Ystrad Meurig (or Ystradmeurig) is a village and

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 ...

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 ...

, Wales. It lies on the B4340 road northwest of the town of

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

, on the edge of the

Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains ( cy, Mynyddoedd Cambria, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales. Since the 1950s, its application has becom ...

History and amenities

Schoolhouse in the churchyard at Yystrad Meurig (geograph 2730419)

Ystrad Meurig was the site of a

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

founded b
Edward Richard
(1714-1777) in about 1734 . It subsequently offered pupils a course which included significant elements of Classics and Divinity. The school was thereby enabled to provide a basic training for many

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

speakers who wished to enter the

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

- being one of the few establishments licensed for the purpose by the

Bishop of St. David's The Bishop of St Davids is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Davids. The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire, fo ...

. Several former pupils were later to achieve considerable distinction within the Welsh church. This arrangement continued until the 1820s, when the existing school was finally superseded by a newly established college, which has since been transformed into the current

University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest Academic degree, degree awarding institution in Wale ...

. The Grammar School at Ystrad Meurig later reverted to a more modest status as a school for the village and for the surrounding area, although it eventually adopted the name St. John's College, before finally closing in 1973. After lying almost derelict for some years, the building was more recently restored as a centre for the local community. It is a grade II* listed building. The village also contains the slight remains of what was thought to be a simple

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...

castle founded by Gilbert de Clare in the 12th century. Recent excavations by

Lampeter University University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited ...

have shown that it was far more complex than this and it is now suggested that between the middle of the 6th century and the end of the 9th century this was once the site of the royal llys or hall complex of the

kings and princes and that some of the earthworks at least are the remains of this. The llys was the centre of estates held by Welsh aristocrats of

Trawsgoed Trawsgoed (Welsh for "Crosswood") is both a community and an estate in Ceredigion, Wales. The estate is southeast of Aberystwyth, and has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since 1200.

both secular and ecclesiastical as they are identified in the Welsh laws and elsewhere. The grade II listed chapel of St. John the Baptist in its present form dates from 1897. From 1866 up to 1965, Ystrad Meurig was served by the

Strata Florida Strata Florida Abbey ( cy, Abaty Ystrad Fflur) () is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. is a Latinisation of the Welsh ; 'Valley of F ...

Railway Station, on the

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

line - which had originally been proposed as a part of the

Manchester and Milford Railway The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of Northwest England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool. Despite the tit ...

. Samuel Lewis reported that the population of the village was 109 in 1833.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Ystrad Meurgig and surrounding area
*

* ttp://www.dyfedfhs.org.uk/parish/ysmg.gif Parish of Ystrad Meurig mapbr>Archaeological Sites at Ystrad Meurig
{{authority control Villages in Ceredigion