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

The Parish

The chapelry of Eglwys Newydd, its mother parish being Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, in the extreme east and towards the north of Cardiganshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Montgomeryshire, the notional centre of the chapelry being roughly 14 miles southeast of Aberystwyth. Eglwys Newydd is also known as Llanfihangel y Creuddyn Uchaf to signify its upper relationship with its mother parish. There is no village of Eglwys Newydd, as such, the parish is dominated by the estate of Hafod with the most significant settlement being that of Cwmystwyth which sits a mile east of the B4574 road which links Devil's Bridge with Pont-Rhyd-y-groes. Hafod house, built between 1786 and 1793 was once one of Wales' most famous country houses with an estate of 14,000 acres, the house was demolished in 1956. Naturally the economy of the chapelry was dominated by the needs of that estate but this is high upland countryside with little of agricultural land, pastures dotted the valleys for cattle whilst much of the land was open moorland dominated by the grazing of sheep. Much of the land was converted to forestry plantation too as the best means of extracting some income from the unproductive land. The main river drainign the chapelry is the Afon Ystwyth which flows westwards to reach the Irish Sea just south of Aberystwyth. Eglwys Newydd church stands at 240 metres above the sea surrounded by high mountains which reach 610 metres on Pen-y-Garn to the northeast, the landscape being one of deeply carved valleys within upland moors. The chapelry covered a vast area of almost 16,000 acres within which a largely scattered population of close to 1,100 parishioners would have been supported. Like most of Wales Eglwys Newydd is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Michael's church sits within the estate of Hafod just south of the B4574 road and high above the bridge at Dologau on the Afon Ystwyth. The church is not some medieval masterpiece, that was demolished as part of the plans to create an ideal estate in these hills. The church dates from 1803, it has a cruciform layout of the style often found in early Norman churches but with the tower raised at the western end rather than centrally. Since its construction a series of restorations and a tragedy have befallen the church. In the 1840s the tower acquired its distinctive top of an enlarged and embattlemented square, an extensive restoration of 1887 saw what Pevsner describes as "poor Victorianism" inflicted on the church, as well as restoring and remodelling this period saw the addition of an eastern apse. Sadly in 1932 a fire struck the church destroying much of the interior fittings, including the famous monument to Mariamne, of which sadly charred remains are left behind. Hafod estate, today, is largely used for outdoor pleasures and a large car park is set amongst forestry just west of the entrance to the driveway leading to the church, a pathway through the trees leads southeast to the churchyard. Unlike most churches which are orientated east to west, St Michael is at a jaunty angle running from southwest to northeast, the presence of many trees makes for a limited set of angles for the photographer.