Llanyrafon is a suburb of
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
and a
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 the county borough of
Torfaen
Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south ...
in
south east Wales
South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...
. It lies within the boundaries of the historic county of
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
and the preserved county of
Gwent.
Etymology
Sometimes written on old maps and documents as ''Lan-yr-avon'', ''Llan-yr-avon'', or ''Llanyravon'', the name literally translates as
"Church by the River". However, ''Llan'' meaning "Church"' is usually followed by a saint's name, and the resulting name is usually associated with a parish church. Neither is true for ''Llanyrafon'', so the older meaning of ''Llan'' as "an enclosed piece of land" may apply. Llan means an enclosed parcel of land belonging to a church though a church may not necessarily have been present on the land as for instance in the case of Llandaff. In which the Daff part refers to the river Taff. Such could apply to llanyrafon.
[Phil Carradice https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/47c90ff0-7e9f-4666-a0a1-45e113945402]
Location
Llanyrafon lies to the east of the
Afon Llwyd
The Afon Lwyd or Afon Llwyd ( en, 'grey river') is a long river in south-east Wales which flows from its source northwest of Blaenavon, through Abersychan, Pontnewynydd, Pontypool, Llanfrechfa and Cwmbran before flowing, at Caerleon, into the R ...
and Cwmbran town centre, west of the
A4042 dual carriageway and south of
Croesyceiliog
Croesyceiliog (, ''Cockerel's Cross'') is a suburb of Cwmbran, Wales.
Housing
Croesyceiliog is primarily a residential district and contains a wide variety of housing from Victorian terraces and even older Welsh cottages to property built betw ...
.
History
Built in the late 1950s, Llanyrafon is mainly residential but does include a municipal golf course; 3-star Hotel (Commodore Hotel on Mill Lane - closed in 2011 and now demolished to make way for a new housing development); small shopping precinct known as ''Llanyrafon Lakeside Shops'' and the large
Boating Lake Park & South Fields. The Boating Lake Park includes (as the name suggests) a large lake which is home to various wildfowl birds such as swans, mallards and moorhens. There is also a large adventure playground as well as various football and rugby pitches. In recent years, the addition of a skateboarding/roller blading park was made to this area. Most recently there has been a re-vamp of the Boating Lake with the addition of an island. There is one public house, 'The Crow's Nest', that serves 'pub-grub' food.
The X24, a major bus service operated by
, runs through Llanyrafon from
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
town centre to
Newport. Phil Anslow also provides a regular service from Cwmbran town centre to Newport via Llanyrafon as well as service which links Llanyrafon to the town centre.
See also
*
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
*
Torfaen County Borough Council
Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.
History
The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district council with borough status ...
*
Grade II* listed buildings in Torfaen
In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance; Grade II* structures are those considered to be "particularly ...
*
Scheduled Monuments in Torfaen
*
Communities of Torfaen
References
*Barber, Chris, 1999. EASTERN VALLEY The Story of Torfaen. Blorenge Books.
External links
BBC article on Llanyrafon MillLlanyrafon Manor - Rural Heritage Centre{{Torfaen
Suburbs of Cwmbran
Communities in Torfaen