England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Bedwas St Barrwg

The Parish

The parish of Bedwas lies in the extreme west of Monmouthshire forming an extensive stretch of the border with neighbouring Glamorgan. Bedwas is located roughly 3 miles northeast of the Glamorgan town of Caerphilly and sits on and immediately north of the A468 road which connects Caerphilly with Newport. Bedwas is a much expanded mid-sized village which grew as part of the industrialisation of the Rhymney Valley, coal mining predominated in the area with numerous operating pits demanding men and growing what had previously been two small communities, Upper & Lower Bedwas. Prior to the industrial revolution Bedwas would have been primarily a pastoral farming community. Like much of the mining in the area Bedwas is nowadays somewhat post-industrial and functions largely as a suburb to nearby Caerphilly, Bedwas has expanded eastwards along the Rhymney engulfing Trethomas and creating a continuous urban area from Watford Park in the west of Caerphilly almost as far as Machen in the east. Modern developments came and went for Bedwas, a branch line following the Rhymney eastwards has long since been disused and largely dismantled. The Afon Rhymney drains the parish east and finally southwest to emerge into the outer Bristol Channel just east of Cardiff. Bedwas occupies a sloping site with properties by the river at close to 60 metres above the sea whilst the upper end is some 60 metres higher still, land continues rising steeply to the northeast to summit at 345 metres on Mynydd y Grug some 2 miles northeast of Bedwas' church. Bedwas parish was extensive, covering just over 4,200 acres it would have supported a population of close to 800 parishioners. Like most of wales Bedwas is not mentioned in Domesday Book which has scant coverage within Monmouthshire.

The Church

St Barrwg's church sits in Upper Bedwas, almost at the top of the village and on the eastern side of the steeply rising Church Street. The church's principal dominant feature is its thick-set western tower complete with unusual saddleback roof. Dating evidence leads Pevsner to determine a date for this feature of c1300 and the lancet belfry opening confirms the early English Gothic style of that date. Much else is later and much influenced by a substantial restoration of 1875 which made major changes to both the window details and also rebuilt the northern chapel, the side effect is, however. to remove the usual dating detail on which Pevsner usually relies. With largely Victorian glass too thee is little to place the remainder into the medieval albeit it clearly dates from that era one cannot be precise about a dating. A substantial parking area lies to the north of the entrance to the churchyard which has a metal kissing-gate for entry, once within there are no difficulties for the photographer in an open and uncluttered churchyard.