England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Garthbeibio St Tydecho   

The Parish

The parish of Garthbeibio lies on the western edge of Montgomeryshire forming an extensive part of the border with neighbouring Merioneth. Whilst Garthbeibio is a tiny place, not even mentioned on modern day Ordnance Survey maps, its main village, Foel, is located roughly 17 miles west of the market town of Welshpool. Foel sits on the A458 one of the major trunk routes crossing mid-Wales from Welshpool toward Machynlleth. Foel sits on the A-road with more properties lining a narrow lane to its north which clings below a steep eminence holding an ancient hill-fort. Whilst Foel sits within lush pastures alongside the Afon Banwy, a convenient valley taken by the A458 to climb up to a pass, most of Garthbeibio parish consists of upland moor. Early gazetteers place over 60% of the parish acreage as "waste", a common term used to describe upland un-enclosed moorland, the home of hardy sheep and little else. A few acres of hardy grains are grown but pastoral farming is the parish life-blood, it was known at one time for the quality of its butter produced from those lush riverside pastures. At Foel the Afon Banwy is joined by the Afon Twch, the former continuing eastwards through Llanfair Caereinion meeting the Afon Eyrnwy and eventually the Severn to join it on a long journey east and then south before meeting the sea through the Bristol Channel. Garthbeibio's church is sited at around 220 metres above the sea with Foel some 30 metres lower, land, however, rises rather steeply in hilly, verging on mountainous, countryside with local high spot Moel y Llyn summiting at 443 metres whilst the border with Merioneth rises to a height of 545 metres at Tir Rhiwiog. Like most upland parishes Garthbeibio was rather extensive, its 7,200 acres would have supported a population of close to 400 parishioners, most of whom would have resided in Foel. Like most of Wales Garthbeibio is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Tydecho's church sits arounf a half mile west of Foel accessed by a narrow dead-end lane that leads to the church and a couple of farms before petering out as the main hiking access upwards to Moel y Llyn. The church stands in an circular "llan", usually an indication of an ancient Christian site, there is believed to have been a church here since the 6th century, Tydecho was a Breton missionary during that century. Whilst today's church is nowhere close to that date, the core of the fabric is medieval and believed to date from the 15th or early 16th century. Matters are complicated because in 1862 the church received a substantial renovation amounting to an almost complete rebuild. Evidence for the medieval lies in the Perpendicular style east window and its equivalent sanctuary window on the southern face, albeit the east window was reset during the restoration into new masonry. The restoration also saw the whole church truncated and the tall western bellcote added. The narrow lane to the church carries no sign but can be found just east of a lay-by on the northern side of the A458, it climbs steeply up the hill sunken between hedged banks, when it finally levels-out one finds the church, parking is limited and needs consideration for farm operations. Metal gates grant entry through the stone walling into a churchyard which is open & uncluttered with no obstacles for the photographer.