T H E   D E R E L I C T   M I S C E L L A N Y

Llanfihangel Penbedw is a relic: a parish of less than 400 people, a village which is barely there at all. The earliest record of a rectory here is from 1325, and reveals that shortly before that date the patronage of the benefice belonged to John de Hastings, Earl of Pembroke. On December 3^rd of that year, the church of 'Lanvihanel in Wales,' with an annual value of 6 marks, was assigned to Thomas Le Blount on his marriage to Hastings' widow Juliana. The first recorded rector is John ap Henry in 1387 and by 1594 the living had come to be owned by the Crown.

The church was enlarged and 'restored' following a grant of 1859, by architect John C. Davies, whose works included a new vestry on the northern side and the relocation of the door from the south wall to underneath the tower. The interior was plain white and undecorated, except for the legend 'Sancteiddrwydd a weddai i'th dy' ('holiness becometh thy house', Psalm 93:5) above the chancel arch.

Never blessed with a large congregation, by 1921 the parish had been united with neighbouring Capel Colman and was later amalgamated with Boncath. The last marriage is believed to have been conducted here in 1970 and the church fell out of use shortly afterwards. A church hall nearby probably closed at the same time.