Llangyfelach 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 ...

located in the City and County of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Wales. Llangyfelach is situated about 4 miles north of the centre of Swansea, just west of

Morriston Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes ref ...

. It falls within the Llangyfelach ward. To the west is open moorland. The population was 2,510 as of the 2011 UK census. The name is seemingly derived from a combination of 'llan' and 'Cyfelach' (the name of a saint), with a mutation to combine them for Llangyfelach.

Description

Llangyfelach was once the name of a

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 ...

that covered much of the former

Lordship of Gower Gower was an ancient Marcher Lords, marcher lordship of Deheubarth in South Wales. Creation of Lordship Prior to the Norman invasion of Wales, Norman invasion, the district was the cwmwd, commote of Gŵyr, a part of Cantref Eginawc, within the r ...

. Today's community covers a smaller area including the site of the former

Felindre Felindre is a rural village in southern Wales. Felindre is located in the far north of Swansea, in the electoral ward of Mawr. The nearby Lower Lliw Reservoirs are a popular venue for walking and fishing. The water mill in the village was workin ...

tinplate works, which hosted the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

in 2006. Bordering the village to the north is the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

Junction 46. The village has its own primary school, crematorium, post office, The 'Plough and Harrow' pub, and a Scout hall. At the centre of the village is the Parish Church of St David and Cyfelach. The site dates back to the 6th Century:

St. David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...

the Patron Saint of Wales founded an early Celtic monastery there. The present church has a 12th Century detached tower and a converted

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

as the present church. Contained within the church is the Llangyfelach Cross, a 9th Century Celtic stone. Llangyfelach was the birthplace of the painter

Evan Walters Evan John Walters (27 November 1892 – 14 March 1951) was a Welsh artist. Biography Walters was born in the Welcome Inn, between Llangyfelach and Mynydd-bach, in south Wales, to nonconformist and Welsh-speaking parents, Thomas Walters (1861-1946 ...

, and is mentioned in a

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

about the practice of 'pressing' men into military service.

Future developments

There are proposals to develop a new 18 hole championship golf course and leisure complex near the village called Royal Fern Park. In August 2008, it was announced that the plan was approved by the local council and would not be blocked by the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

.CITY GOLF COMPLEX GO-AHEAD South Wales Evening Post 2 August 2008
/ref> Part of the development will include residential housing and a clubhouse with fitness and leisure facilities.

References

External links

Evening Post - Story on Royal Fern Leisure ComplexRoyal Fern Park (Swansea LDP)
{{authority control Communities in Swansea Villages in Swansea