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Alternative Spellings; Chandlour, Chanlour, Challenour Surname Origin: 1 English occupational name for a maker and seller of candles, it is also a derivation of Candel, the English Chandler does not occur until the 16th Century. 2 The name may also but more rarely, denote someone who was responsible for the lighting arrangements in a large house, or else one who owed rent in the form of wax or candles.
The earliest reference we have to the Chandlers is the marriage record of Edward Chandler to Jane Williams that took place in St Michael’s Church of Llanfiangel Rhydithon on September 25 1737. The record is taken from the Parish Records of the church and shows that Edward came from the parish of Llandewi Ystradenni; no ages are given of either Edward or Jane so we have no idea of when they were born. There is no reference on the record to say that either were widowed so we can assume that this was their first marriage, we can only guess at their ages as being about 20 – 25, but even so we have searched both parishes and the surrounding area for their baptisms to no avail. And having come across a record in 1717 (a possible year when Edward could have been born) of an Edward son of Edward ap Edward, we decided to call it a day on trying to get any further back. The children born to Edward and Jane were Thomas who was baptised November 4 1738 but died in 1739, Jane baptised July 27 1740, Edward baptised September 4 1742, another Thomas baptised March 31 1745, Moses baptised May 21 1747 but died the same year, the next Moses was baptised December 15 1751 and buried the same day, and further son Moses baptised October 7 1758, we have come to the conclusion that they were determined to have a son named Moses, we believe that Edward also had a brother called Moses and as you will see later the name was carried on. Our next
reference to Edward and Jane are their burial records at
Llanfihangel Rhydithon, Edward died in 1761, and his place
of residence is given as ‘Ty Dy’, which we were later to be
informed meant ‘Black House’. Jane died in January 1773. Before we move on let us pause and reflect on the life and times of Edward and Jane and the community they lived in. Firstly the farm ‘Ty Dy’, where was it located? How big was it? What type of farm was it? You will be pleased to know that we located the farm without too much trouble. For on the Ordinance Survey Landranger Map Sheet No 136, there is a farm ‘Tyddu’ about a mile from Llanfihangel and by comparing the location of this with the Tithe Map of 1839 we are able to say that there was a farm at this location at that time called Ty Dy. Although this is nearly 80 years after Edward’s death, I think it can be safely assumed that this is the same farm. But as confirmation we visited the farm, when we were last in Llandridod Wells enjoying a few days searching in the Records Office and combining this with a few days holiday. The farm is now a riding stable and lies about half a mile off the main road down a farm track which first crosses a bit of moor land, then a small river, followed shortly after by a railway line. On approaching the farmhouse we began to wonder if we had the right place after all, for the facia of the building was white and not black as imagined by the name. It was only when we got out of the car and walked around the side and rear of the building that we saw the black brick that the house was constructed from and which gave it its name. On closer inspection the white facia turned out to be metal panels, which had been screwed to the wall and painted white. The present owner informed us that this had been done many years ago as a form of weatherproofing.
It is clear that the house would have been much smaller than its present size in Edward’s day, as there is evidence of it being extended, not only outwards but also upwards. The size of the farm on the 1839 Tithe Apportionments is given as over 47 acres but unfortunately all trace of the Chandlers at this time had disappeared and the farm now belonged to the owner of the neighbouring ‘Crabtree’ farm. So what type of farm was it? The only evidence we have of this is included in a story that has been written down in history for us, and one, which we stumbled upon whilst taking David’s brother, Derrick, around what we have called the ‘Mantle Trail’. We were looking around the churchyard in Llanfihangel when we found the grave of three young men by the name of Chandlour. Having quickly made notes of the inscription we determined to write to the vicar for further information, which we subsequently received from a Susanna Davies, who had been taking part in a Local History Project and had been researching the history of the Church of St Michael in Llanfihangel. The Rev. J Williams in ‘A History of Radnorshire’ published in 1905 describes the event: -
“ A most melancholy event happened in the parish about the end of the seventeenth century. Three brothers of the name of Chandler perished in deep snow upon the forest when seeking their hapless flocks buried under the shapeless drifts. Bewildered with the mingled storms with glaring snow which altered the appearance of every known feature of the country they lost their way and were buried in an avalanche of snow from which they never arose alive but were subsequently found locked in each others arms. They were all interred under the green sod in the churchyard at Llanfihangel and a stone placed over their grave which in such crude verse as an illiterate shepherd may be thought capable of records their lamentable fate”
Burial Record of the Three Shepherds Like most history books the story is not always born out by the facts, the extract above gives them as brothers, but the memorial on the gravestone, gives them two different fathers. We know from the burial records of the three Chandlers, which we found in the Records Office, that Edward and John were buried on the 19th January and Thomas was buried a week later on the 26 January, pointing to Edward and John being found earlier, possibly wrapped in each other’s arms we don’t know, this is after all the recommended way to keep warm in such conditions. Maybe Thomas went off to get help but didn’t make it, his body subsequently being found later, perhaps after the snow had melted. The ‘crude verse’ referred to in the above extract reads as follows: -
The exact place of the shepherds’ death remains unknown, the suggestion in the Local History Project, that it could be a place marked, on the map as, ‘Shepherds Tump’ is a possibility I suppose, if this was the case the three young men could not have died in an avalanche, as the ‘Tump’ is situated at the top of a hill. There is no such word as ‘Tump’ in either the English or Welsh dictionary, there is, however, a word ‘Twmpath’ in the Welsh dictionary, which means a mound. The only other reference, that we have come across, is in a guidebook on the Cotswold Way by Anthony Burton, which mentions ‘Hetty Peglar’s Tump’ and refers to it as a burial ground. Shepherds Tump, on the modern O.S. map, is also marked as a ‘Tumuli’, which is an ancient burial ground. So whether the Tumuli was named after our three shepherds or not, we shall perhaps never know, as no maps seem to exist prior to their tragic deaths marking the ‘Tump/Tumuli’. We are assuming that John and Edward snr. are brothers, and that Edward jnr. was a cousin to Thomas and John jnr., unfortunately as we have been unable to find the baptism records of John and Edward snr., we shall never know for sure. But if our assumption is correct, according to the Will of John, of which we have a copy, then Edward and John also had a brother Moses, mentioned earlier, and a sister Elizabeth. Edward is not mentioned in the Will as he had died earlier. Now before we move on let us pause and reflect on the inscription at the bottom of the headstone, which tells us that 131 years after the deaths of the three shepherds a collection was made in the community by Gwen Evans wife of John Evans, who was a ‘Sidesman’ of the church (i.e. he handed out the hymn books, took collections etc.) to replace the old stone, which was worn out and broken, this is now situated in the porch of the church. This among a community, (in the early 1800s it was recorded as 400+), which had almost certainly dwindled over the years with the agricultural revolution starting in the mid 19th century and workers leaving the land for work in the towns. As can be seen by the photograph, the new stone, itself now over a hundred years old, is still in excellent condition, and it is hoped that it will be preserved in perpetuity. It is certain at least that the story will remain and the three shepherds will be remembered for many years yet. In fact when we were last in the church we found an entry in the visitors book in remembrance of the three shepherds, which had been made by a Margaret Price of Kington in 1998. Well, not wishing to give up an opportunity to play detective, we set forth to Kington, and after ploughing our way through the electoral register we found three Margaret Prices. A look in the telephone directory found us two of the telephone numbers required, but unfortunately neither was the Margaret Price we were after. Nevertheless we were armed with the address of the third, and after directions from the Tourist Information, we set forth and knocked on the door, but regrettably got no reply. Not to be put off, Sheila scribbled a quick note, giving our mobile phone number and we went back to await a call. Alas when it came it was to tell us that Margaret Price had moved from that address and no one knew where she had gone. We were still determined that we should try and trace Margaret Price, so later when we were back home, we contacted the Tourist Information Centre again, this time trying to find out if there were any Residential Homes in the town. Having obtained the names of three Homes in the area, and telephoning them, we found one in which a Margaret Price was staying. We asked to speak to her, and was informed that our message would be passed on, unfortunately our call was not returned. We therefore wrote her a letter, but the reply was only to inform us that she could not help us with this matter. And so it would seem our search has come to an end, and we shall never know the connection of Margaret Price with the three shepherds or Gwen and John Evans.
George Evans and Jane Chandler marriage record
Neither do we know the connection between Gwen and John and the three Chandlers. We have found their grave near the entrance to the church in Llanfihangel, which gives us their dates as, Gwen died February 1934 age 65 and John died October 1928 aged 69, also six of their children are in the same grave. A search was made in the Parish Records of Llanfihangel and Llandewi for their marriage but to no avail.
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