Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire Archives  

Prendergast,
Haverfordwest,
SA61 2PE
E-mail: record.office[at]pembrokeshire.gov[dot]uk

It also has its own online catalogue called Calm View on the Pembrokeshire gov uk site

Material at Pembrokeshire Archives is  included  in databases on the Archives and Records Council Wales site

The National Library of Wales. The major repository of information relevant to Welsh genealogy, such as Bishop's Transcripts of Parish Registers, Marriage Bonds and Allegations, Nonconformist Records, Probate Records, Tithe Maps and Apportionment Schedules, Legal and Administrative Records, Estate Records and Personal Papers, Pedigree Books, Newspapers, etc.

The National Archives has details of many archive repositories in the UK with links to their web sites, if any.

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

• Pembrokeshire Museums Service Papers  1639-1957    "Papers collected by Pembrokeshire Museums Service, 1639-1957, including telegraph almanacks, 1900-1957; Brigstockes' Yearbook, 1904-1907; papers relating to William Samuel Lloyd, 1757-[ c.1880]; deeds relating to Hendre Uchaf and Isaf, Llandeloy, 1762-1789; deeds relating to Fishguard, 1804-1812; papers relating to the Rev. William Morris Lewis, 1880-[ c. 1905]; papers relating to William Morris, mariner, of Fishguard, 1832-1839; and miscellaneous papers, 1639-1956."

The Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW)
Apart from their online Archive Catalogue there is the ;
Chapels database; The computerised database will eventually list all known nonconformist chapels in Wales. This initial list covers the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire; further counties will be added as and when the database for these areas is completed. The record lists basic information about each chapel together with key dates.

A Pembrokeshire Bibliography - Books of General Interest for Family Historians

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

• Record Office Business Survey Documents   "In 1977-1978, Carmarthenshire Record Office carried out a survey of businesses in Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire, producing synopses of their history and survey lists of their records."  
• Business Records, Pembrokeshire  1736-1989      "Pembrokeshire Record Office has collected the records of numerous businesses in Pembrokeshire...................."

Burial Record Search facility

Graveyard Welsh - a guide to interpreting memorial inscriptions

M.I. Surveys of a number of burial grounds are available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS.

1861 census for Pembrokeshire  :  Missing sections - details compiled by Gerry Lewis from the Archives CD Books Cd.

The UK BMD web site provides 2556 links to websites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses. A wide range of other indexes and transcriptions are also available for most counties, these may include parish records, wills, monumental inscriptions etc

Pembrokeshire Census Lookups  including the 1841 and 1851 series [Dyfed FHS]; the 1881[LDS]  and a private database of the 1891 census covering north west Pembrokeshire.

The 1881 census index is online on LDS Family Search

On Dyfed Family History Society is a list of 1841 and 1851  Pembrokeshire E.D. census indexes where they have fiche for sale.

For a list of what each Enumeration District contains see Not everyone knows this..

Carry out initial searches on all censuses 1841-1911  on  LDS Family Search  - using basic data supplied by Find My Past (subscription site) and all follow up searches are directed there

Church Plans Online - the Lambeth Palace Library holds a database of the Incorporated Church Building Society's images of the plans of various churches (use the onsite search facility)

Welsh Chapels & Churches

The Presbyterian Church of Wales site has a pdf file showing lists of CM chapels still open (with addresses) in each county (under Documents/General Info/Churches and Secretaries). This data has been noted on each chapel entry within these parish pages so it is implied that a chapel is closed if not said to be open in 2006

1891 census data - a list by Gerry Lewis giving the name of the Pembrokeshire parish, name of the church, population in 1891 and status of incumbent

Various church a chapel photographs can be viewed on Dyfed FHS who have also produced a CD (Nov 2001) which has a list of and photographs of all the known churches and chapels in the county.

Parishes of Dyfed. This section of the Dyfed FHS site lists the parishes, churches, and chapels, within the three counties of Dyfed. It contains all those currently identified, by the National Library of Wales, where the location of registers is known. Each entry gives the OS National Grid Reference and name of the church or chapel, if known, (religious denomination), parish, county code and (page name).

A large number - well over 50% by the mid-nineteenth century - of people in Pembrokeshire attended Nonconformist chapels, rather than the established church. Thus, except for marriages which prior to 1837 had to take place in the parish church, references to them are more likely to be found in nonconformist than in parish church records. Many of these have been deposited at the PRO (and filmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), others are still to be found with the chapels or other libraries or archives.

Virtually all completed parish registers have been deposited in either the Pembrokeshire Record Office or the National Library of Wales. Bishop's Transcripts and Marriage Licenses are held at the National Library of Wales - and have been microfilmed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

National Library of Wales   An online searchable index of Marriage Bonds and Allegations. It contains details of some 90,000 marriages by licence which took place in Wales between 1616 and 1837. In early 2016 the NLW made changes in its online catalogue and now the only apparent method of finding these bonds is to search the main catalogue

England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index Marriages 1754 - 1837 on Tinstaafl Transcripts  - Work in progress

Many Parish register indexes, and indexes of baptisms, marriages and burials are available on microfiche from Dyfed FHS, where there is a list of all PEM hundreds and a list of places showing which parish and hundred they fall under. 

The Dyfed FHS has indexed all marriages for the period 1812-1837, and provides a postal lookup service. Published copies of the index, in sets of parishes grouped by hundreds, are available.

Family Search UK/Ireland - Historical Record Collections 
IGI Batch Numbers - Hugh Wallis's site  and Archer Software's site  

Parish Register Copies for Pembrokeshire in the Library of the Society of Genealogists.

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

• Church Parish Registers, Pembrokeshire  1602-2002  
• Pembrokeshire nonconformist chapels, records  1660-2001

The UK BMD web site provides 2556 links to websites that offer on-line transcriptions of UK births, marriages, deaths and censuses. A wide range of other indexes and transcriptions are also available for most counties, these may include parish records, wills, monumental inscriptions etc

Detailed listing, by Brett Langston, of the places covered by the old and current Pembrokeshire Registration districts.

See separate page for details of how to obtain certificates from the Pembrokeshire Registry Office in Haverfordwest

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

• Magistrates' Courts and Petty Sessions, records, Pembrokeshire  1884-1996  
• Coroners records for Pembrokeshire  1886-2001  
• Pembroke Quarter Session, records  1662-1973

Held at Pembrokeshire Archives ;

• Pembrokeshire Quarter Sessions, County Council and other county records, C18th-C20th.

Dyfed FHS has an online database of towns in Dyfed, includes trade directory descriptions and photographs

A Vision of Britain Through Time. "This site contains information about your home area from the 2001 census -- and from every earlier British census back to 1801. It can present this information both as maps of the whole country and as graphs showing change over time in your area. It truly offers a Vision of Britain through time"

Principal Markets and Fairs in South Wales. Extracted from Kelly's Directory South Wales 1910

Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales to 1516. The Gazetteer compiled by Dr Samantha Letters is a catalogue of markets and fairs in medieval England and Wales. This is the first comprehensive national survey.

Celtic Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

A Description of the county of Pembrokeshire from A Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833) by Samuel Lewis.

Pembrokeshire County Council site

Pembrokeshire - on wikipedia

Pigot & Co. South Wales directory for 1830. CD published by Archive CD Books.

The Pembrokeshire related entries as follows have been extracted and can be seen on the relevant parish pages of Genuki;

• Fishguard
• Haverfordwest
• Kilgerran
• Milford Haven
• Narberth
• Newport
• Pembroke, Pembroke Dock (or Pater) and Neighbourhoods
• St David's and Solva
• St Dogmells
• Tenby

Pigot & Co. South Wales directory for 1844. CD published by Archive CD Bookss.

The Pembrokeshire related entries as follows have been extracted and can be seen on the relevant parish pages of Genuki;

• Fishguard
• Haverfordwest and Neighbourhood
• Kilgerran
• Milford Haven and Neighbourhood
• Narberth and Neighbourhood
• Newport
• Pembroke, Pembroke Dock (or Pater) and Neighbourhoods
• St David's and Solva
• Tenby

Dyfed FHS has an online database of Pigot's 1830 Directory South Wales relating to the Dyfed counties only.

Held at Ceredigion Archives;

• Slater's Trade Directory 1858-9 for Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, North and South Wales. And some other directories for the period 1830 - 1926.

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

Tallis's Topographical Dictionary of England and Wales, published in 1860 in six vols, editor E. L. Blanchard.  See Welsh Family History Archive for all the excellent county maps (showing the hundreds) and those sections of the alphabetical gazetteer that have been uploaded to date.
From the preface;
"In the following pages will be found fully described the past history and present aspect of every place of any significance in England and Wales, forming a work of permanent importance to the commercial world, of ready service to the tourist of the day, and of constant interest to the general reader, who may derive from this source a large supply of entertainment, as well as of information for the amusement and instruction of a leisure hour."

Carmarthenshire & Pembrokeshire Wills - a selection of will transcriptions

Pembrokeshire Record Office's Searchable Online Catalogue   "The catalogue contains descriptions of the archival holdings of Pembrokeshire Record Office, often down to item level description"

Pembrokeshire Families Project

Timeline of genealogically interesting dates by Gareth Hicks

John Ball's Welsh Family History Archive provides some very useful material and links for those with Welsh ancestry.

Here are details of the Genealogy Mailing Lists serving the Welsh counties

For Pembrokeshire historical snippets, see Not everyone knows this..

Taxes from Pembrokeshire. A database of Land Tax Return data 1342 -1842, compiled by Owen Vaughan; the entries predominately relate to Oriel surnames and/or Monkton parish

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

• Pembrokeshire Enclosure Awards, records    1786-1912     "Records relating to the Pembrokeshire Enclosure Awards, Pembrokeshire, including Narberth Forest, Templeton Mountain, Molleston Mountain and Robeston Grove Award, 1786; Castle Martin Corse Award, 1788; Llanfyrnach Award, 1812; Marloes Award, 1814; Maenclochog, Llandeilo and Llangolman Award, 1820; Manorwen Award and map, 1833; Portfield Award and map, 1840; Portfield Award and map copy, 1961; minutes and papers relating to Llanteague Award, 1856-1860; Llanteague Award, 1868; Letterston Award, 1864; correspondence and papers regarding Letterston, [ c. 1856]; St Davids Award, 1869; Haverfordwest Award, 1840; Llandeilo Award, 1820; and Llanwnda Award, 1912"

Pembrokeshire Archives holdings

• Duplicates of Land Tax Assessments  with good coverage for the period 1786-1831
• Tithe Maps and Apportionments, c 1840, some held.
• Hearth Tax Returns for 1670.
  • An Index to Pembrokeshire Hearths in 1670 is available for purchase on microfiche from Dyfed FHS

Farms and Estates ; owners and occupiers from census and other records. These details have been submitted by members of Dyfed FHS and can be viewed on their site.

Here is a list of Document Collections related to Pembrokeshire held at the National Library of Wales

• Awbery, G M.       The term 'landsker' in Pembrokeshire            Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society     vol 4 1990/91   Welsh Journals Online
• John, Brian S          The linguistic significance of the Pembrokeshire landsker          The Pembrokeshire Historian  vol 4 1972      Welsh Journals Online
• Southall,  John E.   Wales and her Language.   1892      Here is that part of the map from the book illustrating the 'landsker'

Here is a simple index relating to parish maps copied from 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.).

See here to view a 'sketch map' indicating the position and relative size of each parish within its hundred

Dyfed FHS has an early 20th century OS map of Dyfed

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

• Pembrokeshire Acts and Ordnance Survey maps "Copy of Act of Enclosure, Portfield Common, Haverfordwest, 1838; and Ordnance Survey maps of Pembrokeshire, 6" to 1 mile and 25" to 1 mile, [20th century]."

Map of Pembrokeshire in 1821.

Welsh county maps on UK Genealogy Archives

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

• Hospital records for Pembrokeshire     "Prior to the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, there was a complex pattern of hospital provision in Pembrokeshire, supported by government and charitable funding, including isolation hospitals for the quarantining of saliors and tuberculosis hospitals.............................."  
• Records of Pembrokeshire County Nursing Association  1911-1952

Lighthouse Personnel in England and Wales and the Channel Islands 1841-1910. Includes;- Table of  Keepers; Table of Stations by county; Location map of the lighthouse sites.

Welsh Mariners  by Dr Reg Davies---includes a searchable database of over 17,000 Welsh born (or Wales resident) Master mariners, mates and engineers who held certificates of competency or service; in practice it is an index of men active from 1850 to 1945 in the merchant navy.

Swansea Mariners by Bryan Richards --- periods 1861 to 1871 and 1890 to 1894, a database of ratings such as un-certificated officers, bosun, able seaman, ordinary seaman, boy, cook, steward, etc in Glamorgan Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, or from around the world. There are 32,000 detailed entries (9/2006).

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

• Shipping registers for Cardigan and Pembrokeshire  1824-1992    "The Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen was established by the Merchant Shipping Act 1872, when the Registrar General of Seamen took over responsibility for returns relating to the registration of ships from the Board of Customs' Chief Registrar of Shipping. In Pembrokeshire, the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen recorded merchant ships registered at the port of Cardigan and at the port of Milford Haven......"

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

• Pembroke Yeomanry, papers  [ c. 1800]-1987   "The Pembroke Yeomanry was originally a volunteer cavalry force created in Pembrokeshire in 1794 as part of the Government's strategy for bolstering Britain's internal defences against France. ...................................."   
• Pembrokeshire Territorial Association Records  1888-1967     "The Pembrokeshire Territorial Army Association was active from the mid-19th century. The Pembrokeshire Rifle Volunteers and other Corps were grouped in 1861 as 1st Administrative Battalion, Pembrokeshire Rifle Volunteers; in 1880, it became 1st Pembrokeshire (Pembroke, Carmarthen, Cardigan and Haverfordwest) Rifle Volunteer Corps, divided into ten companies. In 1908, the battalion became 4th Battalion of the Welsh Regiment (later Welch Regiment). It was disbanded in 1967"

Here is a simple index relating to parish maps copied from 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.).

Place Names of Dyfed, provided by the Dyfed FHS, lists the parishes (plus a small number of other places) in Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, giving for each the name of its hundred, an OS map reference, and the civil registration district.

Place names in Pembrokeshire that have alternative spellings , or have changed completely

Here is a listing of Pembrokeshire place names with their associated Genuki parish pages.

Here is a database with grid co-ordinates of 10,000 place names from the 1891/1901 censuses for certain parishes in PEM,CMN & GLA(Gower)

Dyfed newspapers. On Dyfed FHS  there is a list of the locations that hold copies of known publications

Western Telegraph, a local newspaper covering all of Pembrokeshire

County Echo, covering the north of the county, primarily Fishguard

1756 War Office Billeting Return - transcribed by Jon Mein from material held at TNA (WO 30/49), the transcription covers Tenby, Haverfordwest, Landilo and Carmarthen districts  - the Return  lists all "pubs" (inns, ale-houses etc) able to accommodate men and horses.

The Coal House Project - on BBC Wales. Use the Browse by Place button to home in on particular mines/areas

Extract of coroners' inquests in coalmining area of eastern Pembrokeshire, 1786-1830 by Jon Mein Also Reported deaths from coalmining accidents in eastern Pembrokeshire: 1830-1936 by Jon Mein

Victorian Professional Photographers in Wales 1850-1925 - a county based database compiled by Mari Alderman, includes sources and a bibliography

Lists of magistrates and police officials in the county of Pembrokeshire  - extracted from Kelly's Directory of South Wales 1923 (published on CD by Archive CD Books)

Here is the Wales section from Outline Map of the Mining Districts of the UK from the Childrens' Employment Commission Report of 1842. The shaded areas denote the Coal and Iron Mining Districts.
Copied from the CD published by Archive CD Books

Apprentices from Dyfed in Bristol in the C17 & C18. Fiche for sale from Dyfed FHS.

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

• Pembrokeshire Young Farmers' Clubs, records  1953-1981

Held at the NLW ;

• The records of the Herbert family of Powis Castle, Pembrokeshire includes records of lead and silver mining in Cardiganshire, C18-C19.

Dyfed FHS produce a journal for members  three times yearly which contains many articles of general and specific interest to researchers in Pembrokeshire etc. Details of past issues are listed on Dyfed FHS

See under Societies

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

• Pembrokeshire Conservative and Union Association, records  1928-1978

There were five Poor Law Unions covering Pembrokeshire: Cardigan (also covering part of Cardiganshire), Haverfordwest, Newcastle in Emlyn (also covering parts of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire), Narberth (also covering part of Carmarthenshire), and Pembroke. The records for the Poor Law Unions of Haverfordwest, Narberth and Pembroke are in the Pembrokeshire Record Office, the others are in the Cardiganshire Record Office.

Held at Pembrokeshire Archives ;

• Dissertation on the implementation of the 1834 Poor law Act in Pembrokeshire

The Workhouse  - on Peter Higginbotham's site

Agricultural Statistics in 1908 for the counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Glamorgan as shown in Kelly's Directory for South Wales, 1910

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

• Community Councils, Pembrokeshire, records   1867-2001  
• Pembrokeshire Community Council and Dyfed Rural Council, records  1938-1983  
• Pembrokeshire County Council, records  1857-2004

Held at the NLW ;

• National Savings [ Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire]. Records of Local Savings Committees, 1931-73

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

• Primary school records, Pembrokeshire 1782-2005  
• Pembrokeshire School Management Committees papers and school plans  1808-1978  
• Secondary School Records; Sample Selection of Textbooks used in Pembrokeshire Schools and Pembrokeshire Technical College Records  1848-2002  
• Pembrokeshire County Council, Education Department, records  1833-1974 (accumulated 1902-1974)

The Blue Books of 1847.   An inquiry into the state of education in Wales - on the NLW's Digital Mirror site

Day Schools in Pembrokeshire in 1847. This database consists of day schools which existed in 1847 included here within an alphabetical list of parishes 
It contains the names and types of day schools listed in the Reports of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of Education in Wales published in 1847

Dyfed FHS has an online database of Schools and Colleges in the Dyfed counties, many with photographs

Alumni Oxonienses 1715 - 1886. This extract of Dyfed students from a reproduction on CD of the four volumes of Alumni Oxonienses 1715-1886 published by the Archive CD Books Project. Extracted and transcribed for the Dyfed FHS by Jonathan Pike. All references to the Dyfed students have been included plus individuals who are known to be connected to Dyfed familes.

Held at Pembrokeshire Archives ;

• Pembrokeshire Technical College, Governing Body minutes and other papers 1974-1991

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

• Pembrokeshire Women's Institutes, records 1920-2004  
• Pembrokeshire Automobiles Club, records  1906-1922

Dyfed FHS covers the old counties of Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire. It has several branches, including one in London. It publishes a regular journal for members.

The Pembrokeshire Historical Society "The Pembrokeshire Historical Society was formed in 1985 following the amalgamation in 1983 of the Pembrokeshire Record Society and the Pembrokeshire Local History Society. The Society exists to promote an interest in the history of Pembrokeshire and to bring together both individuals and related organisations sharing this interest."
The Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society was the successor to The Pembrokeshire Historian, and is an annual English-language local history journal with academic and general articles on historical and archaeological topics. It was published from 1985 and is on Welsh Journals Online. As is the Pembrokeshire Historian 1959-1981