The Churchyard and Cemetery
|
|
|
Churchyard from tower showing dedication group in 1907 and the same view in 1994
This covers an area of about 2 acres and contains some 2500 graves and although administered by the church authorities it is the Parish Burial Ground with the running costs being shared by all the community. The older graves are to be found in the area next to the River Peris with a couple of interesting 18th. Century memorials attached to the south wall of the church.
In 1907 Evan Lloyd who had returned to Llanon after a successful business career in Chicago gave an acre of land to extend the churchyard and whose generosity is recorded on a plaque again next to the Peris. Evan Lloyd who owned and farmed both Maesgwyne and Penlon was originally from Nebo and he and members of his family are buried in the cemetery next to the Congregational Chapel in that village .
|
|
|
Evan Lloyd plaque in Llansantffraed Evan Lloyd Memorial. Nebo Chapel Churchyard
A new detailed plan of Llansantffraed churchyard was prepared by Joyce and Eric Dockerty in 1996 which should assist in locating the grave of an ancestor providing that it is marked with a memorial of some kind. Some of the unmarked graves have also been identified and named mainly through research carried out by Capt, Evan Davies, Homerton who was a church warden during the 1950's. An updated copy of the plan is kept by a churchwarden together with a computerized database of the burial book covering, at this time(2004), the period from 1966 to date, with an ongoing exercise to go back as far as 1900.
As mentioned earlier the memorials reflect the strong maritime heritage of the area with reference to places all over the world where local seafarers died from diseases , drowned or were killed in accidents. The assiduous grave reader may even find the names of four local lads who drowned when the SS Cardiff Hall sank in rough weather off The Old Head of Kinsale ,Southern Ireland on 13th.January 1925, after which it was said local seafarers were not keen to sail together on the same ship.
A most unfortunate episode occurred on the Sunday 2nd.August 1846. Whilst Mr Herbert was speaking to the congregation about the damaging floods that had affected the village the previous Thursday ,a further thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and a cloudburst on Mynydd Bach sent floods sweeping down the Peris and the Cledan. As a result of the strength of the water about 8 yards of the churchyard was washed away together with the coffins of several graves which ended up floating out on the sea. Boats were launched and five complete coffins were retrieved but according to an eye-witness several coffins were in bits on the sea shore with bodies strewn all over the place. One women was able to recognize her late husband by the bandage still attached to his leg. It was reported that all the bodies recovered were re-buried in the churchyard.
Llanon Home Copyright & Privacy Webmaster Last updated 25 March 2007
