Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for NEWCASTLE-EMLYN, or Newcastle-in-Emlyn

NEWCASTLE-EMLYN, or Newcastle-in-Emlyn, a town in Carmarthenshire, two chapelries connected with the town, and a district, registrationally in Cardiganshire. The town stands on the river Teifi at the boundary with Carmarthenshire, and on the line of the Cardigan and Carmarthen railway, 16 miles N N W of Carmarthen; is in Kenarth parish; forms part of the borough of Ad par, and is separated only by the Teififrom the town of Ad par; is supposed to have had a Roman origin; was once called Dinas-Emlin; took thatname, and takes its present name, from a castle of Rhys ap Thomas, built on the site of a previous castle of Llewelynap Jorwerth; consists chiefly of one long well-built street; is a seat of petty sessions, and a polling-place; has a post-office‡ under Carmarthen, a good inn, two churches, and three dissenting chapels; and gives the title of Baronto the Earl of Cawdor. The railway hither from Carmarthen was opened only so far as to Llandyssil in 1864; and continued to be opened no further in the early part of 1867; but was then in progress from Llandyssil, past Newcastle-Emlyn, to Cardigan. The castle of Rhys ap Thomas passed to the Vaughans; was garrisoned by them, for Charles I., in the civil wars; belongs now to the Earl of Cawdor; stands on the eminence called the Castle Hill, engirt by a curious reduplication of the river Teifi, as by a broad natural moat; and still retains an archedgateway, about 14 feet high, flanked by octagonal towers-Reaches of the river, both above the town and below it, are beautifully picturesque. A weekly market is heldon Friday; and fairs are held on 23 March, 10 May, 22 June, 20 July, 20 Aug., 20 Sept., the second Friday after Michaelmas, and 22 Nov. Pop. of the town, in 1861, 918. Houses, 222. One of the two chapelries is of olddate, and consists of part of Kenarth parish; and theother, called Holy Trinity, was constituted in 1843, and consists of parts of Kenarth, Brongwyn, and Llandy-friog parishes. Pop. of Holy Trinity chapelry, in 1861, 2, 426. Houses, 577. Pop. of the Kenarth portion, 1, 280; of the Brongwyn portion, 339; of the Llandyfriog portion, 807. The livings are p. curacies in the diocese of St. David's. Value of the head one, £71; of that of Holy Trinity, £150. Patron of the former, the Vicar of Kenarth; of the latter, the Bishop of St. David's.

The district comprehends the sub-district of Kenarth, containing the parishes of Kenarth, Penboyr, and Llangeler, electorally in Carmarthen, the parishes of Clydey, Llanfyrnach, Penrith, and Chapel-Colman, electorally in Pembroke, and the parish of Kilrhedin, partly in Carmarthen and partly in Pembroke; the sub-district of Llandyssil, containing the parishes of Llandyssil, Bangor, Llanfair-Orllwyn, Henllan, and Llangunllo, electorally in Cardigan, and the parish of Llanfihangel-Ar-Arth, electorally in Carmarthen; and the sub-district of Penbryn, containing the parishes of Penbryn, Llan-granog, Bettws-evan, Troedyrawr, Brongwyn, Llandyfriog, and Llanfair-Tref-Helygen, all electorally in Cardigan. Acres, 113, 346. Poor-rates in 1863, £8, 429. Pop. in 1851, 20, 173; in 1861, 19,081. Houses, 4, 470. Marriages in 1863, 121; births, 515, of which 59 wereillegitimate; deaths, 384, of which 100 were at ages under 5 years, and 23 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 1, 274; births, 5, 377; deaths, 3, 576. The places of worship, in 1851, were 22 of the Church of England, with 4,042 sittings; 23 of Independents, with 6, 406 s.; 10 of Baptists, with 1, 464 s.; 13of Calvinistic Methodists, with 2, 906 s.; 3 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 561 s.; 5 of Unitarians, with 985 s.; and 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 60 attendants. The schools were 22 public day schools, with 1, 406 scholars; 14 private day schools, with 463 s.; 60 Sunday schools, with 6, 423 s.; and 2 evening schools for adults, with 51s. The workhouse is in Kenarth; and, at the census of 1861, had 14 inmates.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Cardiganshire AncC
Place names: NEWCASTLE EMLYN     |     NEWCASTLE EMLYN OR NEWCASTLE IN EMLYN     |     NEWCASTLE IN EMLYN
Place: Newcastle Emlyn

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