ISHMAEL'S-ST, a parish, in the hundred of KIDWELLY, county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES, 9 miles (S. by w.) from
Carmarthen, containing 944 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the sea-shore, and many of the inhabitants obtain a
livelihood, by collecting for sale the beautiful shells which are found here in great variety and abundance. It contains
the improving village of Ferry-side, which is described under its appropriate head; and the seat called Iscoed, an
elegant mansion, erected by Sir William Mansel, Bart., and now the property of the Rev. Edward Picton, having been
purchased from the son of Sir William by the late General Sir Thomas Picton, G. C. B., who, after eminently distinguishing
himself in the late continental war, fell in the battle of Waterloo; also Pengay, the seat of Esq., which commands a most
delightful sea view, comprehending the distant shores of Devonshire and Cornwall: this gentleman is one of the few to
whom the country is indebted for the introduction of the Norfolk and other improved systems of agriculture. The village of
St. Ishmael's is situated on the banks of the navigable river Towy, and the surrounding district is celebrated for the
production of barley of very fine quality. The living is a discharged vicarage, in the archdeaconry of Carmarthen, and
diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £7, and in the patronage of the King, as Prince of Wales. The church
is built upon a rock near the sea-shore, and at high tides the waves approach within thirty yards of its base. Within the
limits of the parish is a chapel of ease, called Llansaint chapel, occupying a very elevated site, its lofty tower forming
a conspicuous object and a well-known landmark to mariners approaching the coast. There is a place of worship for Welsh
Calvinistic Methodists. On a farm called Pen Alit are some remains of old walls, overspread with ivy; and, according to
tradition, a monastery formerly existed here, of which, however, no authentic account has been preserved. The average
annual expenditure for the support of the poor is £300. 19.