Llanymynech is a village straddling the

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

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 ...

, Wales, and

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of

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 ...

. The name is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the banks of the

River Vyrnwy The River Vyrnwy ( cy, Afon Efyrnwy, ) is a river which flows through northern Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England. The name derives from Severn, the river of which it is a tributary. Course The river used to be sourced from the many rivers ...

, and the

Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanym ...

passes through it. The border runs for the most part along the frontages of the buildings on the east (English) side of the village's main street, with the eastern half of the village in England and the western half in Wales. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

parish church of St Agatha lies just in England, although the entire village lies in the same ecclesiastical parish. The border also passed right through the now closed Lion

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, which had two bars in Shropshire and one in Montgomeryshire. At one time Welsh counties were referred to as "wet" or "dry" depending on whether people could drink in pubs on Sundays. When Montgomeryshire was dry it was legal to drink on Sundays in the two English bars of the Lion but not the Welsh bar. Two of the remaining open pubs in the village are entirely in England and the third is entirely in Wales. Just to the north of the village is Pant. Further north is the English market town of Oswestry. The

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, ...

Llanymynech and Pant Llanymynech and Pant is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the parish is approximately 1,675. The two main villages within the parish are Llanymynech and Pant, though only the English half of Llanymynech is in the parish ...

had a population of 1,675 as of the 2011 census.

History

Llanymynech Hill is one of Wales' earliest mining sites. Evidence suggests that copper was mined and smelted here in the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

, and that ores were used to make bronze weapons and other implements. The hill above Llanymynech is crowned with an extensive

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, which extends over 57 hectares, and surrounds a cave opening known as the Ogof. The size of this hillfort is probably explained by the presence of the copper mines. The hillfort would have served as protection for the mine, and housed the labourers employed in the extraction of copper. The Bronze Age British miners would have used

fire-setting Fire-setting is a method of traditional mining used most commonly from Prehistory, prehistoric times up to the Middle Ages. Fires were set against a rock face to heat the Rock (geology), stone, which was then doused with liquid, causing the sto ...

mining techniques, but with the arrival of the Romans the cavern was extended and more extensively mined. According to the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, before the hill was landscaped for the current golf course, at least ten shafts were visible on the southern part of the hill, together with a large number of shallow pits and shaft-mounds. The main entrance to the mine is still the Ogof. A number of Roman artefacts have been found in the mine including a number of bones and burials, and a hoard of 30 first and second century silver coins of Roman currency found in 1965 by some schoolboys, now conserved at the

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. The mine was probably abandoned c. 200 CE. In Anglo-Saxon times,

Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Clawdd Offa) is a large linear earthwork that roughly follows the border between England and Wales. The structure is named after Offa, the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from AD 757 until 796, who is traditionally believed to ha ...

was built c. 430 and 652, through what is probably the main street in Llanymynech, on the east side of the road. It is thought the west wall of St Agatha's churchyard was built on the raised part of the dyke. Today, the

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...

passes through the village. Under the Normans, the village came under the rule of the

Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...

(Lord of the March or border counties), and a fortification called

Carreghofa Castle Carreghofa Castle ( cy, Castell Carreghwfa) was a Norman timber and masonry castle located in the Welsh village of Carreghofa, Powys. Between its construction in 1101 and destruction in 1236, it was the site of many battles between rival Welsh an ...

was built by the

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

around 1101. The place where the castle was probably built, at Tanat Camp, just to the west of Llanymynech Hill and overlooking the Tanat valley, implies it was defending the hill which was being mined for copper and lead, as well as silver. Being situated directly on the borderlands, the castle changed hands between the English and Welsh numerous times during the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1187 the castle was captured by

Owain Fychan Owain Fychan ap Madog (alternatively ''Owain Vychan ap Madoc'') (c. 1125 – 1187) was styled Lord of Mechain Is Coed and one of the sons of Madog ap Maredudd. His mother was Susanna, daughter of Gruffudd ap Cynan. Division of the Kingdom of Po ...

, prince of Powys, who was then murdered at the castle by his cousins Gwenwynwyn and Cadwallon. In 1194, the castle was recaptured by the English with the purpose of reopening the mines on Llanymynech Hill and extracting silver.

Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

had been captured and held for a ransom of £100,000, and the

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

, Hubert Walter, heard of the discovery of silver at the Carreghofa Mine on Llanymynech Hill; he decided to develop the mine and reopen the mint at Shrewsbury to refine the silver and make it into coins. Unfortunately, the total amount of silver produced only came to the value of £20, 11 shillings and 11 pence. This mine was located north of the present quarry, and just south of the present golf course clubhouse. In the 1230s, the castle was destroyed and the stones were eventually removed and used to construct nearby Carreghofa Hall. Very little remains of the castle today. The

Welsh Church Act 1914 The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act of Parliament under which the Church of England was separated and disestablished in Wales and Monmouthshire, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales. The Act had long been demanded by the Nonconformist ...

disestablished the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The p ...

from the Church of England. During the period while the enactment was delayed by the

Suspensory Act 1914 {{Infobox UK legislation , short_title = Suspensory Act 1914 , parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom , long_title = An Act to suspend the operation of the Government of Ireland Act, 1914, and the Welsh Church ...

, and even though the parish church is situated on the English side of the border, because the ecclesiastical parish straddled the border, Llanymynech was one of the nineteen border parishes that were balloted by the

Welsh Church Commissioners The Welsh Church Commissioners (whose full official title was "The Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales") were set up by the Welsh Church Act 1914 to deal with the disendowment of the Church of England in Wales, as part of its disestablis ...

to decide whether it should remain with the

or join the disestablished

. The parishioners of Llanymynech voted in 1915 by 315 to 130 to remain part of the Church of England. The parish therefore ceased to be part of the Welsh

Diocese of St Asaph The Diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese of the Church in Wales in north-east Wales, named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop. Geography The Anglican Diocese of St Asaph in the north-east corner of Wales stretches from the borders of Chester i ...

, and was transferred to the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

, so remaining part of the Church of England. Llanymynech faced unique difficulties during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, as Wales and England set different legal restrictions on travel and business.

Governance

The English–Welsh border runs through the village, approximately following the

A483 The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and W ...

through the village. Therefore, Llanymynech is served by both an English and a Welsh service for everything. Dyfed-Powys Police cover the Welsh side of the village,

West Mercia Police West Mercia Police (), formerly the West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire in England. The force area cove ...

cover the English side;

Powys County Council Powys County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Govern ...

are responsible for waste collection, recycling, and other council services on the Welsh side,

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...

on the English side, and so on. The English part of the village is in the

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 ...

, and in the electoral ward of Llanymynech in Shropshire. This ward had a population at the 2011 census of 3,988. The 2011 census output area covering the English part of the village has a population of 477. The Welsh part of the village is in the

Carreghofa Carreghofa ( cy, Carreghwfa) is a community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales, and is 89.6 miles (144.2 km) from Cardiff and 153.6 miles (247.2 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Carreghofa was 667 with 10.2% of them able to speak ...

in Powys. The 2011 census output area covering the Welsh part of the village has a population of 323 of which 29% could speak, read and write Welsh.

Features

Llanymynech hill is now the site of

Llanymynech Golf Club Llanymynech Golf Course is situated atop Llanymynech Hill overlooking the villages of Llanymynech and Pant, approximately from Welshpool, right on the Welsh/English border. From the course it is possible to view 12 of the old 'shire counties', i ...

perched on top of the cliffs, whose 18-hole course is the only one in Europe to straddle a country border, being partly in England and partly in Wales. The village is home to one of only three remaining

Hoffmann kiln The Hoffmann kiln is a series of batch process kilns. Hoffmann kilns are the most common kiln used in production of bricks and some other ceramic products. Patented by German Friedrich Hoffmann for brickmaking in 1858, it was later used for lime ...

s in the British Isles, and the only one with a chimney. The kiln at Llanymynech was used for

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

burning. The area around the kiln is designated as the Llanymynech Heritage Area. The former limestone quarry which fed the kiln is now the

Shropshire Wildlife Trust The Shropshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the geographic county of Shropshire, England. Nature reserves The trust cares for, or is associated with, 42 nature reserves (plus its headquarters in Shrewsbury – see next section) ...

's Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve, and its cliff face is popular with

rock climbers Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically an ...

Transport

Due to the local limestone and mineral deposits, Llanymynech became a transport hub. First to arrive was a branch of the Ellesmere Canal, where it joined the eastern section of the

Montgomeryshire Canal The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymy ...

at Carreghofa. Today the canal is known as the Montgomery Canal, and the section through Llanymynech is isolated, with an section being navigable to boats. To the north to Pant the canal is dry; to the south the canal is isolated by lowered bridges. The main line of the Oswestry and Newtown Railway (O&NR) arrived from the south in 1860, a later constituent part of the Cambrian Railways (CR). In 1863, the Cambrian completed the construction of the Llanfyllin branch, a railway constructed to enable distribution of minerals in competition with the canal. Stipulated in the authorising

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

to avoid flat crossing of the existing canal and

Tanat Valley Light Railway The Tanat Valley Light Railway (TVLR) was a long standard gauge light railway. It ran westwards from Llanyblodwel in Shropshire, about 5 miles or 8 km south-west of Oswestry. It crossed the Wales–England border and continued up the Tanat va ...

(TVLR), bridges had to be constructed to enable operations. The later Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway (Potts), which ran to , originally ran under the O&NR and the canal to enable the Nantmawr branch for similar mineral extraction purposes. However, after it ran into financial difficulties, the CR took over the Nantmawr branch, agreeing to rebuild the southern end of the Potts so that it now formed a junction through Llanymynech. After failing to create a junction with the GWR and the

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the L ...

at Shrewsbury, the Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway suffered from low traffic and continual financial difficulties, having now also lost its main revenue stream from the Nantmawr branch. Taken over by the GWR under the Railways Act 1921, it was again closed to passengers on 6 November 1933, but remained open as a military freight route until 1960. The Cambrian Railways mainline from Whitchurch to

(Buttington Junction), via Ellesmere,

Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...

, Oswestry and Llanymynech, closed on 18 January 1965 in favour of the more viable

Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an English railway company that built a standard gauge line between those places. It opened its main line in 1853. Its natural ally seemed to be the Great Western Railway. With other lines it formed a rout ...

route. This also resulted in the closure of the Llanfyllin branch. The Nantmawr branch remained in operation until the 1998, with the track from Oswestry still in place today. Although no railway now serves Llanymynech, both the

Cambrian Heritage Railways The Cambrian Heritage Railways is a heritage railway company, trust and society based at both Llynclys and Oswestry in its newly restored Oswestry railway station, Shropshire, England. Formed after the 2009 merger of the Cambrian Railways S ...

and the enthusiast-revived TVLR plan to reconnect Llanymynech with their heritage railway schemes. The

trunk road is the main road through the centre of Llanymynech. A bypass was announced in the 2020 budget.

Notable people

* John Evans (1756 in Llwyn-y-groes – 1846) a surgeon and cartographer. * Richard Roberts (1789–1864), patternmaker, engineer and inventor known for the automation of the

spinning mule The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were used extensively from the late 18th to the early 20th century in the mills of Lancashire and elsewhere. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder, with the help of tw ...

and the

Roberts Loom The Roberts loom was a cast-iron power loom introduced by Richard Roberts in 1830. It was the first loom that was more viable than a hand loom and was easily adjustable and reliable, which led to its widespread use in the Lancashire cotton indus ...

* William Edward Evans (1801–1869),

divine and naturalist, curate of Llanymynech. * Alfred Payne (1849–1927), first-class cricketer * Kate Williams Evans (1866–1961), suffragette and activist for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

Llanymynech Football Club

A football club was formed in the village as far back as May 1858 in a field near Glanverniew House on the English side of the border. There is no further mention of a football club in the village until November 1879 when a club was formed following a meeting at the school room. Llanymynech Football Club was reformed in 2011. They currently compete in Salop Leisure League 1, into which they were elected in 2022. They play their home games at Station Road on the English side of the village and play in a kit consisting of red shirt, red shorts and white- and red-hooped socks.

References

External links

Llanymynech Community WebsitePhotos of Llanymynech and surrounding area on geograph.org.ukShropshire County Council: Llanymynech Heritage Area
{{authority control Villages in Shropshire Villages in Powys England–Wales border