Mochdre () is a small village in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Mochdre with Penstrowed, in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

, Wales.

Geography

About southwest of Newtown, it is near the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

. Its tributary, Mochdre Brook runs through the village in a narrow steep-sided valley.

Name

The name means "pigs settlement", from ''moch'', meaning pigs, and ''tre'' for settlement or town. It is possible that the name refers to Mochdre in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, the tale of '' Math, son of Mathonwy'', where

Gwydion Gwydion fab Dôn () is a magician, hero and trickster of Welsh mythology, appearing most prominently in the Fourth Branch of the ''Mabinogi'', which focuses largely on his relationship with his young nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes. He also appears ...

takes the pigs of

Pryderi Pryderi fab Pwyll is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology, the son of Pwyll and Rhiannon, and king of Dyfed after his father's death. He is the only character to appear in all Four Branches of the Mabinogi, although the size of his role varies ...

, staying overnight between the nearby commote of Ceri and

Arwystli Arwystli was a cantref in mid Wales in the Middle Ages, located in the headland of the River Severn. It was chiefly associated with the Kingdom of Powys, but was heavily disputed between Powys, Gwynedd, and the Norman Marcher Lords for hundred ...

History

Tweed making at the Leach family woollen mill at Mochdre

In 1872 it was a parish in the Newtown district called Moughtrey or Mochtref, with Eskirgilog and Moughtreyllan townships. At that time, there were 95 houses, a population of 526, and covered an area of . The church, in the

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 Cheste ...

in the late 19th century, was an ancient church in poor shape as of 1859. With a roof dating from the 15th century, the rest of the Church of All Saints was rebuilt in 1867. All Saints is a parish of the Mission Area of Cedewain,

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () 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 position is currently held b ...

. Lake Mochdre, a former reservoir, later a fish farm, now a fishing venue, was created by damming a tributary stream.

Governance

Since the May 1999 local government elections the community has been covered by the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Llandinam, which elects a county councillor to

Powys County Council Powys County Council () is the local authority for Powys, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act ...

References

{{Powys Villages in Powys