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

The Parish

The parish of Llanfair Clydogau lies in the extreme south of Cardiganshire forming a stretch of the border with neighbouring Carmarthenshire. Llanfair Clydogau sits roughly 4 miles northeast of the university town of Lampeter and sits on the B4343 road which connects Lampeter with Tregaron. Llanfair Clydogau is a relatively small settlement, rather twin settlements there being Llanfair Clydogau, itself, whilst across the 18th century Pont Llanfair one finds the matching settlement of Cefnfoelallt. The twin hamlets, however, do not tell the whole story of the wider parish which is an upland parish and rather extensive, early gazetteers describe 40% of the parish acreage as "waste", a term often used to describe lightly farmed moorland, the farming being dominated by cattle in the valley of the Afon Teifi whilst that moorland has sheep. More significantly the parish is the source of Wales' silver, within the lead mine rich veins of silver were located producing this valuable resource and attracting in-migration. The Afon Teifi drains the parish southwestwards and then west to meet the irish Sea through the port & county town of Cardigan. Llanfair Clydogau is sited at around 140 metres above the sea but parts of the parish rise significantly reaching 474 metres at Bryn Mawr on the border with Carmarthenshire. Llanfair Clydogau parish, as previously mentioned, was a typically extensive upland parish, covering just short of 4,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llanfair Clydogau is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Mary's church sits on the southern bank of the Afon Teifi, set a few metres into the lane leading across Pont Llanfair towards Cefnfoelallt. Early gazetteers refer to the church as an ancient structure, of no particular architectural interest, the presence of the circular churchyard, or "llan", is indicative of an early Christian site. That medieval church was, however, substantially remodelled in 1840 and then replaced completely by today's church in the late 1880s so today's church is not the venue for these marriages. The church uses a mixture of styles with 15th century-style Perpendicular tracery within the windows whilst these sit within Tudor-style arches. The simple nave and chancel, in one, is topped off at the western end by a tidy bellcote and the western end is graced by a square framed stone rose motif, a nice design feature. The lane has broad verges outside the churchyard allowing ample space for a car to get off-road. Matal gates by the junction allow entry to a churchyard which has no obstructions for the photographer.