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Contents 1 Parish History 2 Census Records 3 Church Records 4 Nonconformist Church Records 5 Civil Records 6 See also 7 Bibliography 8 External links 9 References

Parish History

In 1848 - MARTIN, ST., a parish, in the hundred of Oswestry, N. division of Shropshire, ½ a mile (E. by S.) from Chirk. ^[1]

The ancient parish of St. Martin's was made up of the townships of Ifton, Bronygarth and Weston Rhyn. Each of these townships bordered Wales, with the River Ceiriog and the River Dee forming the border. However, in 1870 the townships of Weston Rhyn and Bronygarth were formed into the new parish of Weston Rhyn. The area was, for centuries, under the influence of nearby Chirk Castle and, later, the Trevor family of Brynkinallt (Welsh: Bryncunallt) in Chirk.

Although predominantly an agricultural area, coal was mined in St Martin's for several centuries. The collieries at Ifton, Chirk Bank, Quinta, Trehowell, Moreton Hall and Preesgweene were, geologically, an extension of the Denbighshire coalfield. Coal production ceased in the area with the closure of the last remaining colliery in the area at Ifton in 1968. Ifton was the largest colliery in Shropshire and its workings crossed the border into Wales, linking up to the coal seams of the former collieries at Brynkinallt and Black Park.

Around the 16th century, a bridge was built across the River Ceiriog at Pontfaen as part of the Chester to Cardiff highway. Later the A5, the London-Shrewsbury-Holyhead trunk road was constructed by Thomas Telford through the parish of St Martin's, crossing into Wales via the bridge at Chirk Bank.

In the 19th century a canal was constructed through St Martin's Moor by Thomas Telford linking the industrial areas around Ruabon to the canal network. This now forms part of the Llangollen Canal.

By 1848 the Chester to Ruabon railway line had been extended south to Shrewsbury, but only one station, Preesgweene (later known as Weston Rhyn), was built in St Martin's parish. Later however, branch lines were built to link the collieries in the area to the main rail network.

Census Records

Census records from 1841-1891 are available on film through a Family History Center or at the Family History Library. The first film number is 474587. To view these census images online, they are available through the following websites for a fee ($) or free:

• FamilySearch has some of the British Censuses available.
• FindMyPast ($) has all available census records including images, and is free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and some public and academic libraries.
• Ancestry.co.uk ($) has now all available census records but free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and at numerous public and academic libraries. The library versions are known as AncestryInstitution.com.
• The Genealogist.co.uk ($) has all available censuses and is free at Family History Centers and the Family History Library and various other libraries.
• FreeCen is a UK census searches. It is not complete and individuals are always asked to consider helping out with transcriptions.
  
  

The parish of St Martin's formed part of the Oswestry Registrar's District.

Year	Parts
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
1901

Church Records

The following records are available on the IGI:

Type	Years	Batch Number
Baptisms	1663-1746 1747-1841	C085802 C085801
Marriages	1663-1837	M085801

Bishop's transcripts held at Lichfield Record Office Bap 1663-1841 Marr 1663-1837 Bur 1663-1841

Nonconformist Church Records

 

Civil Records

The parish of St Martin's formed a sub-district of the Oswestry Registration District and any entries for births, marriages or deaths from 1837 in St Martin's will appear as Oswestry in the GRO Indexes.

See also

 

Bibliography

• C Neville Hurdsman, "A History of the Parishes of St Martin's & Weston Rhyn", 2003, ISBN:9781844940042

External links

• Ordnance Survey map of St. Martin's

References

• This page was last modified on 21 February 2013, at 15:02.
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