Clydau (sometimes Clydaï or Clydey) is a

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, t ...

and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Name

The meaning of the

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 ...

is uncertain, although the church is now dedicated to St. Clydaï, an alleged daughter of

Brychan Brychan Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Life According to Celtic hagiography Brychan was born in Ireland, the son of a Prince Anlach, son of Coronac, and ...

History

During the early Middle Ages, the settlement was the site of Llangeneu ('St Ceneus'), which was accounted one of the seven principal sees of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...

despite having no endowment of land. Cledau (as ''Cledye'') appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. Josiah Thomas Jones (1799-1873), republican and Welsh nationalist, was born at CwmHir Farm, Clydau. He went on to publish many books and established several newspapers in English and Welsh, including the Aberdare Times.

Settlement

The settlement consists of a small group of properties around the parish church, southwest of

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenar ...

and southeast of Cardigan.

Community

Although the settlement of Clydau is tiny, the community is large, encompassing several other settlements and/or parishes including

Bwlchygroes Bwlchygroes (; sometimes spelled Bwlch-y-groes) is a small upland rural village in the community and parish of Clydau, north Pembrokeshire, Wales, SW of Newcastle Emlyn and the same distance east of Crymych. Community Bwlchygroes Community ...

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, Tegryn, West

Cilrhedyn Cilrhedyn is a hamlet and parish in the counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the hill country to the south of the Teifi valley. The Afon Cych divides it into two unequal parts: West Cilrhedyn, Pembrokeshire and East Cilrhedyn, ...

and a large number of scattered farms. Clydau has its own elected

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

and gives its name to an

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 to ...

of Pembrokeshire County Council. The electoral ward of Clydau covers the communities of Clydau and

Boncath Boncath is a village, community and postal district in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about west of Newcastle Emlyn. The village stands at a cross-roads linking the nearby settlements of Newchapel (''Capelnewydd''), Eglwyswrw, Blaenffos and Bwlch ...

. In 2001 it had a population (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

) of 1,425, with 58% Welsh speakers, falling to 715 in 2011.

Parish

The Afon Cneifa, a tributary of

Afon Cych Afon Cych (standard Welsh orthography: Afon Cuch) is a tributary of the River Teifi in south-west Wales. It is 13 km long, passes through a number of small settlements on the border between Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, and is signific ...

, divides the parish into two ancient divisions: Uwchlawrllan to the southeast and Islawrllan to the northwest. The population of the parish was 1,100 (1801), 1,457 (1851), 1,057 (1901), 829 (1951), 681 (2001), 715 (2011). The percentage of Welsh speakers was: 99 (1891), 97 (1931) and 91 (1971). The 14th century Grade II-

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

parish church is dedicated to Ste. Clydaï. It was rebuilt in the late 19th century, but the tower and some other parts of the building are original.

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKI

Clydau Church website

Community Council
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire