Llanelieu (English ''Llaneleu'') is a small settlement and former civil parish (

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 ...

) in Powys, Wales on the northern edge of the Black Mountains within the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain ...

. It lies within the historic bounds of

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

. The settlement is now part of the community of

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and a ...

. The nearest town is Talgarth some to the west.

The settlement

Prehistoric settlement of the area is evidenced by Ffostyll Long Cairns, two

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

burial chambers just to the north of Ffostyll Farm.

St Ellyw's Church

St Ellyw's Church is the main feature of the scattered settlement as well as being the source of its name (Llan-Ellyw). Saint Ellyw is said to have been one of the many saintly offspring of

Brychan Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Life According to Celtic hagiography Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and h ...

, legendary 5th-century king of

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans be ...

who ruled from nearby

. The church of St Ellyw dates from the 13th century and, unusually, escaped Victorian modernization so that it preserves many of its medieval features. It is now redundant, but is cared for as a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building. Near the church is a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

that was believed to have been used as the parish

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries. Natural holes in the tree took the miscreant's arms which were then secured by an iron bar. The tree was subject to restoration in 2010.

Llanelieu Court

In 1845, Samuel Lewis' topographical entry for Llanelieu noted that "there were formerly several ancient mansions, but they have been all abandoned as family residences by their proprietors, and are at present occupied as farm-houses". https://books.google.com/books?id=7QQVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8&dq=Llanelieu&hl=en&ei=3kstTsS1BMqk8QPtm8zvCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Llanelieu&f=false Chief among those that survive is Llanelieu Court, a 17th-century house which was formerly the home of one of the branches of the Aubrey family. In recent years it has housed a craft pottery, the Black Mountains Pottery, and is now a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building.

The parish and community

Llanelieu was a civil parish from 1837 until 1974, when it was re-termed a

. The community included the settlement of Llanelieu and extended to the south east as far as Mynydd Du Forest. As such, it included a substantial upland area of the Black Mountains, principally along the valley of the

Grwyne Fawr The Grwyne Fawr is a river in the Brecon Beacons National Park in south Wales. A section of it forms the administrative border between Powys and Monmouthshire and also of the historic counties of Brecon and Monmouth. The river and its major tri ...

where a reservoir was completed between 1908 and 1928. A temporary village, including school, was built on site to house construction workers and remains of this village are still visible. Lewis in 1845 described the "surrounding scenery as bold, and in some parts romantic", whereas the 1868 National Gazetteer dismissed it as "somewhat of a gloomy cast". Despite its size, Llanelieu was one of the least populous communities in Brecknockshire containing just 15 houses and 72 people in 1961. In 1985, it was split up, the settlement merging with the community of Talgarth, whilst the northernmost part was transferred to the new community of

Gwernyfed Gwernyfed is a community in Powys, Wales, centred on the village of Aberllynfi. It takes its name from Gwernyfed Park, a medieval deer park within the community. The community of Gwernyfed was established in 1985 through the merger of the for ...

and the extensive southern part to the new community of the

Vale of Grwyney The Vale of Grwyney is a Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It follows most of the border between Powys and Monmouthshire. It takes its name from the river Grwyney (in Welsh, Grwyne) which flows through it into the River Usk. The riv ...

. Proposals: Community No. B31 - THE VALE OF GRWYNEY

References

{{authority control Villages in Powys Talgarth