Manafon is a small rural
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, ...
located in the hills of
Montgomeryshire
, HQ= Montgomery
, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start=
, End= ...
, the Northern part of the Welsh county of
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
. The Parish focuses on the valley of the River Rhiew that runs west to east into the River Severn". The community of Manafon consists of "two main villages within about a mile of one another, Manafon and New Mills. The remainder of the population lives in scattered farms and dwellings and in the small rural settlement of The Green."
The village is 8 miles (14 km) from
Welshpool
Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...
, 78.4 miles (126.2 km) from
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, and 155.3 miles (249.9 km) from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
In 2011 the population of Manafon was 301 with 18.4% of them able to speak
Welsh. Between 1841 and 1901 the population declined from 795 to 501.
The name was recorded in 1254 as Manauon with Mannavon in 1338, and "the modern spelling first appears early in the reign of Elizabeth, c.1566." Experts now suggest that it means "the ‘plain associated with Anafon’, where the first element is Welsh ma meaning ‘plain, field or place’ and the second a personal name", rather than afon meaning ‘river’, as in
Stratford-upon-Avon, which was the earlier view.
Manafon in 1833
From ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales'' by Samuel Lewis, 1833:
::MANAVON, a parish in the lower division of the hundred of NEWTOWN, county of MONTGOMERY, NORTH WALES, 8 1/2 miles (W. S. W.) from Welshpool, containing 775 inhabitants. This parish is situated in a mountainous district nearly in the centre of the county, and is intersected by the river Rhiw, and also by the road leading from
Llanvair to
Newtown and
Montgomery: it comprises an extensive tract of land, of which a considerable portion is uncultivated, and of the remainder, one-half consists of old enclosures, and the other has been
enclosed
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
and brought into a state of cultivation under the provisions of an act of parliament obtained in 1796. The surrounding scenery is strikingly diversified; and from the higher grounds are obtained extensive and pleasingly varied prospects. The manufacture of
flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...
is carried on to a limited extent.
St Michael's Church
St Michael's and All Angels Church is an active
Anglican church in the
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 o ...
of
Llanfair Caereinion
Llanfair Caereinion is a market town and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales upon the River Banwy (also known as the River Einion), around 8 miles west of Welshpool. In 2011 the ward had a population of 1,810; the town itself had a popul ...
, Llanllugan and Manafon, built in stone with
slate roof. The church has been designated by
Cadw as a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. There is documentary evidence relating to a church on the site in 1254 and 1291 but otherwise nothing is known of its history until it was restored in 1859.
::The walls almost certainly date back to the 15thC if not earlier and the 15thC roof remains. But apart from a Perpendicular east window and two re-set lights in the vestry, all the
fenestration
Fenestration may refer to:
* Fenestration (architecture), the design, construction, or presence of openings in a building
* Used in relation to fenestra in anatomy, medicine and biology
* Fenestration, holes in the rudder
A rudder is a primar ...
is
Victorian, dating to a restoration of 1859, with further works in 1898 when the interior was re-ordered. Little of pre-19thC date survives inside.
And in 1869 Glynne wrote that "this church has been so completely renovated, as scarcely to retain any ancient features".
Notable vicars
Notable former vicars include the poets
Gwallter Mechain
Walter Davies (15 July 1761 – 5 December 1849), commonly known by his bardic name Gwallter Mechain ("Walter of Mechain"), was a Welsh poet, editor, translator, antiquary and Anglican clergyman.
Davies was born at Y Wern, near Tomen y Caste ...
and
R. S. Thomas.
Gwallter Mechain (Walter of Mechain) was the
bardic name of Walter Davies (1761 – 1849), who was a Welsh poet, editor, translator, antiquary and
Anglican clergyman, born
Llanfechain,
Montgomeryshire
, HQ= Montgomery
, Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996)
, Origin=
, Status=
, Start=
, End= ...
. He went studied at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, where he received his MA in 1803. He was then awarded the living of
Llanwyddelan and in 1807 became vicar of Manafon, where he remained for 30 years and did most of his literary work.
Davies was closely associated with the
London Welsh
London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...
, especially the
Gwyneddigion Society
The Gwyneddigion Society ( cy, Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion) was a London-based Welsh literary and cultural society. The original society was founded in 1770 and wound up in 1843. It was briefly revived in 1978. Its proceedings were conducted through ...
, and the revival of the Cymmrodorion Society in 1820. He was a keen supporter of eisteddfodau, where he won many prizes, and he played an important role in establishing provincial eisteddfodic societies.
R. S. Thomas (1913 – 2000) was rector of Manafon from 1942 to 1954. It was during his time in Manafon that he first began to study Welsh and that he published his first three volumes of poetry, ''The Stones of the Field'' (1946), ''An Acre of Land'' (1952) and ''The Minister'' (1953). Thomas's poetry achieved a breakthrough with the publication, in 1955, of his fourth book, ''Song at the Year's Turning'', with an introduction by poet
John Betjeman. This, in effect a collected edition of his first three volumes, was critically very well received.
Music album Manafon
Manafon is a 2009 album by
David Sylvian
David Sylvian (born David Alan Batt, 23 February 1958) is an English musician, singer and songwriter who came to prominence in the late 1970s as frontman and principal songwriter of the band Japan. The band's androgynous look and increasingly ...
. It is an avant-garde work combining elements of
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
,
experimental rock
Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
and
chamber music. It reached rank No. 6 in ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
s list of best 2009 albums. This album was inspired by the Welsh poet R. S. Thomas.
::Manafon is indeed a village in Wales, a village in which Thomas lived for sometime and served as rector to the parish. In this small village, Thomas had trouble filling the pews of a Sunday but in a sense it was something of an idyllic spot in which to raise a child (a strict, taciturn and somewhat indifferent parent), master his profession and write his poetry. So, the physically real village became for me a metaphor for the poetic imagination.
See also
*
List of localities in Wales by population
The following is a list of built-up areas in Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
*
David Lloyd (judge)
David Lloyd (1656 – April 6, 1731) was an American lawyer and politician from Chester, Pennsylvania. He was the first Attorney General of the Province of Pennsylvania and a member of the popular party. He served 9 terms in the Pennsylvani ...
- Pennsylvania Chief Justice, born in Manafon
*
John Griffiths (artist) - artist and friend of Lockwood Kipling, lived in Gwernydd, Manafon.
[Dictionary of Welsh Biography]
References
External links
*Map of Manafon in 1902
{{Powys
Communities in Powys