LLANBADARN CHURCHYARD by A W GILBEY

PLEASE SEE CHAPTER 4 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MISSING MEMORIALS

Richard James and family.  The information here is extracted from a booklet on “Richard James, Llanrwst’s Greatest Benefactor” provided by Rosslyn Morgan of Llanrwst Town Council.

Richard James was born at Pen – y – Wern, near the village of Llanfihangel y Creuddyn, about 8 miles from Aberystwyth on 23rd November 1829. Little is recorded about Richard’s early life, but sometime during the 1830’s, the family moved to Our Lady’s Mill, Mill Street, Aberystwyth, where his father became the Miller.    He married Anne Marshall, the daughter of Charles Marshall, proprietor of the Belle Vue Hotel, Marine Parade, Aberystwyth on the October 2nd, 1852, at St. Sepulchre’s church, London, and moved to Dyffryn Aur, Llanrwst.   Richard qualified as a solicitor in March 1853. His interesting and philanthropic career at L lanrwst is well documented in the booklet.  His wife died on 7th May 1893 and was buried at St. Padarn’s church on 10th May 1893.  Richard James died on the 21st of June 1897 at Rhos on Sea at the age of 67 years.   He was laid to rest with his wife and two children in the family vault at St. Padarn’s Church, Llanbadarn Fawr.   The Aberystwyth Observer recorded that, though a private occasion, “a number of old friends gathered at the railway station and at the churchyard to pay their last respects.”  Richard bequeathed to The University of Wales at Aberystwyth a model of the original castle house [which was incorporated into the college building on the Aberystwyth seafront] and nearly all of the works of art at Dyffryn Aur to form the basis of an art gallery at the University.   

Charles Marshall and family.   The information below was provided by  Charles W Marshall of Washington, USA.   The wife of Richard James, above, was the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Marshall.

Charles Marshall was born in 1794 in Bengeworth, Worcestershire, the son of Quakers Ralph Marshall and Sarah Osborne Marshall. His mother, Sarah, died a month later. Other than his father marrying Hannah George in 1799 when Charles was about 5 years old, nothing else is known about his childhood, other than he had an older sister, Rebecca. By 1815, the family was living in Warwickshire where Ralph was a shopkeeper when Charles' sister Rebecca Marshall married. At some point prior to 1820, the family moved to Prestbury near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire where Ralph worked as a nursery and seedman. Charles met and married Elizabeth Read, from Denton, Lincolnshire, on December 5th, 1821 in St George Hanover Square, Westminster, Middlesex.

Charles held a variety of jobs in Cheltenham after he married, including a coachman and working for a soda water manufacturer, but by 1829, he found his calling as an innkeeper, running the Crown Inn on High Street in Cheltenham.  Sadly, Charles and Elizabeth lost three babies, a girl and two boys, all buried at St Mary's churchyard cemetery. In 1840, Charles moved his family to Wales where he took over as proprietor of the Belle Vue Royal Hotel on Marine Terrace in Aberystwyth. By 1841, he had also leased and was running the newly rebuilt Hafod Arms Hotel at Devil's Bridge (aka Devil's Bridge Hotel), a short distance from Aberystwyth, which he continued to do until the late 1840s while also running the Belle Vue Hotel . During this period, Charles also leased Glanystwith Farm from the Earl of Lisburne, a large 305 acre farm about seven miles from Aberystwyth. Charles was an innkeeper and a gentleman farmer.

After divesting himself from Devil's Bridge Hotel, Charles was now solely focused on running the Belle Vue Royal Hotel, which included adding stables and starting up a coach service, and Glanystwith Farm. He also served on the Town Council in Aberystwyth and was actively involved with local politics and the community. Charles was a smart, well-respected businessman and his businesses thrived. He was quite successful.

In 1855, his only surviving son, Charles Read Marshall, abruptly became ill and died within 24 hours at the hotel. He was just 26 years old. It was around this time Charles, and possibly with his son-in-law, solicitor, Richard James of Llanrwst, built a family burial vault at St. Padarn’s Churchyard, Llanbadarn Fawr. A few months after the death of Charles Read Marshall, Richard James' young daughter, Elizabeth Sarah James, less than a year old, died in early 1856. Charles himself was nearly killed in September 1857, the results of a riding accident while on his way out to Glanystwith Farm. On Penwern hill his horse spooked and ran away, causing Charles to fall from his carriage. He suffered very serious injuries, including potential head injuries. He was gravely ill and it was initially doubtful he would survive but he did.

In 1858, after only a few days of illness, Charles Marshall died on November 21st,  and was laid to rest in the family vault at St. Padarn’s, Llanbadarn Fawr. He would soon be joined by his 9 month old granddaughter, Frances Alice James, in 1863.  His daughter, Elizabeth Marshall Davies died in 1865 and another daughter, Sarah Marshall Pell, in 1873, followed by Charles' beloved wife, Elizabeth Read Marshall, in 1876, all interred in the family vault. Elizabeth Marshall, who had skillfully and successfully carried on their businesses after Charles' death in 1858, was also well-respected in the community as is evident by who attended her funeral.

The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard, 28 Jul 1876, p 8 -

OBITUARY.— Mrs. Marshall, widow of the late Mr. Charles Marshall, for many years proprietor of the Belle Vue Hotel, died on Friday, in the eighty-first year of her age. Her remains were interred in the family vault at Llanbadarn churchyard on Wednesday last. Among others there were present in the church the Earl of Lishurne, Mr. G. G. Williams, Wallog, high sheriff, Mr. J. Parry, Glanpaith, Mr. Vaughan Davies, Mr. R. Gardiner, Mr. Thomas Jones, &c. The following private carriages formed part of the funeral cortege :-Colonel Powell's Nanteos, Mr. Richardes's, Bryneithin, and the Rev. B. E. Morgan's, 47, Marine-Terrace. The funeral was conducted by Mr Edward Edwards, Pier-street.

Charles and Elizabeth Marshall's daughter, Anne Marshall James, would join them in 1893 followed by Richard James in 1897, laid to rest in the family vault with his wife and two small daughters.. While we know this vault is somewhere in the churchyard, so far we have not been able to locate it, remaining among other family vaults that have not been identified. However, the search continues.