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 of

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 ...

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 and

Llanelidan Llanelidan is a small village and 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 overlooking the vil ...

and 19 townships. Much of the land within the commote was owned by the Bishopric of Bangor. The commote was abolished when the English system of counties was introduced to north Wales under the provisions of the Act of Union 1536 and the area became part of the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers 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 in the 16th century.

References

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