England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Llanstephan St Ystyffan

The Parish

The parish of Llanstephan (more usually rendered these days as Llansteffan) lies in southern Carmarthenshire, indeed it forms part of Carmarthenshire's coastline with the Bristol Channel. Llanstephan is a substantial village located about 8 miles southwest of Carmarthen sited at the mouth of the River Tywi close to where it meets the Taf. Llanstephan is an important defensive sight to hold the two rivers and rapidly developed following the arrival of the Normans especially after the completion of the impressive castle around 1100, previously the site for this fortress was an Iron Age Promontory Fort reflecting its obvious defensive capabilities. The village of Llanstephan grew up to the north of the castle and now marks the end of the B4312 which runs from Carmarthen. As a coastal community Llanstephan would have had both sea and land to provide for its inhabitants nowadays tourism provides additional income as visitors come to see the castle and walk on the sands. The heart of the village is slightly raised from the immediate coast and sited at around 20 metres above the sea. The parish was extensive, as is typical of Welsh parishes and covered around 5,000 acres, a mixture in almost equal proportions of arable and pastoral land, it supported around 1,200 parishioners. In common with most of Wales Llanstephan is not mentioned in Domesday Book.

The Church

St Ystyffan's (Stephan when anglicised) church sits at the southern end of the village centre at the junction of Old Road with Church Road. The church is substantial as befits a large village and in a cruciform design which traditionally denotes and early church. The graveyard, too, is circular and probably its origins are pre-Christian. The church is a mixture of styles and dates, chronologically the nave is the earliest part and is dateable to 12th or 13th centuries. The chancel comes next in the 14th followed by the transepts and porch which date from the cusp of 15th and 16th centuries. The rather blocky tower is later and 16th century. In common with many churches the Victorians and their 19th century predecessors also restored extensively and replaced windows and tracery. The church sits on the western side of Church Road behind a head-high stone wall, access is by metal gates. There are a lot of mature trees alongside Church Road but the graveyard is uncluttered allowing reasonable photographic opportunities.