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

The Parish

The parish of Cardigan lies in the extreme southwest of Cardiganshire forming not only a stretch of the county's coastline with the Irish Sea but also the border with neighbouring Pembrokeshire. Cardigan is located roughly 25 miles northwest of Carmarthen, 35 miles north of Pembroke and a similar distance southwest of Aberystwyth and stands at the western end of the A484 from Carmarthen and the A487 from Aberystwyth. Cardigan is the county town of its county, a port and market town which sits at the mouth of the Afon Teifi. Cardigan was founded as a planned settlement in 1110, gathered around a defensive fort set to defend the important access from the sea. The castle and the walled town which was placed alongside faced repeated sacking from rebellious Welsh forces and it was not until the late 13th century under King Edward that matters began to settle down. Despite the insecurity of the 1th century the town had already expanded beyond its walls towards the priory church of St Mary. In 1227 the market was confirmed beginning a phase when the town grew as the market town for the area, a centre for trade and specialist skills. Despite the vagaries of a dangerous sand bar the town's port also grew establishing links with the wider area of Wales and with Ireland, it was the principal produce of the area, agricultural produce and wool, that formed the backbone of this trade. The completion of the Act of Union saw the growth of Cardigan's port grow exponentially with the establishment of a substantial fishing fleet chasing the herring of the Irish Sea. The growth of imports and exports matched that growth with slate becoming an important part of the export profile whilst imports comprised heavy goods such as coal and timber as well as luxuries such as wine. To support the importance of the port Cardigan developed too as a ship building town with over 200 ocean going ships constructed in its yards, the ancillary trades of  rope makers, sail-makers, iron foundries, malt-houses, and tanneries grew alongside as Cardigan became the most important port of the west coast of Wales. The port and its associated businesses declined markedly through the 19th century, a combination of competition and siltation of the river, leaving the town to become merely a market town once more. The modern development of the railway arrived in the form of the Whitland & Cardigan Branch line but ran only for around 70 years being closed as part of the Beching closures. Today Cardigan relied to an extent upon tourism, the coastline is attractive and town has many inns and hotels to cater for the business. The newly created Wales Coastal Trail passes through the town encouraging yet more overnight stays. The Afon Teifi takes a couple of miles to reach the Irish Sea from the town arriving at Poppit Sands. Cardigan is sited at sea level rising to almost 60 metres in its newer northeastern developments, land rises to 205 metres to the west of Pembrokeshire's St Dogmaels as the highest local ground. Cardigan parish covered a little over 2,300 acres and would have supported a population of close to 2,900 parishioners. Like most of Wales Cardigan is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the banks of the Teifi midway between the town's bridge and that of the bypass. The church was actually established not as the parish church but as the priory church of a Benedictine cell subsidiary to that of Chertsey in Surrey, it is generally accepted that it was completed in that form in c1158 but little remains of that early church today. There is some 12th century material in the lower courses of the nave's southern wall. From the 13th century the church became an important pilgrimage centre claiming the taper of the Virgin Mary which burns without being consumed. It was income from this pilgrim trade that largely funded the church's 14th century expansion, the nave was modified to today's format and the chancel, a majestic piece, was constructed in 3-bays. The main core of the church is thus Perpendicular in style. Following the dissolution the church became the parish church and most of the monastic buildings have been erased. On 11th August 1705 the church met with disaster as its medieval square tower completely collapsed. Work began to rebuild the tower in 1711 but funding soon evaporated and it was not until 1748 that it was finally completed to its full height. Pevsner's account lusts restorations in 1639, 1703, 1810, 1856, 1877, 1883, 1906 and 1926 so it is sufficient to indicate a welter of change has been carried out in more modern times. The church presents its public face to the main street of Pont Y Cliefion but around the rear on the banks of the Teifi is adequate parking for a number of vehicles allowing a leisurely visit and access to the southern face, the extensive churchyard has no significant obstacles to concern the photographer.