England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Laugharne St Martin

The Parish

The parish of Laugharne lies in southern Carmarthenshire, indeed it forms an extensive part of the county's coastline with the outer Bristol Channel. Laugharne is located about 12 miles southwest of the county town of Carmarthen and sits on the A4066 road which connects St Clears with Pendine. Laugharne is a small port standing on the estuary of the Afon Taf, much reduced by silting today. Laugharne is a largely linear settlement with most properties lying along the route of the A4066 or gathered around its castle ruins. The castle has a long history and the site is believed to predate the Norman invasion, the former Welsh fort being turned to a classic motte & bailey to protect the Norman settlements along the South Wales coast. Several times the castle withstood sieges until it fell to Cromwell's forces in the Civil War and fell into ruin, today it is a popular visitor attraction. Laugharne's port was largely used for exporting the butter & corn, produce of the rich hinterland, as well as provided a base for inshore fishing & shell fisheries. The wider parish would have been largely devoted to farming with a mixed regime of both arable and pastoral methods in use, As a coastal settlement numerous small streams and drains feed into the nearby estuary. Laugharne is sited at between sea level and 30 metres, the northern parts being somewhat higher. Carmarthenshire parishes are large and Laugharne parish was fairly typical, it covered almost 5,200 acres and would have supported a population of around 2,000 parishioners. Like most of Wales Laugharne is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Martin's church sits at the northernmost part of the built area, where a narrow lane squeezes off to the northeast, an extensive car park marks the location as you leave heading towards St Clears. The church is one of several attributed to the influence of Guy de Brian VII and said to have been built in the late 14th century. However, the remaining evidence points to a later date albeit this may represent a rebuilding rather than the original construction. The church follows the cruciform pattern with central crossing tower and transepts rather than the normal 15th century form of nave, chancel and western tower. Surviving tracery points to the Perpendicular period for the north transept whilst there is documentary evidence that the height of the tower was raised by 6 metres in the 15th century too, although it was lowered again in the 1870s as it became unstable. The northern porch was added in either the 16th or 17th centuries and the church received extensive restorations in both the 1850s and 1870s to result in today's church. Whilst the church is in view from the road across the broad car park that is sadly the only extended view available as the church is tightly enclosed on the remaining sides by thick tree cover making for a very tricky subject to adequately photograph. The church remains a visitor attraction as the grave of the writer Dylan Thomas lies across the lane in the extension to the churchyard.