Eglwyswrw
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Eglwyswrw () is a village,
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
and
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
in the former
Cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...
of Cemais,
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...
, Wales. The village lies between
Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...
and Cardigan at the junction of the
A487 road The A487, officially the Fishguard to Bangor Trunk Road, is a trunk road in Wales that follows the coast from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in the south, to Bangor, Gwynedd, in the north. Route The road starts at a junction with the A40 in H ...
and the B4332 at an altitude of . The village is in the heart of the
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
-speaking area of Pembrokeshire; its history goes back at least to Norman times and there are 19
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s in the community.


History

There is much of archaeological interest in and around Eglwyswrw community, and the village is recorded from
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
times; on the west side of the village is a small Norman
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
, designated ''Castell Eglwyswrw'' by Coflein. The sacred nature of the site where the church now stands (see also Worship, below) may date back to before the 8th century, but there was a later Norman church, the earliest record of which is in 1291. A 1578 map in the British Library shows Eglwyswrw parish as ''Eglosserrow'', possibly an English phonetic rendering of the name. The village hosted several important fairs, including Meigan Fair (''Ffair Feigan'') at least as early as 1794. A report in 1915 listed animal prices and noted a decline in horse prices. In the mid-19th century, the parish of Eglwyswrw covered . In 1895, following the death of local landowner W. Mathias, property and land covering nearly the whole of the village was auctioned in 16 lots for a total sum of nearly £7,000; some of the property, which included two pubs, the ''Butchers Arms'' and ''The Plough'', was bought by tenants. Villager Stephen Lewis celebrated his 102nd birthday in 1923. He had been a local schoolmaster at the age of 13, but spent most of his life as a farm worker. He died aged 103, reportedly never having seen a doctor. Eglwyswrw
War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
lists the names of 24 servicemen of the parish who lost their lives in World War 1, and one in World War 2. In 2014 a new War Memorial was erected in the churchyard. The ''Serjeants Inn'', now a private residence, was a Grade II- listed public house dating back to the 17th or 18th century, so named because the Cemais Assizes were held there. It closed in the 1990s. To the rear of the inn is a former meeting house which served as a chapel and a school in the 19th century. The coach house on the west side of the inn is also Grade II-listed, as is the Armoury, or former stables. The ''Butcher's Arms'', the village's other pub, featured in a 2004 Canadian Visa campaign highlighting difficult-to-pronounce placenames around the world. There was irony in the fact that the pub did not accept Visa cards. The Butcher"s Arms closed in 2016. The village shop and Post Office closed in 2009. In January 2016 Eglwyswrw was reported to be one of the wettest villages in Britain, having suffered freak rainfall on 85 consecutive days in 2015, five days short of the British record. In 2022, Eglwyswrw became the first place in the UK to have an off-grid mobile phone mast.


Significant sites

The 2008
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural and historic environment of Wales. ...
listed 85 sites of importance within the community of Eglwyswrw. There are 19
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s in the community.


Demographics

The population has remained fairly constant in the mid-hundreds since the beginning of the 19th century (
OPCS The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) was created in May 1970 through the merger of the General Register Office and the Government Social Survey Department. It was a forerunner and constituent, with the UK Central Statistical Off ...
):


Administration

Eglwyswrw has its own elected
community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
and is part of the
Cilgerran Cilgerran (previously Kilgerran or Cil-Garon) is both a village, a parish, and also a community, situated on the south bank of the River Teifi in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formerly an incorporated market town. Among Cilgerran's attractions ...
electoral ward for the purposes of elections to
Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council () is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. History There have been two bodies called Pembrokeshire County Council. The first existed from 1889 until 1974, and th ...
. The
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
of Eglwyswrw includes the parish of Meline, the north part of
Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn is a hamlet and small parish in the community of Eglwyswrw, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a rural parish with few dwellings and was in the ancient Hundred of Cemais. Name An English translation of Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn woul ...
and the south-eastern part of
Nevern Nevern () is both a parish and a Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Pembrokeshire, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the River Neve ...
, including
Brynberian Brynberian is a small village in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the foothills of the Preseli Hills, Preseli Mountains in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It is in the Community (Wales), community of Eglwyswrw and the parish of Nevern, and ...
.
Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a Community (Wales), community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Hills, Preseli Mount ...
ward was 60% Welsh-speaking in 2011, a small decrease from 63% in 2001.


Amenities

As well as self-catering accommodation and retail premises, Eglwyswrw features a parish church, Norman remains, a community school and nearby attractions.


Worship

The
Welsh placename The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of ...
of the village means "church of St Eirw", and there once existed a
chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a set of Christian liturgical celebrations for the dead (made up of the Requiem Mass and the Office of the Dead), or # a chantry chapel, a b ...
attached to the churchyard, in which this minor female saint was allegedly interred. A mediaeval church of unknown date succeeded the Norman church, and it was noted in 1504 that the chancel was ''"ruinous, and the windows not glazed"'', with the blame falling on the Vicar, Dom. Phillip Lloyd. Similar accusations were made in 1684. In 1708 the church (then called ''Eglwys Yrrow'') was reported as in good repair. The present parish church of Saint Cristiolus is situated in the centre of the village and dates from before 1829 when it was restored. The vicar in 1855 was the Reverend Thomas Evans, replacing the Reverend D. Prothero who had died. The church was restored again in 1883 by local contractor Evan Evans, an event reported in depth by the ''Western Mail'', which suggested that a church had existed in Eglwyswrw since 1150. The vicar in 1888 was the Reverend T. M. Jones, who was summonsed for non-payment of poor rates due on tithes, but as a result of legal arguments the case was dismissed. Elim Baptist Mission Room opened in 1839 and closed about 1937.


Education

''Ysgol Gymunedol Eglwyswrw'' is a Welsh-medium primary school situated in the village. As of 2022, there were 92 pupils on roll at the school. 76.5 per cent of the school's pupils are from Welsh-speaking homes.


Attractions

Dyfed Shire Horse Farm is half a mile to the south-west of the village on the A487 at its junction with the B4329 scenic route to
Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...
over the
Preseli Mountains The Preseli Mountains (, ; or ), also known as the Preseli Hills, or just the Preselis, are a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and entirely within the county of Pembrokeshire. The range ...
. The farm has provided horses for military parades, and H.M. The Queen named a foal in 2020 in recognition of the foal's uncle serving in the Household Cavalry, and the foal being born on the Queen's birthday. One of the Household Cavalry's horses took part in Queen Elizabeth II's funeral procession in 2022 and also the coronation of
King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
in 2023. A little further on the A487 is
Castell Henllys Castell Henllys ( Welsh, "castle of the old court") is an archaeological site near Nevern in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Iron Age hillfort has been the subject of an ongoing excavation since the start of the 21st century, accompanied by an ...
, a reconstructed Iron Age Fort.


References


External links


Photos of Eglwyswrw and surrounding areas on geograph.org.ukEglwyswrw & District Heritage Society

British History Online: Edern-Eidda
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire