Van ( cy, Y Fan) is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

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, located to the north west of Llanidloes. Its name, an anglicisation of the local

Welsh placename The place-names of Wales derive in most cases from the Welsh language, but have also been influenced by linguistic contact with the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Anglo-Normans and modern English. Toponymy in Wales reveals significant features of ...

"" or in full "" (which are also used), is believed to originate from the names of two ancient farms in the area; Manledd Uchaf and Manledd Isaf. Van Lead Mines

The hamlet grew in the 19th century with the discovery of large deposits of

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, and a thriving lead mine was developed. At one point during the late 19th century 'Van Mine' was the most productive in Europe. The mines declined under pressure from foreign imports in the early 20th century plus mis-management, and operations ceased in the inter-war period. The name Van is also given to the small lake located just outside the village, Van Pool ( cy, Pwll y Fan).

External links

Photos of Van and surrounding area on geograph
Villages in Powys {{Powys-geo-stub