Castellan is an ancient

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and, until 1974, was a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the Hundred of Kilgerran,

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales. It is situated in the north of the county on the slopes of Frenni Fawr, one mile (2 km) north of

Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains, on the old Tenby to Cardiga ...

and included much of the village of

Blaenffos Blaenffos is a small village of around 200 inhabitants in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Boncath. It sits on the boundary between the former parishes of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Castellan Chapelry (part of Penrydd parish). ...

Origin of the name

The

placename Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

is an archaic

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

word meaning "little castle".

History

The parish had an area of . It was originally a

chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...

of the parish of

Penrydd Penrydd (variously spelled Penrhydd, Penrhudd, Penrith, Penreth or Penrieth) is a former parish in the Hundred of Kilgerran, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish's history is closely linked with that of Castellan, and included parts of the pres ...

(several alternate spellings), granted by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

s of

Slebech Slebech was a community (prior to 1974, a civil parish) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which is now part of the combined community of Uzmaston and Boulston and Slebech, a sparsely populated community on the northern shore of the Eastern River Cleddau. ...

c.1130 and was returned in the

Valor Ecclesiasticus The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, a s ...

(1291) as paying 13s 4d (two-thirds of a pound) ''per annum''. Castellan (as ''Cap. Kestellan'') appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. In 1684 the rector and churchwardens of Penrith (sic) and Castellan declared the chapel to be ''"out of repair''", the bier having been stolen some 28 years previously. It was annexed to Penrhudd Parish soon after the dissolution of the monasteries but was abandoned by c.1700 and in ruins by 1833. The church is no longer marked on Ordnance Survey maps. The 1831 census lists the chapelry as having 26 families in as many homes with no uninhabited buildings; 17 of the families were chiefly involved in agriculture and 7 in trades, crafts or manufacture. Tithe apportionment (1837) and map (1844) are held at the National Archives. Prior to 1850 the parish included

, Clover Hill, Frenni Fawr, Gorsfaith and Moelfryn with a population of 127 in 1833; earlier censuses included Castellan with Penrith and formed an extensive part of the parish of Penrith (sic). In 1833 (despite the chapel being in ruins) the incumbent received one guinea annually from Sir R.B.P. Philipps of

Picton Castle Picton Castle ( cy, Castell Pictwn) is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by a Flemish knight, it later came into the han ...

. In 1881 more than half of men still worked in agriculture with the remainder in trades; while a few women were in domestic service or trade, the majority are listed as "unknown occupation", presumably housewives. The 1881 census records David Nicholas aged 37 as farming 57 acres, having been born in Castellan; Nicholas was the father of

Thomas Evan Nicholas Thomas Evan Nicholas (6 October 1879 – 19 April 1971), who used the bardic name Niclas y Glais ( en, 'Nicholas of Glais'), was a Welsh language poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society. Early life Nicholas was ...

. By 1901 there were more than 40 houses in the parish, dipping to 37 in 1931 but rising to 46 in 1961. The site of the chapel, described in the Inventory (visited 1915) as ''"a building 26 feet by 17 feet. A fragment of walling about 5 feet in height marks the east end of the little church.''", is still visible. The northern part of the parish is now in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Boncath Boncath is a village, community and postal district in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about west of Newcastle Emlyn. The village stands at a cross-roads linking the nearby settlements of Newchapel (''Capelnewydd''), Eglwyswrw, Blaenffos and Bwlchy ...

, and the southern part is in Crymych community. The name of the parish survives in Castellan Farm, near the site of the chapel which, according to Geograph, is no longer accessible.

Demography

Castellan's

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

population was estimated (being counted with Penrydd parish) as 82 in 1801 and 105 in 1811. Subsequently the population grew to a maximum of about 170 in the mid-19th century, to a minimum of 115 in 1951, and thereafter grew to 162 by 1981.

References

External links

Genuki entry included in that of Penrydd
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire