Llanilar 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 ...

in Ceredigion, Wales, about southeast 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 ...

. It is the eponym of the hundred of

Ilar International League of Associations of Rheumatology (ILAR) is an international body of the associations of Rheumatologists from around the world. It comprises partner organisations PANLAR, Paamerican League of Associations for Rheumatology, EULAR ...

. The population at the 2011 census was 1,085. The community includes

Rhos-y-garth Rhos-y-garth is a hamlet in the community of Llanilar, Ceredigion, Wales, which is 68.7 miles (110.6 km) from Cardiff and 174.7 miles (281.1 km) from London. Rhos-y-garth is represented in the Senedd by Elin Jones (Plaid Cymru) and is p ...

Name

Welsh placenames The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of ...

, many smaller communities are named for their parish (''

llan Llan may be: * Llan (placename), a Celtic morpheme, or element, common in British placenames ** A short form for any placename . * Llan, Powys, a Welsh village near Llanbrynmair * Llan the Sorcerer La Lunatica Lacuna Lady Bullseye Lady De ...

''), having grown up around the local church. This town's name honours its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

, although it is disputed whether that is the church's presumed founder

(

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for " Hilary"), listed as a member of

Cadfan Cadfan or St Cadfan might refer to: * The Battle of Cadfan, fought between English and Welsh armies in 1257 * Cadfan ap Iago, King of Gwynedd (7th century floruit) * John Cadvan Davies (1846–1923), Archdruid of Wales, used the bardic name ''Cad ...

's mission and a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

but now almost totally forgotten, or the more famous Hilary who was bishop of

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and is still celebrated by the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and

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 ...

churches in Wales.Baring-Gould, Sabine & al
''The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain'', Vol. III, pp. 299 f
Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 25 Nov 2014. (The confusion is not helped by Edward Williams's numerous forgeries which he included in the ''

Iolo Manuscripts Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedi ...

''.)

History and amenities

There is a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

site just to the east. The present village was built along the southern side of the scenic River Ystwyth and contains a

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, ...

Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

chapel,

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, GP Surgery, and garage. The village post office is now closed but a mobile van visits several times during the week. St Hilary's Church (') has a large square tower, chancel, nave, and porch. In the porch is a hollowed stone for holding holy water and, above the door, there is an ancient beam with carved heads and animals inscribed with the words ''J.S. W.W.A. Church Wardens, 1683.'' Meyrick, Samuel Rush. (1907) ''The History of Cardiganshire''. Stephen Collard. pg. 284. Under the name "Church of St Ilar", it is a grade II* listed building.

Llanilar railway station Llanilar railway stationRCAHMW
Retrieved : 2012-09-25 was on the Carm ...

on the line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth opened in 1867 and closed in 1964 following severe flooding in the Llanilar area.

Notable people

Saint Ilar In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

, a putative

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

missionary and martyr *

Dai Jones David John Jones (18 October 1943 – 4 March 2022), known as Dai Jones Llanilar, was a Welsh language television presenter, singer and radio broadcaster. Early life David John Jones was born in Holloway, London, Middlesex, to a family of W ...

, a Welsh broadcaster who lived and farmed in Llanilar

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llanilar and surrounding area: Llanilar Health Centre
Villages in Ceredigion {{Ceredigion-geo-stub