Tal-y-bont (; also spelled as Talybont) is a village in

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, located on the A487 road about halfway between

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

and

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

. At the 2011 census the population was 662 with 63% born in Wales. Tal-y-bont is 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 Ceulanamaesmawr.

History

The village stands on the

Afon Leri Afon Leri (; also known as the River Leri) is a river in Ceredigion, Wales. It rises at Llyn Craig-y-Pistyll and is joined at Talybont by Afon Ceulan before passing behind Borth to its mouth in the Dyfi estuary at Ynyslas. The river once f ...

and the Afon Ceulan in the area of Genau'r Glyn, at the foot of Ceulan Maes-mawr (). There are old

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

mines and

woolen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...

mills surrounding the village. Although silver and lead had been mined in the area since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

times, it was not until the 19th century that the village began to grow dramatically; the terraces were built during this period for workers who migrated to the area. Many of the houses, for example the pharmacy, are

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s and maintain original features such as sliding sash windows. There were only 35 houses in Tal-y-bont in 1835; the majority were

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

cottages. At one time, there were 15 shops, a garage, two banks and three Nonconformist chapels. The Tabernacl was built in 1812, Eglwys Dewi Sant (St David's Church) was built in 1909, and there is a Bethel, Capel yr Annibynwyr (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

chapel). The Memorial Hall was officially opened on 6 August 1924 in remembrance of those who died during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Since 1966 the village has been home to Y Lolfa printers and publishers, which is a local employer, as well as to a garage, a pharmacy, a hairdresser and a SPAR

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...

. There are two

pubs A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

in Tal-y-bont: Y Llew Gwyn (The White Lion) and Y Llew Du (The Black Lion). The Tal-y-bont annual

agricultural show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which selective breeding, bree ...

has been held in the Black Lion's old fields for several decades. The village was briefly served by Tal-y-bont railway station on the

Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire (now Ceredigion) in Mid Wales. It ran from (later renamed ''Llandre station'') on the Cambrian Line, through the village of Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, Tal-y-bont ...

. The village was twinned with Woodbridge near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in 1922.

Education

The Welsh-medium primary school, Ysgol Gynradd Gymunedol Tal-y-bont, is located in the north of the village. It has about 100 pupils between 4 and 11 years old. There is also a part-time nursery school, and a Ti a Fi ("You and Me") group every Friday afternoon.

Other industry and organisations

The village has an old people's society, a Young Farmers Club, Merched y Wawr (a women's organisation, literally "Daughters of the Dawn", and a branch of

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

. The Papur Bro Papur Pawb ("Everyone's paper") serves the Tal-y-bont, Taliesin and Tre'r Ddôl area, and is edited and printed in the village.

Notable residents

* Lewis Thomas, (1832–1913), known as 'The Coal King of Queensland', Australia * David Adams (1845–1922), a Congregationalist minister and schoolmaster. * John James Williams (1869 in Taigwynion – 1954), a Welsh poet and

Archdruid Archdruid () is the title used by the presiding official of Gorsedd Cymru, the Gorsedd. The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, the award of the and the C ...

of the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

from 1936 to 1939. * Thomas Richards MA, D.Litt., F.R.Hist.S (1878–1962), a Welsh historian, author and librarian. * Mihangel Morgan (born 1955), novelist, lives near the village * Ruth Jên (born 1964), a Welsh artist, works in the old shoe shop in the village, painted the Y Lolfa mural * Dewi Jenkins, (born circa 1975), sheepdog trials Supreme Champion.

Gallery

File:Cattle fair, Tal-y-bont (Cer) NLW3361879.jpg, Cattle fair Tal-y-bont File:Fferyllfa_Tal-y-bont.jpg, Tal-y-bont pharmacy (listed building) File:Tabernacl,_Tal-y-bont.jpg, Tabernacl, Tal-y-bont File:Eglwys Dewi Sant, Tal-y-bont.jpg, Eglwys Dewi Sant
Tal-y-bont File:Bethel, Capel yr Annibynwyr, Tal-y-bont.jpg, Bethel, Capel yr Annibynwyr, Tal-y-bont File:Bible class at Nazareth (CM), Tal-y-bont (Cer) NLW3361278.jpg, Bible class at Nazareth (CM) chapel,

References

External links

tal-y-bont.org
This has been hijacked by what appears to be a Japanese page.
www.geograph.co.uk: photos of Tal-y-bont and surrounding area

papurpawb.com

www.ylolfa.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion Villages in Ceredigion