England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Henry's Moat St Brynach

The Parish

The parish of Henry's Moat lies in northern Pembrokeshire roughly 10 miles northeast of the market town of Haverfordwest. Henry's Moat sits just south of the B4239 road which runs from Haverfordwest northeast, crosses the Mynydd Preseli and terminates at the A487 (Newport to Cardigan) road. Henry's Moat is linear settlement running from Tufton on the B-road down a ridge toward Llys y Fran Reservoir. The parish has a broad range of habitats, immediately around the village is fairly fertile cultivated land which would have grown hardy cereals and root crops, north of the B-road one climbs onto the foothills of the Preselis and here the grazing would have been rather harsh and dominated by sheep. The parish contains many examples of early archaeology with Budloy Standing Stone and the Dyffryn Stone Circle prominent whilst a whole Iron Age village site is scattered across Bernard's Well Mountain including hut sites, enclosures and field systems. A small stream drains the parish into the neighbouring reservoir which feeds Afon Syfynwy, the latter turns more southeast to meet the Eastern Cleddau and emerge through the vast ria of Milford Haven into the Irish Sea. Henry's Moat is sited between 160 & 190 metres above the sea on a rising ridge-line, north of the B-road land rises onto the Mynydd Preseli culminating in the summit of Cerrig Ladron at 468 metres. Pembrokeshire parishes are often fairly extensive and Henry's Moat covered almost 3,200 acres, it would have supported a population of close to 350 parishioners. Like most of Wales Henry's Moat is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Brynach's church (the dedication is often anglicised to St Bernard as in the nearby Mountain well) is almost the final building on the eastern side of the lane headed southeast from the B4239. The church is one which received a somewhat brutal treatment at the hands of the Victorian restorers but enough remains to tell its life-story. The nave walls remain and confirm that the original church, a simple nave and chancel in all probability, was built in the 13th century & in the Early English Gothic style. The 14th century saw expansion of the church with both northern and southern transepts added, the southern transept remains to confirm the late 14th century Perpendicular date. The restoration/rebuild of 1884-5 was a complete overhaul of the church only the nave and southern transept walls survived the remainder was demolished and either removed or rebuilt. What remains is thus essentially a Victorian church consisting of nave & chancel augmented with a northern porch, a southern transept and a bellcote. Just north of the churchyard is a broad farm entrance drive which is wide enough for considerate parking without blockage. There are few trees to the east of the church to inconvenience the photographer but most angles are readily available.