Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1408-2009 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
13.80 cubic metres (c. 1000 boxes, 260 vols, 18 rolls) (February 2012); 5 R-Kive boxes (June 2013)
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Bangor is the earliest of the Welsh dioceses and the diocesan boundaries have changed very little. During the medieval period it consisted of three Archdeaconries, Anglesey, Bangor and Meirionnydd. In 1844, the Archdeaconries of Anglesey and Bangor were merged and given the title of Archdeaconry of Bangor, leaving the two Archdeaconries of Bangor and Meirionnydd. At this time, the Deanery of Llyn was transferred from the Archdeaconry of Bangor to the Archdeaconry of Meirionnydd. Further changes occurred in 1859 when the Deanery of Cyfeiliog and Mawddwy was transferred from the Archdeaconry of Montgomery, in St Asaph diocese, to the Archdeaconry of Meirionnydd, in Bangor diocese; and the Deanery of Dyffryn Clwyd and Kimerch was transferred from Bangor diocese to the diocese and Archdeaconry of St Asaph.
The diocese extends across the whole of the north-western quarter of Wales, and includes the old counties of Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Meirionnydd and the northern part of Montgomeryshire. The Archdeaconry of Bangor is now made up of seven Rural Deaneries: Arfon, Arllechwedd, Llifon and Talybolion, Malltraeth, Ogwen, Tindaethwy and Menai, and Twrcelyn; and Meirionnydd five: Ardudwy, Arwystli, Cyfeiliog and Mawddwy, Llyn and Eifionydd, and Ystumaner.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by the Representative Body of the Church in Wales, January 1944, with further deposits by the Rev. Glyn Simon, Dean of Llandaff in 1949
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The 1944 deposit comprises mainly episcopal registers, 1408-1864; subscription books 1720-1924; ordinations, 1690-1939; appointments, 1661-1947; resignations, 1751-1935; non-residence, 1785-1919; licences to practice surgery and midwifery, 1750-1809; bishops' transcripts, 1666-1917; marriage bonds and affidavits, 1691-1931; Orders in Council, diocesan decrees, 1841-1937; terriers, 1630-1928; consecrations, 1793-1934; petitions for licences to solemnize marriages, 1841-1932; licences for divine service, 1822-1930; faculty papers, 1821-1932; dilapidations papers, 1872-1937; sequestration papers, 1796-1910; Queen Anne's Bounty papers, 1747-1914; registration of Dissenters' meeting houses, 1802-1849; returns to the Privy Council, 1814-1919; tithe documents and papers, 1685-1928; visitation papers, 1567-1942; statistical returns of Church work and finance, 1890-1938; chapter records, 1673-1937; deeds, 1449-1938; and Consistory Court papers, 1586-1917. -- Records, 1823-1997, deposited after 1944 include marriage licenses, 1823, 1924, 1950-1997; ordinations, 1939-1986, appointments, 1921-1987; licences to lay persons, 1929-1969, 1984-1985; enthronements, 1899-1991; subscription books, 1924-1959; dilapidation papers, 1877, 1914, 1931-1962; correspondence files, 1944-1975; properties and land, 1846-1987; licensing of premises to perform Divine Service and for the solemnization of marriages, 1931-1933, 1952-1969, 1989-[1990]; Orders in Council and diocesan decrees, 1911-1991; consecrations, de-consecrations and dedications, 1834, 1925-1987; memorial funds, bequests and charities, 1911-1990; bishops' papers, 1888-1994; visitation papers, 1959-1984; parish and clergy files, 1933-1994; statistical returns, 1907, 1937-1938, [1977]; and confirmation registers, 1945-1975.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: The archive has been appraised: details are given at the appropriate levels of description..
Accruals
Accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
The early records transferred to NLW in 1944 are arranged by record type under Diocesan records, followed by Chapter records, again arranged under record type; the post-1944 deposits are arranged into five groups: Registry papers, 1823, 1834, 1846, 1877, 1894, 1899-1997; Diocesan Board of Finance papers, 1911-1912, 1924-1990; Episcopal papers, 1888-1889, 1893, 1899, 1902, [1906]-1924, 1926-1994; Archidiaconal papers, 1907, 1937-1938, [1977]; and Dean and Chapter papers, 1928-1990.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- Welsh
- Latin
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh, Latin.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Hard copies of the catalogues (4 vols) of the 1944 Deposit are available at NLW.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Varying form of title: Bangor Diocesan Records
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
This description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) Second Edition; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Online catalogue of 1944 deposit and subsequent deposits released in Feb. 2012
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Nia Wyn Dafydd.
Archivist's note
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Diocesan Histories Bangor, by the Rev. W. Hughes (London, 1911); the Bangor Diocesan Handbook; web site of the diocese of Bangor http://www.esgobaethbangordiocese.org/bangordiocese/about.htm & http://www.esgobaethbangordiocese.org/bangordiocese/history.htm, October 2004.