St Elvis, Pembrokeshire

St Elvis

The Dinas Fawr headlands
beside the site of St Elvis
St Elvis
 St Elvis shown within Pembrokeshire
OS grid referenceSM811240
Principal areaPembrokeshire
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town HAVERFORDWEST
Postcode district SA62
Police Dyfed-Powys
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
List of places
UK
Wales
Pembrokeshire

Coordinates: 51°52′19″N 5°10′52″W / 51.872°N 5.181°W / 51.872; -5.181

St Elvis (Welsh: Llaneilfyw, [ɬanəilvəu]) is a parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, about 4 miles (6 km) east of St David's. At 200 acres (81 ha) it is one of the smallest parishes in Wales[1] but its rector was previously the superior of the vicar of the church at Solva[2] (today dependent upon nearby Whitchurch instead[3]). The parish of Whitchurch and St Elvis together form the community of Solva.

Name

The name is a Latinized form of the Welsh saint Eilfyw, also well known by his Gaelic name Ailbe. Former forms of the name include Llanelvewe and Llanailfyw. According to Rhyddferch's 11th-century Life of Saint David, Elvis baptized Saint David[4] in AD 454 at Porth Clais in Dyfed.[5] (Note, however, that this dating seems unlikely.[6])

St Elvis farm

History

A 5000-year-old cromlech—including two early British tombs—lies nearby,[7] although they were damaged by a tenant farmer in the 19th century who removed two of the stones.

GENUKI notes church and chapel records dating from the 19th century, with two farms.[8] There is still a St Elvis farm[9] (Vagwr Eilw[7]) and the ruins of the earlier monastery and church, covered with blackthorn.[7] St Elvis's Well is also nearby and continued to produce 360 gallons an hour amid the 1976 drought.[7]

Religious sites

There is a shrine to St Elvis, located at 51°52′12.7″N 5°10′43.2″W / 51.870194°N 5.178667°W / 51.870194; -5.178667.

References

  1. ↑ "GENUKI: St Elvis". Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Breverton, Terry (2009). "Saint Elvis". Wales: A Historical Companion. Stroud: Amberley. p. 164.
  3. ↑ GENUKI. "Whitchurch (Tre-groes)".
  4. ↑ Everything2. "Saint Elvis".
  5. ↑ Breverton, Terry. An A-Z of Wales and the Welsh. Christopher Davies, 2000.
  6. ↑ The Catholic Encyclopedia. "St Ailbe". Hosted at New Advent.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Saint Elvis" in Terry Breverton's Wales: A Historical Companion, pp. 164 f. Amberley Publishing (Stroud), 2009.
  8. ↑ Hicks, Gareth (11 November 2007). "St Elvis (Llaneilfyw)". Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  9. ↑ St Elvis farm Solva Pembroke SA62 (Map). Google maps. Retrieved 26 May 2009.


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