Llangynwyd is a village (and electoral ward) 2 miles to the south of

Maesteg Maesteg is a town and community (Wales), community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English ...

, in the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...

, Wales. It was part of the medieval

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 ...

(Welsh: ''cwmwd'') of

Tir Iarll Tir Iarll (meaning "Earl's Land" in English; ), is the traditional name of an area of Glamorgan, Wales, which has long had a particular resonance in Welsh culture. In medieval times Tir Iarll was a cwmwd covering the present-day parishes of Lla ...

History and amenities

The village is the site of Llangynwyd parish church, the ruins of

Llangynwyd Castle Llangynwyd Castle is a ruined castle, probably of the 12th century, in Llangynwyd, in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales, just to the south of Maesteg. History In medieval times it was a prominent outpost in the Gorfynydd Cantref uplands of th ...

and one of the oldest pubs in Wales (the ''Old House'', dating from 1147.) The place name Llangynwyd refers to the hilltop village with a church dedicated to St Cynwyd, son of Cynfelyn. The church was founded by St Cynwyd in the 6th century. All that remains of the original structure is the stone socket of a wooden cross, which can be seen in the wall above the entrance. The church was rebuilt in the 13th century and has since been restored several times. The square tower dates from the 15th century and was completely restored in 1893. The church has the biggest private cemetery in Europe. The old village of Llangynwyd, "Top Llan", was the home of the legendary Maid of Cefn Ydfa, featured in the song "''

Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn "Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn" ( en, Watching the White Wheat) is an 18th-century traditional Welsh love song. It describes the tragic love affair between Wil Hopcyn and Ann Thomas (The Maid of Cefn Ydfa) from the village of Llangynwyd in Glamorganshi ...

''". It was also the home of the poet Wil Hopcyn, said to have written it. The antiquary T. C. Evans was born in the parish, as was the poet

Evan Bevan Evan Bevan (1803–1866) was a Welsh writer of satirical verse in the Welsh language. Life and work Bevan was born into a poor family: his parents were William and Gwenllian Bevan of Llangynwyd, Glamorgan. As a young adult he moved to Ystradf ...

. The village still celebrates the New Year, or

Calennig Calennig is a Welsh word meaning "''New Year celebration/gift''", although it literally translates to "the first day of the month", deriving from the Latin word kalends. The English word "Calendar" also has its root in this word. It is a tradition ...

, with the

Mari Lwyd The Mari Lwyd ( cy, Y Fari Lwyd, ) is a wassailing folk custom found in South Wales. The tradition entails the use of an eponymous hobby horse which is made from a horse's skull mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a sac ...

: a horse's skull draped in a white sheet with flowers. Today the "old" village of Llangynwyd is commonly referred to as "Top Llan" and the more recent and much larger adjoining village is simply called "Llangynwyd"

Education

The village is home to Llangynwyd

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, built in 1911, and to Bridgend's first Welsh-language comprehensive school,

Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Llangynwyd is the borough of Bridgend's only Welsh medium secondary school. The school opened on 3 September 2008 on the site of the former Maesteg Comprehensive Upper School in Llangynwyd. In 2015, the school had 607 pupi ...

, which takes pupils from the county borough's four primary schools that teach in Welsh: Ysgol Cynwyd Sant, Ysgol Bro Ogwr, Ysgol y Ferch o'r Sgêr and Ysgol Cwm Garw.

Ward

Llangynwyd is also the name of the electoral ward which covers the village. The ward is coterminous with the community of

Llangynwyd Middle Llangynwyd Middle is a community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the south of Maesteg and contains the villages of Llangynwyd and Cwmfelin. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 2,843, increasing to 3 ...

. The ward elects one county councillor to Bridgend County Borough Council.

References

External links

Llangynwyd Middle Community CouncilLlangynwyd Village Hall run by the Llangynwyd Community Associationwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llangynwyd and surrounding areaBBC Wales feature on the Legend of the Maid of Cefn YdfaLlangynwyd at GENUKI.org.ukHistory of Llangynwyd Parish (1887), Thomas Christopher Evans
{{authority control Villages in Bridgend County Borough Wards of Bridgend County Borough