England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Reynoldston St James

The Parish

The parish of Reynoldston, nowadays usually rendered as Reynalton, is located in southeastern Pembrokeshire close to its coast with the Bristol Channel. Reynoldston is about 4 miles south of the small market centre of Narberth and sited in lanes to the west of the A478 road which links Narberth to the seaside resort of Tenby. There is not much to Reynoldston and appears to have never have been. The village is clustered around a crossroads of lanes and footpaths on a small ridge with fine views to the south and the nearby coast. Reynoldston is located at about 70 metres above sea level but land rises to a plateau to the north at about 100 metres, the streams are flowing southwards to join the Cresswell River which sweeps them westwards to the sea via the estuary complex of Milford Haven. The land use is predominantly pastoral with relatively good grass growing on rocky fields with shallow soils. It has been speculated that the village has its origins in the Norman settlement of "Little England beyond Wales" but the parish was small and almost totally enclosed by the larger parishes of Begelly and Loveston. In common with the area there is no mention of Reynoldston in Domesday Book.

The Church

St James' church is sited at the northwestern end of the village on a lane which becomes a track and then a footpath. The church is small as befits a settlement that was never large. The church is not large enough to require the formal nave & chancel structure that is expected being merely a single chamber albeit with an augmenting transept. What can be dated is stated by Pevsner as 15th century. The church site is elongated northwest to southeast so the church sits rather incongruously across the angle of the graveyard. The site is enclosed by a stone wall at nearly head height and is clearly raised above road level. Access is at the southeastern corner by a wrought iron gate and tarmac path. There are many mature trees against the road edge which make photography tricky but angles can be achieved with care and exploration.