England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Aberedw St Cewydd

The Parish

The parish of Aberedw lies in the extreme west of Radnorshire forming a stretch of the county's border with neighbouring Breconshire, here the border is formed by the course of the River Wye. Aberedw is located roughly 5 miles southeast of the small market town & former spa of Builth and sits just across the Wye from the A470 road which links Builth with Brecon. Aberedw get its name from being the mouth (Aber) of the Afon Edw which reaches the Wye at the village. Aberedw runs up the valley of Afon Edw from the B4567 which runs parallel to the A470 but on the eastern side of the Wye. High above the Afon Edw on a bluff sits a castle which is reputed to have been a stronghold of Llewellyn, both it and the church sits above a precipitous drop into the river. Aberedw is an upland parish and whilst both the Wye and Edw's valleys would have provided richer grazing most of the parish was given over to upland grazing of hardy sheep. The local stone too was quarried extensively for building stone being hard-wearing. Today it is outdoor activity which drives much of the parish economy, hikers tackling the nearby hills, mountain bikers riding the extensive trails and kayakers and fishermen enjoying the rivers. Modern developments have come and gone from Aberedw, a branch railway line following the Wye from Builth to Talgarth has closed and largely disappeared. Aberedw is drained southeastwards by the Wye which passes back northeast from Llyswen to go through Hereford and then follow a looping retuen south to meet the outer Bristol Channel through Chepstow. Aberedw's main street sits at around 130 metres above the sea but land rises steeply eastwards reaching 451 metres on nearby Aberedw Hill whilst southeast it summits at 455 metres at Cradle Rocks on Llandeilo Hill. By the standards of this county Aberedw was a small parish covering only 1,000 acres and supporting a population of close to 350 parishioners. Like most of Wales Aberedw is not mentioned in Domesday Book which did not cover this area.

The Church

St Cewydd's chruch sits just south of the village's main street, adjacent to the Seven Stars Inn and within a traditional circular "llan", indicative of an early Christian site. The nave is the oldest fabric of the church but it is of uncertain dating, in the Perpendicular style Pevsner assigns it to either the 14th or 15th centuries. To both east and west lies more recent structures, both the chancel and the western tower belong to the Tudor period of the 16th century. The most memorable example of this period is, however, the large porch complete with an impressive oak truss for its gable. Modern times has seen many phases of repair and restoration, Pevsner documents 4 such phases, the first of 1888 repaired the porch, the second of 1895 tackled the roofs whilst further 20th century work in 1914 restored the nave windows and in 1954 more repairs were required. The wooden gates of the main entrance sits beside the inn where the main village street drops steeply into the valley of the Edw, the western end of the churchyard being way above road height in a matter of a few yards, parking is best sought outside the inn. The precipitous drop into the Edw is protected by a bank of thick tree cover which does impinge on the favoured southeastern aspect but all other angles are available for the photographer.