Clyro ( cy, Cleirwy) is a village and community in

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

, Powys, Wales, with 781 inhabitants as of the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some to the south-east.

History

The name of the village is thought to derive from the Welsh for 'clear water'. Though a Roman fort has been excavated within the village, the settlement of Clyro is presumed to be early medieval.

The parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael and All Angels and was first recorded in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535. It was, however, almost entirely rebuilt in the 19th century, though the base of the tower is early 15th century. Clyro Castle was first mentioned in 1397, but may be much earlier. All that now remains is a large motte. A second motte, called Castle Kinsey and possibly built by

Cadwallon ap Madog Cadwallon ap Madog was the son of Madog ab Idnerth who had died in 1140, while Idnerth was a grandson of Elystan Glodrydd who had died in around 1010 and had founded a dynasty in the Middle Marches of Wales, in the area known as Rhwng Gwy a Hafren ...

in the 12th century, is at Court Evan Gwynne just north of the village. The site is now a Radnorshire Wildlife Trust reserve called Cwm Byddog, also notable for its veteran oak pollards.

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, the founder of Methodism, and his supporter

John William Fletcher John William Fletcher (born Jean Guillaume de la Fléchère; 12 September 1729 – 14 August 1785) was a Swiss-born English divine and Methodist leader. Of French Huguenot stock, he was born in Nyon in Vaud, Switzerland. Fletcher emigrated to E ...

often stayed and preached in Clyro at the house called Pentwyn. Clyro Court was built by Thomas Mynors Baskerville in 1839. It is said that Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

was a family friend and visitor, with obvious consequences. Clyro Court Farm is much older, being a former monastic grange with some of the buildings dating back to the 14th century. The village has been cited as one of many explanations for the naming of the rock band Biffy Clyro.

Francis Kilvert

Francis Kilvert was curate of the parish church from 1865 to 1872 and much of his published diaries deal with the people and landscape of Clyro and the surrounding area. This part of Wales, including the villages of Clyro, Capel-y-ffin,

Llowes Llowes is a small village in the community of Glasbury, Powys, Wales. The village has approximately 110 inhabitants (2005). The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 3 miles (5 km) to the south-east. History St. Meilig and St. Meilig's Cross The ...

, Glasbury,

Llanigon Llanigon is a village and community in Powys, Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains, Wales. The community population was 478. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 1.5 miles (2 km) to the east. I ...

, Painscastle, and the town of Hay-on-Wye, as well as Clifford and Whitney-on-Wye in neighbouring Herefordshire, is sometimes referred to as "Kilvert Country". Kilvert's diaries were dramatised on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019. There is a commemorative plaque in Clyro parish church and his former residence, Ashbrook House, is now an art gallery. Many of the buildings mentioned in the diaries are still extant, including the old village school where Kilvert taught, the old vicarage, the New Inn (now a private residence), and The Swan (now the Baskerville Arms).

Notes

External links

Community Website

Clyro Primary School

Photos of Clyro and surrounding area on geograph
{{authority control Communities in Powys Villages in Powys