Llandissilio is a village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the

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 ...

of Llandissilio West in east

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

, Wales on the

A478 road The A478 road is a major road in Wales. The route is from its junction with the A487 at Cardigan, Ceredigion, to Tenby, Pembrokeshire. It crosses the Preseli Hills and winds through farmland for almost all of its route. The road just touches th ...

between

Efailwen Cilymaenllwyd is a community on the extreme northwest of Carmarthenshire in Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 742. It lies about west of Carmarthen, southeast of Fishguard and northwest of Haverfordwest. The A478 road runs ...

to the north and

Clunderwen Clynderwen ( cy, Clunderwen; ) is a rural linear village and community, historically in Carmarthenshire in Wales, but administered as part of Pembrokeshire. It lies on the A478 Tenby to Cardigan road south of the village of Llandissilio and n ...

to the south. A largely

ribbon development Ribbon development refers to the building of houses along the routes of communications radiating from a human settlement. The resulting linear settlements are clearly visible on land use maps and aerial photographs, giving cities and the countrysid ...

along the main road, the village is surrounded by farmland.

Name

The village takes its name from

Tysilio Saint Tysilio (also known as/confused with Saint Suliac; la, Tysilius, Suliacus; died 640 AD) was a Welsh bishop, prince and scholar, son of the reigning King of Powys, Brochwel Ysgithrog, maternal nephew of the great Abbot Dunod of Bangor ...

, a 7th-century Welsh saint to whom the parish church is dedicated.

History

Ancient remains indicate that the area that is now the village of Llandissilio has been occupied for many centuries. For part of its history the parish of Llandissilio was in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. The parish was originally part of the Hundred of Derllys in

. A Visitation of the Archdeaconry of Carmarthen in 1710 found that of about 120 families in the parish, 40 attended church at Easter, 20 at Whitsuntide and 20 at Christmas and noted ''"the Minister suffers in his reputation for being addicted to drinking and swearing"'' and ''"the roof of the north side of the Chancell lies open to the wind & weather."'' The population of the parish of Llandissilio West in 1801 was 281. By 1981 the population had grown to 458. In 1891, 97% were Welsh-speaking, and 75% spoke only Welsh; 10 years later those speaking only Welsh had fallen to 29%. By 1981, 70% still spoke Welsh, but only 1% were not English-speaking. Evacuees From London in Pembrokeshire, Wales, 1940 D997

Evacuees From London in Pembrokeshire, Wales, 1940 D997

In 1831 nearly half of men over 20 years were agricultural labourers, and nearly a quarter were farmers employing them. The rest of the male population was engaged in retail or handicrafts. Slate quarrying and corn milling were carried out in the 19th century. Boys from Creek Road LCC School, Greenwich, London, were evacuated to Llandissilio during World War 2 (pictured). The

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

records the names of ten men of the parish who were killed in World War 1 and World War 2, and the memorial was Grade II listed in 2004.

Environment

Llandissilio is situated on the

Landsker Borderlands Trail The Landsker Borderlands Trail is a waymarked long distance footpath in the United Kingdom running through Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. The route is circular. The route The route takes the walker away from the popular ...

, a circular waymarked long-distance footpath running through

and

. The village is surrounded by farmland with deciduous trees. Near the south of the village is the source of the River Conyn which then flows south-west to meet the

Eastern Cleddau The River Cleddau ( cy, Afon Cleddau) consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the important harbour of Milford Haven. The name of the combined estuary – ...

Worship

The church and churchyard, Llandysilio (Penf) NLW3361895

St Tysilio Parish Church is in the

Diocese of St David's The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcop ...

. The church was Grade II listed in 1971 under the auspices of

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

; it has mediaeval origins, and has been restored since. Blaenconin Baptist Chapel is on the outskirts of the village.

Waldo Williams Waldo Goronwy Williams (30 September 1904 – 20 May 1971) was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist. He is often referred to by his fir ...

is buried there. A drawing of Blaenconin chapel by the artist John Piper illustrates

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

's collection of essays on architecture, ''First and Last Loves'' (2012). John Piper's photograph of the chapel is held in the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

collection.

Education

Brynconin Community School (''Welsh: Ysgol Brynconin'') educates children from 3 to 11 years. Teaching is in English and Welsh languages, and (in 2011) 40% of pupils spoke Welsh at home.

Amenities

The village has a post office, two pubs (''The Angel'' and ''The Bush''), hotel, holiday park and retail premises.

Governance

The

of Llandissilio West, in which the village lies, is part of

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclochog Community includes the small settlement of Ll ...

electoral division of

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authorit ...

which elects one county councillor. The community of Llandissilio East is in Carmarthenshire.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire