Home   

Notable Churches in and around Llanelli

The information in this section is an edited version taken from Llanelli - Birth of a Town a CdRom by William and Benita Rees

Llanelli Parish Church

Monuments and Inscriptions     Churchyard Cross

The Parish Church in 1904

Dedicated to Saint Elli by Bishop Herwald of Llandaff around 1066 the church, which has always stood at an important crossroads, gave its name to the town that developed around it. Primarily for Welsh-speaking parishioners, many members of the Vaughans and Stepneys are buried in its family vaults.

SAINT ELLI PARISH CHURCH is the oldest church in Llanelli and is believed to have been built on or near an ancient pagan shrine. A religious cell was established during the Age of Saints in the 5th and 6th centuries and the monastery on the site was probably fortified in the 12th century. Since then the church has undergone renovations to both fabric and interior decoration.

There has been much discussion and debate about the identity of the Saint to whom the church was dedicated. A plan of Llanelli in the 19th century shows the church as being that of St Ellyw, and some are of the opinion that Saint Elli was one of the many daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog. Brychan ruled the area (where Brecon is today) during the Age of Saints.

The truth remains unknown because the only references to Saint Elli were written long after the Age of Saints. The story of Saint Elli, said to be the favourite disciple of Saint Cadoc of Llancarfan, was written by Lifris in Vita Cadoci (the Life of Saint Cadog [sic]), between 1070 and 1090 and is the main source of the legend.

When Lifris was compiling the Vita Cadoci he probably reflected the memories and traditions preserved in his own community and not those of the Age of Saints. The fact that Saint Elli is recorded in Welsh as ‘Sant’ Elli would indicate that St Cadoc’s favourite saint was male, because if the saint in question was female the name would be recorded as ‘Santes’ Elli.

The first documentary evidence that the Parish existed is contained in Liber Landavensis, which was a survey carried out about the same time as the Domesday Book in 1086. An extract from the ancient record gives the names of the priests and parishes that came under the jurisdiction of Herwald the Bishop of Llandaff.

For a brief period in the Middle Ages, the church was used as a Roman Catholic church, and the Piscina, which is now in the Sanctuary, has remained in the church since that time. The Piscina is used by the priest to clean the vessels used at the Eucharist, and like the Holy Water from the Baptismal Font, is released to the foundation of the Parish Church, and then to the ground of the churchyard. These Holy Waters are never emptied into a drain or a gully.

Around 1279, in the time of Edward I (who was also known as ‘Longshanks’), the advowson of Llanelli Parish Church, which amounted to 80 marks, was held by Patrick de Cadurciis (Patrick de Chaworth), as Lord of Kidwelly. When de Chaworth died in 1283 his infant daughter inherited his estates including the advowson. When John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster, he appropriated the tithes to the Collegiate Church of St Mary at Leicester. As part of the Duchy of Lancaster, Llanelli Parish Church passed to the Crown.

At the time of the Reformation of Henry VIII’s reign (1509-1547), the vicar was Lewis David, and many changes took place in the nature of the church services.

Henry VIII, anxious to replenish his treasury coffers, ordered his Commissioners to seize ‘all Papal adornments’ and many treasures were removed from the small Parish Church. The tithes were valued at £6 6s 8d during Henry VIII’s reign.

During the reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), the King’s Commissioners carried out an inspection and made a list of the church’s possessions, which included 6 chalices and 5 bells.

In 1574, Queen Elizabeth I presented the Parish Church with a silver chalice, known as the Elizabethan Chalice, which is used on two occasions each year: the Holy Eucharist at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, and for the Holy Eucharist on Easter Sunday.

During the Commonwealth Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell and his son Richard, there are no records and from 1668 the resident vicars do not seem to have been interested in keeping accurate church records.

There is evidence that during the incumbency of Thomas Rice, in 1683, some restoration work was carried out to the church structure. At this period it seems that the roofs and walls were much lower than at present and the church had a projecting porch with stone steps and benches. Traces of the main door, which faced Bridge Street, can still be seen. It may well be that the church was renovated as a memorial to Walter Vaughan, the only surviving son of John and Margaret Vaughan of Llanelli, who died in 1683, at 34 years of age and unmarried.

During the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), the tithes were said to be valued at £27 6s 8d a year. In 1741 the Revd James Pinaud was appointed vicar and little is known about his personal history, apart from the fact that he seems to have been frail and did not enjoy good health. However he did maintain meticulous records over the 20 years of his incumbency.

Revd Pinaud died in 1761 and from 1768 to 1788 John Wesley, the Methodist Minister, preached to the people of Llanelli on eight occasions. In 1772 he lamented the death of Sir Thomas Stepney 7th Baronet, and wrote in his diary that it was a tremendous loss to the community. On another visit in 1777 Wesley commented in his diary that he had preached in the ‘ruinous’ church.

In 1820 the Revd Ebenezer Morris was appointed vicar and left his mark on the history of the town. Described as having a commanding presence he is said to have possessed a robust habit of militancy which, was only equalled by the fervour with which he strove mightily against the forces of evil in his cure of souls. Morris undertook restoration work in 1823 and 1844 when the old south porch was removed along with an old three-tiered pulpit.

The pulpit was a very elaborate piece of church furniture. On the lower level a clerk would respond to the offices by saying the ‘Amens’ because very few of the parishioners were able to read or write. The second tier was for the use of the curate and the third was for the use of the vicar. Family pews were situated between the pulpit to half way down the nave on both sides and were only used by members of the named family. The open space between the pews and the tower was for the use of parishioners who would have to stand throughout the service. There was also a handrail on either side of the nave wall, between the pews and the tower.

During the sermon parishioners were permitted to rest their backs against the handrail - which led to the expression ‘I was so tired my back was to the wall’.

Ebenezer Morris served the Parish from 1820-1867, an incumbency of 47 years. During his time as vicar he was involved in various altercations, including a dispute with William Chambers about proposals to widen the road near the church. Morris was a man of great physical strength and was said to be ‘a fighting parson’. In 1832, when he assaulted William Chambers over their dispute, he was fined £20 and bound over for two years to keep the peace. He also had many disputes with the Nonconformists, and one occurred in 1838 when the Llanelly vestry elected John James as churchwarden.

The newly elected John James belonged to the congregation of David Rees, who had taken his first pastorate at Capel Als Independent Church in 1829. Morris, had John James prosecuted in the Ecclesiastical Court for neglecting his duties and refusing to provide the wine necessary to administer the sacrament. When the churchwarden persistently refused to pay the costs of the action he was imprisoned.

Regardless of his failings Morris was an energetic fundraiser and helped to raise money for various projects. In a letter signed in 1845 he emphasized the deplorable state of the church, and asked for subscriptions to remedy the situation. When the restored church was opened by the Lord Bishop of St David’s there was much ceremony and celebration. A tablet near the present main door, under the tower, records the event.

Within the tower, which dates back to the 12th century, there are three floors: the Bellringers’ floor; the Clock floor, and the Belfry. There are eight bells in the tower and cast into six of the bells is the name of Reverend Ebenezer Morris, together with the name of the vicar’s Warden, T Samuel. A spiral staircase of 100 steps, built during Norman times, leads to the top of Llanelli’s oldest building and to see the view is well worth the effort of the climb.

Until 1905 the Chancel had seating for farmers who were allowed to bring their dogs to sit alongside them during the service. There was a dog rail altar rail that was made to prevent farm dogs from fouling the Sanctuary. It was built with many carved rods that extended from the floor at regular intervals to the communion rail, close enough to prevent a dog entering the Sanctuary.

The church was last restored in 1907 and within are said to be 13 carved mice which are the signatures of the craftsmen who made the beautiful carvings. Although there are supposed to be 13 mice, only six have been so far identified.

Behind the High Altar is a fine reredos which includes a carving of the Last Supper signed by Harry Hemms of Exeter. The reredos and the stained glass east window were gifts to the memory of the late William and Jane Bythway, who owned the Brewery in the Tyisha area of the town.

The Lectern is carved in the form of an eagle, which stands upon a carved ball, representing the world. Due to its design, the Lectern can be turned in order that the speaker’s voice may be directed to all sections of the church.

In the north wall of the Lady Chapel there is an ambrey, which is used is to keep the Blessed Sacrament. In previous centuries it was used to keep the anointing oil, plus other valuable artefacts which were needed during services. It is tradition that a light is always kept burning above an ambrey to indicate its position as you enter a church.

The stained glass window in the south transept is a memorial to Sir Emile Algernon Arthur Keppel Cowell Stepney. The hatchment bearing the coat of arms of Queen Victoria is above the tower arch. In total the church has seven pieces of mediaeval stained glass.

On the outside of the church above the roof, and near the position of the chancel arch, is a bell-cote which is usually associated with pre-Reformation churches. This is really a relic of a larger structure which, from old illustrations, appears to be a secondary tower with a spire of approximately the same height as the main tower.

There are very few churches in existence with a similar tower and a spire, which gives the church a most unusual appearance. Much of this feature was taken down and modified at the beginning of the 19th century, when the whole structure was found to be unsafe.

The church registers, which start in 1683, have been carefully preserved and give details of the people of Llanelli. They are an insight into the lives of the people who formed and lived in the town. Some members of the Stepney family are buried in the church vaults and the memorials both inside and outside the church give the social history of the town that developed around the ancient Llan dedicated to Saint Elli.

In 1879 with the consent of the Bishop of the Diocese, and the Vicar of the parish, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed two new districts out of Llanelli Parish, and constituted them as separate parishes for ecclesiastical purposes. One district of Felinfoel was given Holy Trinity as its Parish Church and Dafen was given St Michael and All Angels as its Parish Church. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were expected to endow each of the Churches with £200 each year if it could be shown that each district contained a population of not less than 4,000. This meant that the original parish, which had extended from Loughor Bridge to Cwmbach, and from Machynys to Pontyberem was divided into four parishes:

1. Llanelli – Parish Church – St Elli

2. St Paul’s – Parish Church – St Paul’s

3. Felinfoel – Parish Church – Holy Trinity

4. Dafen – Parish Church – St Michael’s & All Angels

The Cross in the Churchyard

The large stone and the steps below it, which hold the Cross, are thought to be ancient and the original crucifix, or Calvary cross, was probably torn down during the time of the Reformation. The Bath-stone Cross is a replacement for the original and dates back to the restoration of 1845, when the whole Churchyard Cross was moved. The Cross was said to be the centre of the Parish of Llanelli and John Wesley, the Methodist Minister who visited Llanelli on eight occasions between 1766 and 1788, gave one of his sermons from this Cross around 1770.

The Lychgate was erected by Arthur D. Davies to commemorate the rebuilding of the Parish Church and a stone tablet set in the wall has the following inscription: “This Holy Gate was erected to commemorate the rebuilding of the Parish Church by Arthur D. Davies 1911”

Note Arthur D. Davies was the local Registrar of Births, Deaths & Marriages and according to Chalinder’s Directory published in 1872 his offices were in West End.

When Alwyn Bowen Hurren was a warden he scraped the dirt off an oak beam and found an inscription on a red background which read: ‘Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden for I will give thee rest.’

On the opposite side is another inscription that reads: “O teach us in number our days that we avow our hearts unto wisdom”

The stone slabs inside the lychgate on either side were for the pall bearers in the days when they carried the coffin to the church. The stone slabs were seats for the bearers to rest on before they continued their journey with the coffin into the church. The bearers sat on the two stone slabs with the coffin resting between them.

There were also carvings of 4 angels, one in each corner of the roof structure and one was stolen. Mr Hurren managed to retrieve it, built a stand, and now the angel carving sits on the stand in the Lady Chapel.

Monuments

among the prominent people of Llanelli buried in the Parish Churchyard are:

Henry Child senior;

Revd James Buckley Wesleyan Minister;

Charles Nevill senior;

Henry Eaton second husband of Margaret Griffith (née Bowen, daughter of Thomas Bowen).

Captain John Britten of the Maria of Llanelly lost in a storm off Lundy Island September 21 1823 (?)

Jemima & Dorothy Vaughan

Theophilus Davies, Jeremiah Davies & Ebenezer Morris, all Vicars of Llanelli

Other graves include those of the Raby; Rees (Cilymaenllwyd); Yalden; Roderick; Broom; Maurice and Griffiths families.

An inscription on the monument to Jemima and Dorothy Vaughan in the churchyard reads:

Here lies the Body of

Jemima Vavghan

Eldest Daughter of John Vavghan of Kanelly Esq

and wife of Richard Vavghan of Terracoed

in the County of Carmarthen Esq

who Departed this Life

the 7th Day of March in the Forty . . . year of her age

Anno Dom 1687/8

Here Also is interr’d Dorothy

3d Daughter of the above named Richard Vaughan Esq

by the said Jemima & Wife to John Allen of Lanelly Esqr

who Died ye 7th of July 1728

Aged 50.

The Memory of ye Just is Blessed Pro x 7

Note the spelling of Llanelli and Torycoed. Jemima was of Carreg Lwyd.

Information supplied by Alwyn Bowen Hurren,

one time warden of Llanelli Parish Church