleyn Peninsula section  of the Wales National Coastal Trail which passes through the parish. The two little streams which drain the parish arrive at Porth Towyn and Porth Ysglaig forming breaks in the coastal cliffs and draining into the Irish Sea. Tydweiliog is sited at around 50 metres above the sea but inland the views are dominated by the impressive hill of Carn Fadryn reaching 371 metres and topped by the remains of a hill-fort. Covering a little over 2,200 acres Tydweiliog parish was towards the smaller end of the scale for this area, that acreage would have supported a population of close to 450 parishioners. Like most of Wales Tydweiliog is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Cwyfan's church sits east of the B4417 on the northern side of a narrow lane headed towards Dinas and Carn Fadryn. Sadly this church is a Victorian replacement for a medieval predecessor and was completed in 1849 so is not the venue for these marriages. Interestingly Pevsner uses the term "rebuilt" so perhaps some original material was reused in its construction. The church consists of the standard nave and chancel augmented by a southern porch, a northern vestry and the western bellcote. All is built using the Decorated style of the early 14th century. The church clearly did not inspire Pevsner who describes it as "dull in its correctness". Parking is best achieved by the Post Office on the B4417, it being only a short walk to the site where a flight of steps rises into the churchyard from a small metal gate, once within there are no obstacles for the photographer.