I took a fast look at marriage records of families in my tree known to have lived in EW/Temple Bar/Beaconing area who are buried at EW church.  Granted these are in the 1800s not 1900s. All marriages are indicated as being performed in Begelly parish not EW, but most do not specify that they took place at Begelly church specifically. So as you say, they might possibly have been performed at one of the other churches in Begelly parish. Rachel Boyd CT, USA ________________________________ From: "Jonmein@aol.com" <Jonmein@aol.com> To: dyfed@rootsweb.com Sent: Wed, February 3, 2010 12:59:08 PM Subject: [Dyfed] Licence to hold marriages Hello I am having an argument with a local historian about the church at East  Williamston (EW) in Pembrokeshire. Thoughts welcome on the following: EW was until the late 20th century part of Begelly parish. There were two  churches in the parish, that already mentioned at EW and secondly St Mary's in  Begelly itself, both at least dating from the medieval period. Begelly  parish registers do not distinguish in any way between events  (baptisms/marriages/burials) held at either of the two churches: everything is  shown as "Begelly". (There are graves at EW although these are recorded in  the Begelly burial registers). Here's the conundrum: a report of a wedding in the Narberth Weekly  newspaper in 1937 suggests that this wedding was the first held at EW church.  This is counter-intuitive: it must have been about 3 miles or so from the  southern end of Begelly parish around EW to St Mary's at Begelly. With a church  on the doorstep at EW it would make sense for weddings to be held there  especially as the local roads were lousy. I am looking for a explanation as to why EW may not have been used for  weddings pre-1937. Did churches have to be licensed with the bishop to hold  weddings in the 19th century? I am aware of course that non-conformist chapels had to be licensed to hold marriages but this is a separate matter. Jon ================================ Dyfed list http://home.clara.net/daibevan/DyfedML.html ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DYFED-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message