England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llangeitho St Ceitho

The Parish

The parish of Llangeitho lies in central Cardiganshire roughly 8 miles north of the small market town of Lampeter and 4 miles west of Tregaron. Llangeitho sits on the B4342 road which links Tregaron through to New Quay (Ceinewydd) on the coast. Llangeitho is a small and compact village with most properties built to the east of the route of the B4343 as it passes through the village, it marks the point where that road leaves the valley of the Afon Aeron to traverse higher country towards Tregaron making it an important historical meeting point. Llangeitho is sited at the point where the Afon Aeron's valley narrows dramatically, seaward the valley is broad and rich whilst upstream the countryside becomes harsher. This location gave Llangeitho a diverse farming economy, the sheltered vale grew barley & oats as well as giving rich pastures to cattle whilst the higher lands to the east were the home largely of hardy sheep. Considering the western location of the parish, early gazetteers' estimates of 2/3rds of the parish acreage in arable demonstrates the fertility of the Aeron's valley. Llangeitho is drained by that river westwards to eventually reach the Irish Sea, arriving through the small port of Aberaeron. Llangeitho is sited at around 110 metres above the sea in its valley setting, land rises steeply outside the valley reaching around 300 metres to the north at Penuwch. Like most upland parishes Llangeitho was extensive, covering close to 3,000 acres it would have supported a population of around 450 parishioners. Like most of Wales Llangeitho is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Ceitho's church, St Ceitho was a 6th century Welsh Abbot, sits away from its village across the Afon Aeron and roughly a quarter of a mile from the B4342. Today's church is a relatively modern building completed in 1898, the third such church to occupy this site. The early medieval building was replaced in Georgian times by a church of 1821, it had fallen into disuse caused by the activities of the Calvinistic Methodists who had had such influence in this area that holy communion went without an audience for almost 50 years. Today's church is a simple (Pevsner terms it "utilitarian") building of nave & chancel with a southern porch and topped by a western bellcote partially re0using the walls of its Georgian predecessor's nave walling. The lane passing is widened sufficiently to allow easy road-side parking allowing a visit. Mature conifers line the roadside obscuring views from the lane but once within the churchyard is open & uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.