Llanelly ( cy, Llanelli) is the name of a

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 ...

and coterminous

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, ...

in the

principal area {{Short description, Formal legal term for a county in England and Wales In England and Wales local government legislation, a principal area is one of the sub-national areas established for control by a principal council. They include most of the ar ...

of Monmouthshire, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, south-east Wales. It roughly covers the area of the Clydach Gorge. The population of the parish and ward at the 2011 census was 3,899.

Location

The parish encompasses the area surrounding the Clydach Gorge, west of Abergavenny, east of Brynmawr and south of

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...

. The Church of St Ellibr>
has its own page.

Settlements

Llanelly Hill, Blackrock, Clydach, Monmouthshire, Clydach, Maesygwartha and Gilwern are the main settlements in the parish. Llanelly Hill occupies the north-west hilltop of the Clydach Gorge. It developed as a result of coal mining and limestone quarrying for the nearby ironworks including

Clydach ironworks The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern ...

and Ebbw Vale ironworks. Blackrock and Clydach North (also referred to as Cheltenham) were both built up along the turnpike road that ran on the north side of the river between Govilon and Merthyr Tydfil. Clydach South developed on the south side of the river above the ironworks. It climbs the north-west slopes towards Llanelly Hill. Gilwern is located at the mouth of the River Clydach, where it meets the river Usk. Maesygwartha lies between Clydach and Gilwern along one of the many tram roads in the gorge.

History

The parish is part of the

of Monmouthshire. Before local government reorganisation in 1996, it was in the district of Blaenau Gwent, but the electors overwhelmingly voted to be transferred out. The

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...

br>
encompasses the parish and the surrounding area.

Governance

The electoral ward of Llanelly Hill is coterminous with the Llanelly community and elects one county councillor to

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) ( cy, Cyngor Sir Fynwy) is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 a ...

Notable persons

* Sir Henry Bartle Frere (1815–1884), Governor-General of South Africa at the outbreak of the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, cou ...

Thomas Phillips Thomas Phillips Royal Academy, RA (18 October 177020 April 1845) was a leading English Portrait painting, portrait and subject Painting, painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explo ...

(1801–1867), Mayor of Newport during the

Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartism, Chartist sympathisers, under ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Communities in Monmouthshire