Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for NARBERTH

NARBERTH, a town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred, in Pembrokeshire. The town stands on a hill-slope, adjoining a small affluent of the East Cleddau river, 3¼ miles S S E of Narberth-Road r. station, and 11½ N E by N of Pembroke. A castle was built here by Sir Andrew Perrott, at the introduction of the Normans to Pembrokeshire; was an important strength, during the struggle of the Anglo-Normans with the Welsh; passed from the Perrotts to the Mortimers; was given, by Henry VIII., to Sir Rhys ap Thomas; tookpart with Charles I. in his civil war; sustained great injury from the troops of the parliament; was the residence, in 1657, of Capt. Castell, an adherent of Cromwell; wentafterwards into complete decay; and is now representedby a few ruins, of picturesque appearance, on the crown of a hill. The town is small and ill-built; is a seat ofpetty sessions and a polling-place; was made a boroughby the reform act, to unite with Haverfordwest and Fish-guard in sending a member to parliament; and has a head post-office, ‡ a good inn, a modern market house, a church, three dissenting chapels, and an endowed school with £30 a year. The church was rebuilt in the present century; and one of the dissenting chapels, for Independents, was built in 1859. A weekly market is heldon Thursday; fairs are held on 21 March, 13 May, 4 June, 5 July, 10 Aug., 26 Sept., 25 Oct., and 11 Dec.; and considerable trade is done in connexion with neighbouring quarries and coal mines. Pop. of the boroughin 1851, 1, 392; in 1861, 1, 209. Houses, 278. The parish is cut into two divisions, N and S; and it includes the hamlet of Redstone. Acres, 6,084. Real property of the N. div., £6,017. Pop. in 1851, 1, 941; in 1861, 1, 717. Houses, 398. The decrease of pop. was causedmainly by the removal of labourers employed on railway works. Real property of the S. div., £2, 644; of which £30 are in quarries. Pop. in 1851, 881; in 1861, 829. Houses, 176. The manor belongs. to Baron Rutzen. Templeton belonged to the Knights Templars. Groveis the seat of the Callens. The living is a rectory, united with the p. curacies of Robeston-Wathen and Mounton, in the diocese of St. David's. Value, £417.* Patron, the Crown. Templeton, with a church built in 1863, is a separate benefice.

The sub-district excludes the S div. of Narberth parish, but includes the parishes of Crinow, Lampeter-Velfrey, and Llandewy-Velfrey, and the hamlet of Castle-Dyrran, the last electorally in Carmarthen. Acres, inc of the S div. of Narberth, 16, 791. Pop., 3, 620. Houses, 798. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Slebech, containing the S div. of Narberth, and the parishes of Slebech, North Newton, Llawhaden, Robeston-Wathen, Mounton, Minwere, Martletwy, and Coedcan-lass; the sub-district of Begelly, containing the parishes of Begelly, St. Issells, Jeffreston, Reynoldston, Loveston, and Yerbeston; the sub-district of Llandissilio, containing the parishes of Llangolman, Llandilo, Maen-clochog, Newmoat, Llysyfrane, Clarbeston, Bletherston, Llanycefn, and the hamlet of Grondre, electorally in Pembroke, the parish of Egremont, electorally in Carmarthen, and the parish of Llandissilio, partly in Pembroke and partly in Carmarthen; the sub-district of Amroth, containing the parishes of Amroth, Crunwear, and Ludchurch, electorally in Pembroke, the parishes of Marros, Pendine, Eglwys-Cymmin, and Cyffic, and the hamlet of Henllan-Amgoed, electorally in Carmarthen, and the parish of Llangan, partly in Pembroke, and partly in Carmarthen; and the sub-district of Llanboidy, containing the parish of Monachlogddu, electorally in Pembroke, the parishes of Llanboidy and Llanglydwen, the chapelry of Eglwys-Fairachyrig, and the hamlet of Cily-maenllwyd, electorally in Carmarthen, and the parish of Llanfallteg, partly in Pembroke and partly in Carmarthen. Acres, 124, 903. Poor rates in 1863, £8, 988. Pop. in 1851, 22, 130; in 1861, 21, 344. Houses, 4, 565. Marriages in 1863, 154; births, 581, of which58 were illegitimate; deaths, 348, of which 90 were at ages under 5 years, and 22 at ages above 85. Marriagesin the ten years 1851-60, 1, 366; births, 6, 662; deaths, 4, 108. The places of worship, in 1851, were 41 of the Church of England, with 7, 204 sittings; 23 of Independents, with 6, 335 s.; 13 of Baptists, with 3, 450 s.; 6 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 967 s.; 4 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 541 s.; 2 of Primitive Methodists, with320 s.; and 1 of Unitarians, with 80 s. The schools were25 public day schools, with 1, 509 scholars; 15 privateday schools, with 447 s., and 58 Sunday schools, with4, 902 s. The workhouse is in the S div. of Narberth parish; and, at the census of 1861, had 75 inmates. The hundred contains twenty-one parishes, and parts of two others. Acres, 56, 212. Pop. in 1851, 13, 522; in 1861, 13, 276. Houses, 2, 866.


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

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, a district, and a hundred"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Narberth CP/AP       Narberth Hundred       Narberth SubD       Narberth RegD/PLU       Pembrokeshire AncC
Place: Narberth

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.