Llannerch (sometimes spelled Llanerch) was a

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 ...

in the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

Dyffryn Clwyd Dyffryn Clwyd was a cantref of Medieval Wales and from 1282 a marcher lordship. In 1536, it became part of the new county of Denbighshire. The name means Vale of Clwyd in English and is still the name for that region of north Wales in modern Welsh ...

which later became the

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in F ...

ship of Ruthin. Situated in an area south of

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

the commote covered an area of which included the parishes of

Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd is a village and community in Denbighshire, Wales, situated in the Vale of Clwyd about one mile south of the town of Ruthin. By the 2001 census, it had 1048 residents and 50.6% of them could speak Welsh. The figures for t ...

and

Llanelidan Llanelidan is a small village and community (Wales), community in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The community also includes the hamlet of Rhyd-y-Meudwy. The church, village hall and pub all lie within 200 yards of each other ...

and 19 townships. Much of the land within the commote was owned by the

Bishopric of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

. The commote was abolished when the English system of counties was introduced to north Wales under the provisions of the

Act of Union 1536 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 ...

and the area became part of the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. Llannerch is known as the home of the poet, Gruffydd ap Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan. He had four children including the poets Catrin ferch Gruffudd ap Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan and Alis ferch Gruffudd ab Ieuan ap Llywelyn Fychan. The name was maintained with the building of

Llannerch Hall Llanerch Hall, Trefnant, Clwyd, Wales, is a country house with medieval origins. It was rebuilt twice at the beginning and at the end of the 17th century, was again rebuilt in the 19th century, and further modified in the 20th. The hall is now di ...

in the 16th century.

References

Geography of Denbighshire Commotes of Gwynedd Medieval Wales {{Denbighshire-geo-stub