Llanelly, Breconshire
Historical Description
Llanelly, a parish in Brecknockshire, on the rivers Clydach and Usk, on the Brecon and Newport Canal, and adjacent to Monmouthshire, 3 miles SSE of Crickhowell. Two stations on the L. & N.W.R. are within the parish-Clydacli and Gilwern. It includes a large portion of the town of Brynmawr and the villages of Clydach, Gilwem, Blackrock, and Cheltenham. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office (R.S.O.) at Brynmawr. Clydach and Gilwern have also post offices. Acreage, 5209; population of the civil parish, 7796; of the ecclesiastical, 3079. The surface includes much upland, some good scenery, and two waterfalls. The former, though mainly bleak moor and barren morass, and though at the beginning of the nineteenth century a sheep walk, is now occupied by a large population. The valley of the Clydach is partly a gorge, is flanked on both sides for a considerable distance by limestone rock about 500 feet thick, and exhibits highly picturesque features. The sides are occupied by quarries of limestone and mines of iron and coal. The coal, however, is now exhausted and the ironworks are closed. There is a flannel factory at Clydach. The chief of the two waterfalls is called Pwll-y-cwm, or " the pool of dogs," has worn some remarkable hollows in the rock, and, though not very high, is very picturesque. An aqueduct of the canal crosses the Clydach at a height of 80 feet above the stream. The living is a rectory in the diocese of St David's; gross value, £423. Patron, the Duke of Beaufort. The church is very ancient, the oldest bell in the tower being about 800 years old. It was restored in 1868. Brynmawr is a separate ecclesiastical parish. There are Baptist, Congregational, Calvinistic Methodist, and Wesleyan chapels, and also mission rooms at Blackrock, Llanelly Hill, and Gilwern, belonging to the parish. See BRYNMAWR.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Registration district | Crickhowell | 1837 - 1974 |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Land and Property
A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Breconshire is online.
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers online: