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Welcome to Merthyr, a place of Christian witness unbroken since the days of saints and martyrs. If you visit the church itself, you'll arrive at an ancient site, walking in the footsteps of pious, Dark Age settlers and black-hooded, mediaeval monks. Faithful parishioners have been served by dedicated parish priests for the past six centuries.
Countless generations have come here to be baptised, married, and buried. The past is all around you in this quiet, out-of-the-way corner of Carmarthenshire. Listen carefully and you might hear echoes from long ago - voices of farmers, servants, gentry, paupers and a strong-willed woman who helped the Welsh nation learn to read and write. The present church of St Martin and St Enfail still serves the local community.
When you come through the gate you'll notice the churchyard wall is shaped in a circle. This is typical of a clas, an enclosed religious settlement at the time of the early Celtic Church. In a clas, monks and lay people lived together in a cluster of thatched-roofed huts, cultivating the land and grazing animals in the surrounding countryside. To this day, farming has remained the most important local occupation. An ancient earthwork platform lies undisturbed beneath the church. A stream convenient for baptisms flows along our western boundary.
Look out for the big stone in the church porch. This carved, dolerite boulder was unearthed by a Nineteenth Century grave-digger. Experts believe it’s a Romano-British monument dating from the late Fifth or early Sixth Century AD, the turbulent years after the Roman legions left Britain. The Latin inscription "Caturugi Fili Lovernaci," means "Of Caturgus Son of Lovernacus." The words translate, literally, as "One who delights in battle, the son of him who abounds in foxes." It's been suggested this might be the gravestone of a British chieftain, Cadwr ap Ednyfed ap Macsen Wledig.
The name “Merthyr” appears in big letters on road maps and satnavs, though when strangers arrive they are often puzzled to find little more than a church, farm and community hall. Making up for Merthyr’s lack of size is its antiquity as a distinctive centre of Christian witness. “Merthyr” is Welsh for “Martyr.” The name can also indicate a sanctified cemetery or a church consecrated by the bones of a saint. Merthyr Enfail, a mediaeval church on this site, was dedicated to a saint whose identity remains a mystery. St Enfail was once thought to have been one of the 24 daughters of Brychan, the legendary, Fifth Century King of Brycheiniog. It was here in Merthyr, according to one interpretation of ancient documents, that St Enfail was “slain by the pagan Saxons.”
Here, the mediaeval church became known as Merthyr Derllys and then Merthyr Mynaich (Merthyr of the Monks). “Merthyr” had become simply another word for church or llan. Derllys was a commote, an administrative district known as a Welshry - under Norman control but still subject to Welsh law and custom. Merthyr was a chapelry - a monastic outpost - in the Deanery of Carmarthen. The church belonged at one time to the Cistercians of Whitland Abbey, who received one third of Merthyr’s income. In 1313 Merthyr was given to the Augustinian Priory at Carmarthen by the Anglo-Norman Constable of Carmarthen Castle, Walter de Pederton.
In 1369 Edward, Prince of Wales – the “Black Prince” - confirmed the Priory’s ownership of Merthyr Church. In return, the monks had to promise to “celebrate divine service in our Castle of Carmarthen.” They were ordered to pray “for the safety of our souls and the souls of our ancestors.” Neighbouring churches at Abernant and Cynwyl Elfed were also chapelries of the priory. In mediaeval times Merthyr had both a market and a fair.
Farmsteads including Trebersed and Cymmau became granges, providing food for local monasteries. These farms still exist, as do others whose names suggest religious connections, like Ffynnonsaint (Well of the Saints), Berthlwyd (Holy Bush) and Merthyr Fach (Little Merthyr). The house name Cefn Merthyr and the field name Parc Merthyr have fallen into disuse. Merthyr Fach, according to tradition, once had a belfry to call in monks from the fields. The monks enjoyed direct ownership of farmland known as glebe land, surrounding the church itself.
St Envel is still remembered in Brittany as a "confessor" a term whose oldest use is to indicate
a saint who suffered persecution and torture for the faith. His original name seems
to have been Enfael. Acording to Breton tradition, he fled from Celtic Britain, founding a settlement,
Locquenvel, where he remains patron of the local church. In a Fifteenth Century stained glass
window St Envel is pictured as a hooded farm labourer, leading a wolf harnessed to a harrow. Breton farmers would pray to St Envel to seek protection from wolves. In Wales packs of wolves still roamed our forests until at least the Fourteenth Century. Carmarthenshire has references to wolves in about 30 placenames. Nant y Blaidd in nearby Cynwyl Elfed means “Stream of the Wolf.”
Some scholars have taken a different view. They’ve argued that “Enfail” is a corruption of “Tudful,” another martyred, saintly daughter of Brychan, who gave her name to Merthyr Tydfil. It’s been claimed the two names were mixed up when copies were made of a Latin manuscript called the “Vespasian Cognatio.” So who was the enigmatic St Enfail, or Enfael? The answer may be that "she” was not a woman at all.
Merthyr became the property of the Crown when King Henry the Eighth closed the monasteries in the Sixteenth Century. After the monks left, Merthyr became a parish church, a role which has continued to this day. There’ve been 34 priests between the appointment of Edward Davys in 1541 and that of Jeffrey Gainer in 1992, but only 32 are on the official list. The two missing names are those of Seventeenth Century rectors James Davies and Stephen Hughes. Both left the Church to become Nonconformist ministers.
Picture courtesy of Carmarthen Museum.
A remarkable woman, who worshipped at Merthyr in the Eighteenth Century, helped to make Wales one of the most literate countries in Europe. Bridget Bevan, née Vaughan, known as “Madam Bevan,” was born at Derllys, a farm a short distance away on the site of the administrative headquarters of the old Norman commote. She was baptised by the Rector of Merthyr, the Revd Thomas Thomas on 30th October 1698 and it was here that she married the barrister Arthur Bevan on 30th December 1721.
The wealthy Madam Bevan personally funded the 6,321 circulating charity schools created by the clergyman and educationalist Griffith Jones. The schools taught reading and writing to a total of 304,475 children and adults at a time when education was usually available to only a privileged few. Madam Bevan overcame the male prejudices of her age to become one of the most inspiring figures in the history of Welsh education. She attended Merthyr Church with her family, Griffith Jones officiating at some of the services. Records show that in 1710 seventy people received Holy Communion in Merthyr on Easter Day.
Look up at the bellcote at the top of the church. The bell was a gift from Madam Bevan's father John Vaughan of Derllys in 1709. It's still in regular use after more than 300 years. Like his famous daughter, John was a leading supporter of charity schools, as well as the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK).
The death in 1728 of another of John Vaughan’s daughters, 32 year old Arabella Williams, is remembered in a marble memorial inside the present church. The tablet, near the altar, was put up by Arabella’s devoted husband, Thomas.
After visiting Merthyr in 1710, Archdeacon Tenison wrote, “For a year after the funeral of persons of better fashion, every Saturday night the graves are strewn with herbs, and a bier that is arch’d is set over the grave every Sunday morning, and cover’d with black, unless it be a maid’s grave, and then tis covered with white.”
From “A History of Merthyr” written in 1952 by the Rector of Merthyr the Revd DJ Davies.
“The old church was very small. Its total capacity was for 70 persons, as mentioned by the Rev David Williams, Rector, in his address on the opening of the present church (August 15th 1873), and accommodated eighteen families with one pew reserved for strangers, as the following will indicate. Seats numbered as hereunder were settled to the undermentioned tenements:
No 1 Parsonage, 2 Bwlch, 3 Nantyci, Cevenmystrych, 4 Derllys, 5 Plasyparkau, 6 Ffynnonsaint, 7 Nantyrhebog, 8 Parcyberllan, 9 Cwmduhen & Brynyreithin, 10 Glanygors & Llethrach, 11 Cwm Merthyr, 12 Cwmcynnen, 13 Cwm & Blaencwm, 14 Ffynnonwen, 15 Llechlwyd & Tynewydd, 16 Berthlwyd, 17 Penllinin & Llainpantglas, 18 Waenlas & Pantyrhedin, 19 Strangers.
It would have been no surprise to learn that Merthyr Church was out of repair in the Seventeenth Century as the ejections of its clergy were detrimental to the church’s welfare. The Seventeenth Century was a period of Puritan domination. The introduction of the Directory (a replacement for the Prayer Book) in 1643 did not satisfy the Puritans, and they passed in 1649/1650 a new Act of Wales that resulted in the ejection of clergy from eighteen parishes in Wales, Merthyr being one from which its rector was ejected.
Could he have been the Rev Lambrocus Thomas who was instituted to Merthyr on April 9th 1639?
The Rev Stephen Hughes was approved by the Commissioners to Merthyr in 1650 but moved to Mydrym in 1655, was followed by James Davies who was ejected in 1662. In these turbulent times the church must have suffered untold harm, but Merthyr had one blessing that the Vaughans were then living in Derllys and always gave financial assistance when the need arose.
The present church building was completed in 1873 as was the Church School both having taken five years in construction. The Church cost £659.5s.9d and the Church School £356.1s11d, making £1015.8s8d. Both structures reflect credit on the indefatigable Rector, the Rev D Williams MA, who resided then at Millbrook, Carmarthen.
The following Rectors have served the parish: Edward Davys instituted on Dec 23 1541, Humphrey Hawes, June 9 1546, James Shawe, April 10 1553, Evan Phillip, Aug 23 1554, Bartholemew Jones, Sept 7 1568, Thos Price, August 24 1601, Adrian Hawkins, April 30 1635, Lambrocus Thomas, April 9 1639, Griffin Evans, 1 March 1677, Thomas Thomas, July 8 1681, David Scurlock, March 19 1722, Griffith Scurlock, April 30 1725, Hfry Thomas, May 3 1743, Thos Lloyd, Feb 26 1765, Thos Lloyd, Aug 26 1783, David Scurlock,
Feb 9 1784, Thomas Williams, June 25 1793, Augustus Brigstocke, June 7 1827, Thos Lewis, Nov 21 1837, David Archard Williams, Jan 25 1843, David Williams, Aug 30 1868, John David Jones, Oct 31 1887, John Morgan Evans, June 11 1900, Edward Rees, Dec 10 1934, Arthur William Jones, Nov 9 1939, David John Davies, Sept 4 1950.” They were followed by: David Thomas Price, 1958, John Herbert Vivian Hughes, Aug 2 1962, Evan David Griffiths April 20 1970, Alun Howells 1981, PL Felton 1989, Jeffrey Gainer 1992.
The church you see today was designed by the architect RK Penson in 1869 and completed in 1873. Some of the Eighteenth Century memorials from the older church are embedded in the inside walls. The mediaeval font is near the west wall. An ancient stable block survives just outside the churchyard wall. Penson also designed the Church School, now the Community Hall. Family historians will be interested to learn that Merthyr's parish registers are available in the Carmarthenshire Record Office, Parc Myrddin, Richmond Terrace, Carmarthen SA31 1DS.
Old stables. Original schoolroom.
Volunteers grass-cutting.
Grass-cutters Dai James, Jack, Charles
and John Thomas.
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