Llanwrtyd is a small settlement in

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 ...

, mid-

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 Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, giving its name to a

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 historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), through which flows the River Irfon. It lies 1.5 miles north of the town of

Llanwrtyd Wells Llanwrtyd Wells ( cy, Llanwrtyd "church of St Gwrtud") is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) on the Afon Irfon. The town is on the A483 between Llandovery and Builth Wells and is ...

. Llanwrtyd was historically the centre of a much larger parish which included Llanwrtyd Wells. The name Llanwrtyd is shared with the ancient parish, and is also sometimes applied to Llanwrtyd Wells (particularly in Welsh). The current community includes Llanwrtyd Wells and

Abergwesyn Abergwesyn is a village in the Welsh county of Powys, in mid-Wales, at the start of the Abergwesyn valley and at the confluence of the Afon Irfon and the Afon Gwesyn. It is from Cardiff and from London. Abergwesyn Commons stretch between the N ...

Origin of the name

The name Llanwrtyd combines the term for church ("llan") and an otherwise undocumented personal name Gwrtud or Gwrtyd, but the earliest reference to it "Llanworted" appears only in 1543. It is speculated that the original dedication of the church has been replaced by the present one to the more famous saint in whose diocese it was during the Middle Ages. The name is more traditionally derived, however, from 'Llanddewi wrth y rhyd' (David's church by the

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

). The church is held to have been founded by St David in the 6th century. The curving boundary around the west side of the churchyard and its location beside the river supports the contention that it was established well before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

. The church was classed as a chapel attached to

Llangammarch Llangammarch Wells or simply Llangammarch ( cy, Llangamarch) is a village in the community of Llangamarch in Powys, Wales, lying on the Afon Irfon, and in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire). It is the smallest of the four spa ...

History

Llanwrtyd was an ancient parish, a

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

attached to the vicarage of

. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St David dates from the 11th century and is 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 Ir ...

. Theophilus Jones, in his ''A History of the County of Brecknock'', was fairly disparaging of the parish; when describing the church he states "there is nothing deserving of notice in this miserable fabric, unless it be an inscription on the wall, to the memory of an old woman of the name of Jones." In 1740 the curate in the parishes of Llanwrtyd, Llanfihangel

and Llanddewi Abergwesyn, was Wales' most famous hymn-writer

William Williams Pantycelyn William Williams, Pantycelyn (c. 11 February 1717 – 11 January 1791), also known as William Williams, Williams Pantycelyn, and Pantycelyn, is generally seen as Wales's premier hymnist. He is also rated among the great literary figures of Wale ...

. The population in 1801 was about 500 which had risen to 854 by the 1901

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

. After the coming of the railway in 1867 the parish played host to at least 12,000 visitors annually to drink the mineral waters at the

sulphur springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

about a mile and a half down river from the church, and the small town of Llanwrtyd Wells at the springs became the main population centre of the parish. In 1897 the church of St James was built in Llanwrtyd Wells. Thomas Powel (1845–1922) was born in Llanwrtyd. He became a Welsh Celtic scholar and Professor of Celtic at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

from 1884 to 1918. The parish became a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

(known in English as Llanwrtud), but in 1871 the civil parish was renamed Llanwrtyd Wells. In 1894 Llanwrtyd Wells Urban District was formed. In 1907 the part of the parish outside the town of Llanwrtyd Wells was separated to form the new civil parish of Llanwrtyd Without. When civil parishes and urban districts were abolished in Wales in 1974, Llanwrtyd Without and the urban district were reunited to form the

of Llanwrtyd Wells.

References

External links

Photos of Llanwrtyd and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{Powys Llanwrtyd Wells Church parishes in Wales cy:Llanwrtyd