Llanbadarn Fawr is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, Wales. It is on the outskirts of

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

next to

Penparcau Penparcau is a village and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, situated to the south of Aberystwyth. The village has the largest number of Welsh language speakers (1095) in the Aberystwyth town area, covering an area from the sea to the Rheidol ...

and Southgate. It forms the eastern part of the continually built-up area of Aberystwyth. It holds two

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

s, Padarn and Sulien which elect a

Ceredigion County Council Ceredigion County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Ceredigion) is the governing body for the county of Ceredigion, since 1996 one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The council's main offices are in Aberaeron. History The current council was created ...

lor each and several Llanbadarn Fawr Community Councillors. At the 2001 census its population as a community was recorded at 2,899, increasing to 3,380 at the 2011 census.

Attractions, history and amenities

Llanbadarn Fawr is named after the church of Padarn (the great church of Padarn), and dates from the sixth century. It predates Aberystwyth, whose castle was originally named after Llanbadarn. Notable buildings include Saint Padarn's Church, a fine, partly Romanesque

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

on the site of the mother church founded by

Padarn Padarn ( la, Paternus, Padarnus; cy, Padarn; br, Padern; ? – 550 AD) was an early 6th century British Christian abbot-bishop who founded St Padarn's Church in Ceredigion, Wales. He appears to be one and the same with the first bishop of Bra ...

(Paternus) in the 6th century and which contains notable 18th-century wall monuments. The Garreg Fawr stone slab, reputed to be the capstone of a now-vanished

chamber tomb A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...

, is mounted on a plinth in Llanbadarn Fawr Square. This slab once stood on four upright stones before being fractured by fire in the 19th century, after which it was reassembled and mounted in its present location. Llanbadarn Fawr has two

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, ''The Black Lion'' and ''The Gogerddan Arms'', and the University's Llanbadarn campus, which concentrates on subjects such as

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

criminology Criminology (from Latin , "accusation", and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'' meaning: "word, reason") is the study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is an interdisciplinary field in both the behavioural and so ...

and

information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...

, and

Coleg Ceredigion Coleg Ceredigion, formerly known as Aberystwyth Technical College and later as Aberystwyth College of Further Education, is a bilingual further education college in Ceredigion, Wales. It has two campuses in the two largest towns in Ceredigion, nam ...

's Aberystwyth campus. Padarn United F.C. play their

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

in the Cambrian Tyres League. In the spring, summer and autumn months the village has train services provided by The Vale of Rheidol Railway to

Devil's Bridge Devil's Bridge is a term applied to dozens of ancient bridges, found primarily in Europe. Most of these bridges are stone or masonry arch bridges and represent a significant technological achievement in ancient architecture. Due to their unusua ...

Capel Bangor Capel Bangor ( cy, Penllwyn) is a small village in Ceredigion, Wales, approximately east of Aberystwyth. The A44 road and the seasonal Vale of Rheidol Railway pass through. In the 2011 census, the population was 256, with 63% born in Wales. ...

and

. File:Gogerddan Map 110, A map of the Borough of Llanbadarn.png, A map of Llanbadarn Fawr, c.1800 File:Church of Llanbadarn Fawr, near Aberystwyth.jpeg File:Egwys Llanbadarn Fawr, Abersytwyth.JPG File:TrenLlanbadarnFawr.JPG File:Gogerddan Arms, Llanbadarn Fawr.jpg

Governance

Much of the community falls within the

electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...

named Llandbadarn-Fawr-Padarn and Llandadarn-Fawr-Sulien. The total population of these wards is 3,380

In literature

Tradition has it that the poet

Dafydd ap Gwilym Dafydd ap Gwilym ( 1315/1320 – 1350/1370) is regarded as one of the leading Welsh poets and amongst the great poets of Europe in the Middle Ages. Life R. Geraint Gruffydd suggests 1315- 1350 as the poet's dates; others place him a little ...

was born within Llanbadarn Fawr parish, as it stood in the fourteenth century, at Brogynin,

Penrhyn-coch Penrhyn-coch is a small Welsh village, in the community of Trefeurig, Ceredigion, located between the Afon Stewi and Nant Seilo rivers, close to where they merge into the Afon Clarach. The village is approximately north-east of Aberystwyth. ...

. He wrote about the parish church in his poem "

The Girls of Llanbadarn "The Girls of Llanbadarn", or "The Ladies of Llanbadarn" (Welsh: ''Merched Llanbadarn''), is a short, wryly humorous poem by the 14th-century Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym, in which he mocks his own lack of success with the girls of his neighbourhoo ...

". This church can still be visited today.

Notes

External links

Llanbadarn Fawr Community Council websitewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llanbadarn Fawr and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Ceredigion Aberystwyth