Llanfair Waterdine, sometimes written as Llanvair Waterdine and meaning St Mary's Church Waterdine, is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, England, on the north side of the

Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of ...

valley and adjacent to the Wales-England border.

Place name

"Llanfair" is a typical Welsh place name - in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

it translates as "church(yard) of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

". "Waterdine", which means "place by the water" was added to the name to distinguish the village from other places called "Llanfair" (which is a very common place name in Wales). The place name in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

is ''Llanfair Dyffryn Tefeidiad'' (the 2nd and 3rd words mean "Teme Valley").

Location

Llanfair Waterdine is just off the B4355 road, northwest of Knighton and near the village of

Knucklas Knucklas ( cy, Cnwclas, meaning "green hillock") is a village in Powys, Wales, previously Radnorshire. It lies in the upper valley of the River Teme, just off the B4355 road and is served by Knucklas railway station on the Heart of Wales Line. ...

, which has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The village lies southwest of the small Shropshire town of

Clun Clun ( cy, Colunwy) is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town.Combined populations for the two output areas covering the tow ...

. Also nearby is the small village of Lloyney (just on the other side of the Teme, in Wales). The village and parish is situated on the southern edge of the

Clun Forest Clun Forest is a remote, rural area of open pastures, moorland and mixed deciduous/coniferous woodland in the southwest part of the English county of Shropshire and also just over the border into Powys, Wales. It was once a Royal hunting forest ...

, a remote and very rural part of Shropshire, which is only partly forested. The village was historically in Wales, as it lies to the west of

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to h ...

. The River Teme has naturally altered its course since the

Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 ( cy, Y Deddfau Cyfreithiau yng Nghymru 1535 a 1542) were Acts of the Parliament of England, and were the parliamentary measures by which Wales was annexed to the Kingdom of England. Moreover, the legal sys ...

("Act of Union"); and so the border between Wales and England in the Teme valley no longer follows the centre of the river as it once did, but stays on what was the course of the river when the border was fixed by the Acts.

Amenities

*A village hall - the Everest Hall (a tribute to John Hunt) *A 16th-century

public house 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 ...

, which is now primarily a restaurant and hotel, the ''Waterdine'' (formerly called the ''Red Lion'', until 2000). The pub was originally built on the nearby

Drover's road A drovers' road, drove ''roador droveway is a route for droving livestock on foot from one place to another, such as to market or between summer and winter pasture (see transhumance). Many drovers' roads were ancient routes of unknown age; oth ...

to serve the drovers taking livestock to English markets.

Walking

The village lies near three long distance footpaths: *The

Jack Mytton Way The Jack Mytton Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway for horseriders, hillwalkers and mountain bikers in mid and south Shropshire, England. It typically takes a week to ride on horseback. For much of its length it passes through t ...

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

Glyndŵr's Way Glyndŵr's Way ( cy, Llwybr Glyndŵr) is a long-distance footpath in mid Wales. It runs for in an extended loop through Powys between Knighton and Welshpool, and anchored on Machynlleth to the west. History Its name derives from the earl ...

Famous and former residents

John Hunt, Baron Hunt Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier Henry Cecil John Hunt, Baron Hunt, (22 June 1910 – 7 November 1998), styled as Sir John Hunt from 1953 to 1966, was a British Army officer who is best known as the leader of the successful 1953 British ...

of Llanvair Waterdine, KG,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DSO, the leader of the first successful expedition to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

, (June 22, 1910 - November 8, 1998) moved to the area after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The village hall in Llanfair Waterdine is dedicated to his achievement and is called the "Everest Hall". *

Hywel ap Syr Mathew Hywel ap Syr Mathew (died 1581) was a Welsh poet, genealogist and soldier. He originated from Radnorshire in the valley of the River Teme at Llanfair Waterdine. Poetry Hywel ap Syr Mathew composed many cywyddau written to among others, Bishop ...

(d. 1581), poet and historian, was a native of the village. He took part in the first

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

Caerwys Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 road, A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 road, A541 Mold, Flintshire, Mold-Denbigh road. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, the popula ...

in 1523, and was said by

Lewys Dwnn Lewys Dwnn (c. 1550–1616) was a Welsh poet and Welsh genealogist. Also known as Lewys ap Rhys ab Owain. Lewys Dwnn originated from Bettws Cedewain in Montgomeryshire and claimed descent from a David Dwnn of Kidwelly. Welsh genealogist Lewy ...

to have been a

bardic In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

teacher. He addressed

eulogies A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

and

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

in the traditional manner to some of the leading figures of his time, including William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and Richard Davies, the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

bishop of St David's The Bishop of St Davids is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the St Davids, city of ...

. An accomplished scribe, he made copies of The Book of Arms and was a

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

. His chronicle of British history, written in the

, survives in two copies; it follows the style of contemporary historians in England, beginning with the sons of Noah and continuing down to 1556. In it Hywel states that he had been present at the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

in 1544 and some of his comments suggest that he was a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Both Lewys Dwnn and

Dafydd Benwyn Dafydd Benwyn was a 16th-century poet, from Glamorganshire, Wales. He is thought to have been possibly the most prolific of the bards of Glamorganshire, and two quite large collections of his ''awdlau'' and ''cywyddau'' are known to survive. They i ...

wrote elegies for him on his death.''The Oxford Companion to the Literature of Wales'', ed. by Meic Stephens. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1986, 277
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References

External links

News and Information for Llanfair Waterdine and LloyneyWaterdine hotel & restaurant website
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Civil parishes in Shropshire