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Mathry

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"MATHREY (MERTHYR), a parish in the hundred of DEWISLAND, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 8 miles (S.W. by W.) from Fishguard, containing 860 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated in the north-western part of the county, is bounded on the north by St. George's channel, and is intersected by the turnpike road leading from Fishguard to St. David's. In the northern part of the parish, bordering on the coast . . . are some considerable slate quarries, affording employment to a portion of the inhabitants. The village, which is situated on the summit of a hill, was formerly a place of more importance than at present, and had a weekly market and an annual fair, granted by letters patent in the reign of Edward III. . . The church, dedicated to the Holy Martyrs, and situated in the middle of the village, is an ancient structure not distinguished by any architectural details of importance. The sum of £10 per annum is paid by Sir John Owen, Bart., towards the support of a school in this parish, for the gratuitous instruction of poor children. . ." [From A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (S. Lewis, 1833).]

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Cemeteries

MIs by Dyfed Family History Society for Mathry, Rehobeth Independent Chapel

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Census

The 1851 census for this parish has been indexed by Dyfed Family History Society.

Census Returns for this parish have the following LDS Call Numbers:

  • 1841 Census - 0464342
  • 1851 Census - 0104237
  • 1861 Census - 0543245
  • 1871 Census - 0850857
  • 1881 Census - 1342306
  • 1891 Census - 6099648
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Church History

Some church and chapel data from The Religious census of 1851 : A Calendar of the returns relating to Wales, Vol 1, South Wales. Ed. by I.G Jones, & D. Williams. UWP, Cardiff, 1976. The names are those of the informants

  • Mathry Parish Church E D Evans, Minister
  • Rehoboth Ind Erected in 1840 "Used exclusively as a place of worship. 'Except keeping a day school till School Room will be ready' " Samuel Evans, Minister

Parish entry for Mathry with St Edren's from The Welsh Church Year Book, 1929 (Cd by Archive CD Books).

  • Holy Martyrs & St Edeyrn (St Edren's)
  • Incumbent and Curates; J D Evans
  • Rural Deanery of Fishguard
  • Acreage 7,283 & 952; Population 615

Church/chapel photographs on the People's Collection Wales site

  • Church, Mathri 
  • NEBO BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL, MATHRY;MATHRI
  • REHOBOTH CONGREGATIONAL CHAPEL, REHOBOTH
  • TREFIN CHAPEL, FFORDD-YR-AFON, MATHRY (Trevine Calvinistic Methodist Chapel. Mathry)

Eglwys Mathri = Mathry Church. [Abergwaun?] : [Menter Preseli?], [1996?] 1 sheet .This project was initiated by local communities in North Pembrokeshire and co-ordinated by Menter Preseli.

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Church Records

Parish register: Christenings (1729-30, 1736-42, 1745-1992), Marriages (1729-30, 1735-41, 1745-54, 1776-1969) Banns (1778-86, 1791-1816, 1824-45, 1895-1916), Burials (1729-30, 1735-42, 1745-1940) at Pem.RO

Copy ts PR C (1729-1810, extracts to 1904) M (1729-54, extracts 1814-35) B (1729-1810, extracts to 1873) at NLW

Bishops' Transcripts, covering the period (1799-1853, 1855-62, 1864-9, 1875-6) are at the National Library of Wales, and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Call Number: 0105189.

See Bap/Mar/Bur data on FreeReg

Nonconformist Chapels:

  • Nebo Baptist chapel, Mathry SM87873190 Sunday School built 1893 Still open 1993 Coflein On Dyfed FHS
  • Rehoboth [Independents, 1840]. Records ; See Rhosycaerau and Berea On Dyfed FHS Shown as still open on the Union of Welsh Independents site (Dec 2006)
    Rees, Thomas & John Thomas. Hanes Eglwysi Annibynnol Cymru (History of the Welsh Independent Churches), 4 volumes (published 1871+). Here is the entry from this book for this chapel (in Welsh ) - with translation
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Description & Travel

Various landscape photographs of area and surrounds on the People's Collection Wales site

Cave, R. The Mathry Dyke, a quartz-dolerite intrusion of probable Carboniferous age in south west Wales Geological Magazine 126 (1989), p. 715-21

You can see pictures of Mathry which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Mathry from The National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

Transcript of complete entry in Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales of 1833.

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Genealogy

Details of extant records on Archives Network Wales for the following;

  • Harries family, of Priskilly, Heathfield and Tregwynt, papers 1722 - 1920 "John Hill Harries held an estate at Priskelly, Mathry, Pembrokeshire, in 1815. .......... "
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Maps

Parish map (Kain/Oliver)

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SM882314 (Lat/Lon: 51.940471, -5.082936), Mathry which are provided by:

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Names, Geographical

Places, villages, farms etc within Mathry parish as shown on the online parish map from the CD of Historic Parishes of England and Wales: an Electronic Map of Boundaries before 1850 with a Gazetteer and Metadata [computer file]. (Kain, R.J.P., Oliver, R.R.). (Extracted by Peter D Hall)

  • Mathry [58]; Aber-castle, Aber Yw, Bryn Cleddau, Carnachen wen, Castell-cenlas, Castell Coch, Castle Morris, Dyffryn dwarch, Garn-isaf, Gilfach, Lochturffin, Long Ho, Llambed, Llambed Hill, Llwyn-y-gorras, Mabws, Mathry, Morfa, Mynydd Morfa, Park-y-nole, Parke, Pen-Lan, Pen Morfa, Pen-y-bank, Pen-y-cnwe, Pen-y-feidr, Porth Glasdwr, Priskilly, Priskilly Forest, Pwll Strodyr, Rehoboth, Rhos lanog, Tre gidreg, Tre felyn, Tre saer, Trwyn Llwnog, Ty-newydd-grug, Western Cleddau, Y Garn, Y Graig, Ynys Daullyn
  • Detached part (unnumbered); Llannoy; Mesur y Dorth; Pen ysgwarn;