Llanmerewig is a historic

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 ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, Wales, in the historic county of

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

, and is situated between Newtown and Welshpool. The church and small village stand on high ground, which overlooks the river Severn, and is close to

Abermule Abermule ( cy, Aber-miwl) is a village lying on the River Severn 6 km (4 miles) northeast of Newtown in Powys, mid Wales. The A483 Swansea to Chester trunk road, the Cambrian Line railway, connecting Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury, and the M ...

; part of which lies within the parish. The river

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

forms the North Western boundary of the parish and the Eastern boundary is the river Mule, which cuts through a steep gorge, before entering the Severn at Abermule. The historic parish covered 1,023 acres.

Saint Llwchaiarn

The Church is dedicated to the 6th-century Saint Llwchaiarn or Lluwchaiarn, who was also the patron saint of the adjacent Llanllwchaearn and of two parishes in

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. The placename presents a problem as it would be expected that the ''

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 ...

'' ("parish") would proceed the recognizable name of 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 ...

, but this is not the case. The most likely explanation is that the placename has been corrupted from ''Lam-yr-ewig'' or "Hind’s Leap". The 16th-century Welsh poet, Sion Keri uses the name "Lamerewig" as the placename and describes the various feats and miracles attributed to the saint which include slaying a dragon and causing a hind to leap into a pool of water.

The church

Located on a lane 400m N of Llanmerewig village to the east of Church Farm. The church is situated in an oval churchyard (typical of a "llan’’ enclosure) bounded by a masonry wall. The medieval church has largely disappeared as church underwent major alterations on two occasions in the C19. The first alterations were undertaken from 1839 to 1843 by the rector, John Parker (1798-1860), an enthusiastic advocate of the Gothic style. The present curiously slender tower and a semi-dormer window on the S side were added at this time, and the porch was richly ornamented. The second series of restorations took place in 1892 and were more conventional in style; plans were prepared by

Sir Aston Webb Sir Aston Webb (22 May 1849 – 21 August 1930) was a British architect who designed the principal facade of Buckingham Palace and the main building of the Victoria and Albert Museum, among other major works around England, many of them in par ...

and the work was funded by Charles Whitley Owen of Fronfraith Hall. The E and N walls were rebuilt, and a new E window was built to match the old Medieval window which was removed to the E boundary wall of the churchyard, where it remains.. A fragment of the 15th century

Rood Screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

survives in the reconstructed screen of 1892. ''Rectors'' *1537 David ap Llenn *1560 Thomas ap David *1564 Thomas Jenkin *1567 Griffith Jones *1573 Robert Myddelton *1575 Gregory Jones *1617 John Price *1618 John Lloyd *1620 Matthew Evans *1635 Edward Jones A.M. *1643 Thomas Bright A.M. *1666 Thomas Evance *1688 John Evance *1700 Ellis Jones *1700 Robert Smith *1732 Richard Lewis *1762 Roderick Jones *1782 Edward Vardy *1797 Roderick Jones *1798 Llewelyn Davies *1827 John Parker A.M. *1844 John Lloyd A.M.

Administrative history

In the Medieval period Llanmerewig was in the

Commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

Cedewain Cedewain (or Cydewain) was a medieval cantref in the Kingdom of Powys. It possibly consisted of the commotes (''cymydau'') of Cynan, Hafren and Uwch Hanes. Other sources give the commotes as Cedewain, Eginlle and Ceri. It lay at the south of the ...

in the

Kingdom of Powys The Kingdom of Powys ( cy, Teyrnas Powys; la, Regnum Poysiae) was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. It very roughly covered the northern ...

. Llanmerewig appears to have consisted of only one or two townships, Llanmerewig itself and Cilgwrgan; which in the Medieval period may have been a township. In 1885, the township of Bolbro, which was previously in

Llandyssil Llandyssil is a village in Powys, Wales, about two miles from the town of Montgomery. The village is part of the Llandyssil community. In 2001 there were 420 inhabitants in the parish, of whom 300 lived in the village itself.The population figu ...

parish, was transferred to Llanmerewig. For ecclesiastical administration the parish is in the

Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop. Geography The Anglican Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of Wales stretches from the borders of Chester in ...

, the

Archdeaconry of Montgomery Archdeaconry of Montgomery is an archdeaconry within the Diocese of St Asaph. It covers the eastern area of Montgomeryshire and includes Welshpool, Newtown, and Llanfyllin. Originally part of the Archdeaconry of Powys, which dated from the Mediev ...

and the Deanery of Cedewain. In 1974, as a result of Local Government reform, Llanmerewig was joined with Llandyssil Parish Council to become a

Community Council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...

within the new Montgomeryshire District Council. In 1984 the Community Council was renamed

with Llandyssil Community Council. At this time, the Community Council covered the old parishes of Llanmerewig and Llandyssil, together with Dolforwyn, which had been a township in

Bettws Cedewain Bettws Cedewain ( cy, Betws Cedewain), also known as Bettws Cedewen, is a small village and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. It lies in a sheltered valley on the banks of the River Bechan, some north of Newtown, on the B4389 road. T ...

parish.English E (ed) 1999 "A Collected History of the Communities of Llandyssil, Abermule and Llanmerewig" In 1996, with the abolition of the Montgomeryshire District Council, the Community Council became part of the

Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Governme ...

unitary authority.

Notable people

* John Lloyd (1844–1910), cricketer and barrister

References

{{authority control Villages in Powys History of Powys History of Montgomeryshire Historic Montgomeryshire Parishes