"Kookaburra"
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At the time of the 1831 Census the population of Llanelly was 4,041. So, to find out what it is like today, I chose at random a company listed in the on line telephone directory of Brecon/Llanelly. I wrote a letter asking that question. A copy of the reply follows. Note who signed the reply.
"The Llanelly that you refer to is a tiny place with just the church and a couple of old houses - and that's it. It is named on the map which gives the impression that there is a community there. This is misleading as there really is no such place as Llanelly now, just the church. So it's not surprising that you were having difficulty finding out about it.
Having said that, it is a beautiful and historic church set in a picturesque location. I'm sure that plenty has been written about it in local historical works. I did a quick search on "Llanelly Church" on Google.com and it seemed to throw up a few things about the church. You have to distinguish the responses from those referring to other places also called Llanelly. Especially Llanelly in West Wales which is quite a big place. I hope that this has been some help and good luck".
Regards
Steve Morgan.
Then on the 25th July 2002 our guestbook was signed by Lee Bowen of Llanelli in Western Wales (Carmarthenshire) Thankfully, Lee found our site of interest and he went to the trouble to go take a look at Llanelly, Powys, which is located some 100 miles away. His findings were very interesting and he has sent photos of Llanelly. A copy of his letter and some of the photos he sent are displayed below. Thank you Lee, we are very grateful.
"HI Kieran,
Gilwern seems a friendly little village and made us feel quite croeso. There is
a busy little canal going through Gilwern carrying tourists along it every
twenty minutes or so. We wondered if Llanelly might have been bigger years
ago
being adopted into Gilwern later. There are literally less than ten houses
standing around the church which itself is less than a mile from Gilwern centre.
References on grave stones to "Llanelly hill" seem to give better results when
searching the internet, giving results specifically on Llanelly Monmouthshire.
Cheers and Croeso
Lee"
Click on the photos for a full view
What a pleasant surprise I received on the morning of 25 October 2002 when I checked my email in-box in the morning. Here is a copy of a letter I received from one Howell Davies from right there in Llanelly. Here is what Howell had to say:
"Hi there Kieran,
My name is Howell Davies and I just chanced upon your 'Williams Story' on
the 'net' while looking for something else. The amazing thing is that I live in
Gilwern and first attended Llanelly Church as a 14 year old boy in 1939. A
lifetime later I am still a member.
The purpose of this Email is to establish initial contact with you. Once I
receive a reply from you I'm sure I have much useful information that I can
forward to you about Llanelly Church and this area and possibly your
ancestors.
Awaiting your reply.
Regards,
Howell.
Howell followed up on this email with detailed information which has changed my perception of Llanelly altogether. Here is what Howell has to say on 27 October 2002
Let me give you information that will, I am sure, help you to
understand something of the layout etc. of this lovely part of Wales where
your ancestor John Williams originated. (To help you I am putting in
brackets the phonetic pronunciation of some of our Welsh place names).
Here we go:-
England and Wales are divided up into COUNTIES. For example: the county of
Monmouthshire, Breconshire, Powys etc. Each county is divided up into PARISHES.
Each parish has a Parish Church and a priest, known either as a Rector or Vicar.
(Our present Rector is a woman, The Rev. Annette Francis).
Here in the village of Gilwern we are located in the 'PARISH OF LLANELLY'
(Lanethlee). It is a very large parish and also includes the villages of
Clydach (Kliduck), almost 2-miles from the parish church and Blackrock, and
Llanelly Hill which are even further away from the parish church.
Our parish church is known as 'LLANELLY PARISH CHURCH' and is located on
high ground almost a mile from Gilwern village. It is fairly isolated and
has only 4 or 5 houses in it's immediate vicinity. This will explain why
there is no place (i.e. village or town), called Llanelly in this part of
Wales but only the above mentioned villages which are in the 'Parish of
Llanelly'.
Of course, just to confuse you, there is a large industrial town called
Llanelly some 70 miles to the west of Gilwern in the county of
Carmarthenshire but you already know this from what Lee Bowen has told you.
Llanelly Church has more than one burial ground (or graveyard). The oldest
is located immediately around the church. The 2nd oldest is just across the
road to the south. You must appreciate that because of it's high location
Llanelly Church experiences cold and windy weather especially in the winter.
Because of this many of the older grave stones have become very difficult, if
not impossible, to read. Unfortunately, and I checked this with Rev Francis
today, there are no records identifying the graves (by row and number) for
the 2 older yards referred to above.
Also, allow for the fact that in earlier times not all families could afford to pay for gravestones and many deceased lie in unmarked graves. However I will certainly see if I can locate any of the Williams family as listed in your website.
There are, of course quite a few Williams still living in the Parish and
Paul's idea of contacting our local newspaper 'The Abergavenny Chronicle' might
bring results.
Mary is calling me for supper now so I must bring this Email to a close.
However, I am going to send you, by ordinary mail, a fairly large scale map
which I am sure will give you a good appreciation of this area. I shall also
include some photographs taken by me some years ago, showing the inside and
outside of Llanelly Church.
Also a copy of a newspaper article about Llanelly
Church written by Canon D. Parry-Jones in 1963. (he was rector of this parish
from about 1932 until 1962).
Best wishes to you both and rest assured I shall do all I can to help you.
Howell Davies.
Well thank you ever so much for all that Howell. Your efforts for us are
greatly appreciated. The photos that Howells sent are shown below.
Click on the photos for a full view
Visit to the Parish of Llanelly, Gilwern, Monmouthshire, Wales UK - November 2003.
Our Hosts in Llanelly were - Howell & Mary Davies
Howell & Mary
(Click picture for full view)
The writer, Kieran Williams and his wife Claire, visited the "Land of our Fathers" during November 2003. It was a wonderful experience to see the places John Williams would himself have seen. John may not have worshiped at St Elli's in Llanelly but he would have heard its bells which have been ringing over the town for a thousand years. Howell invited me to ring the bells and hear what our ancestor would also have heard, Oh, so many years ago.
________________
Writings by Canon D.
Parry-Jones.
(Extracts)
Who was St Elli.?
Llanelly Church is dedicated to St Elli, a saint of the sixth century, that famous "age of saints." Our only source of information about him is the Life of St. Cadoc, written in the eleventh century.
St. Elli is said to have been entrusted by his mother to the care of St Cadoc, who was abbot at Llancarfan. St Cadoc took him with him to Llancarfan, supervised his studies and directed his life according to his mother's wish. When Cadoc was leaving for Benevnto, Elli was chosen to succeed him. Two churches are dedicated to St. Elli - ours and Llanelly in Carmathenshire.
It is difficult exactly to date the tower and the earlier parts of the church. However, an antiquarian friend who visited the church said that there occurred periods of building activities and that the tower was, at any rate, built when craftsmen were in the neighbourhood building castles. It may therefore have been built between 1150 and 1200, St. Elli's was built .
Visitors cannot fail to notice the magnificent circle of yew trees which surround the church, scarcely to be matched anywhere else in the British Isles. I do not doubt that they were planted at the same time the church was built. (1150 - 1200) They once numbered sixteen. Thirteen are still standing and though their trunks are hollow with age, they look sturdy enough to last many centuries yet. It is said the famous long-bowmen of Gwent came here for their bows.
Bell-ringing has always been a great attraction for our young people and one, Williams, late of Ty Isha Farm, became the Chief Ringer in the band of St Paul's Cathedral. ( There are six bells dating from 1440 - 1908.
The old Rector, in his book, gives the names of the well known ringers and shows how much their ringing was enjoyed by the people. When the ringers rang at their accustomed times, those on the common down in the vale, used to assemble in groups to listen to them. The old women may be seen carrying their three legged stools and knitting materials. They sat together in fine weather and their ears seemed never tired of hearing and listening to the sweet sound of their village bells.
A beautiful oak screen made from oak has been erected between the tower and the nave in memory of the late Mrs Walwyn Trumper of Glanwysg. Looking down the nave from the top of the tower steps, one gains the impression of its arrangement and its character. It has a simple, homely and friendly aspect, breathing an invitation to the visitor to stay and worship.
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