Llangurig is both a village and 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, ...

Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...

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 ...

, Wales. The population was 723 in the 2011 UK Census. The community includes the hamlet of Cwmbelan. The River Wye, the

A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...

and the

A44 A44 may refer to : * A44 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Oxford, England and Aberystwyth, Wales * A44 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Aachen at the German-Belgian border and Kassel * A44 motorway (Netherlands), a motorway in the Nethe ...

trunk roads pass through Llangurig, as do the National Cycle Route 8 and the Wye Valley Walk. The 15th century

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

located in the village is dedicated to Saint Curig, its reputed founder, and is a grade II* listed building. There are also two small

chapels A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

. The village has been home for many decades to a craft shop as well as two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, a number of

bed and breakfasts Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

and a small village shop and

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

. The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, Clochfaen Hall, was designed by architect William Arthur Smith Benson, a designer of the Arts and Crafts movement. He also designed the

drinking fountain A drinking fountain, also called a water fountain or water bubbler, is a fountain designed to provide drinking water. It consists of a basin with either continuously running water or a tap. The drinker bends down to the stream of water and s ...

between the road and the

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

, the erection of which commemorates the completion of the village's piped

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

, a scheme begun by Colonel Gerald Hope Lloyd-Verney, to whom the fountain is also a memorial. Llangurig used to have a small

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

. In January 2003, the school had only 19 pupils. In 2006, a successful campaign against closure by the local council was fought. The school eventually closed at the end of the 2008 academic year. The village holds an 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 breeding stock is exhibit ...

and sheepdog trials in August.

'The Railway that never was'

During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, Llangurig nearly had a railway service. The Llangurig branch is noted as being the shortest lived working branch line in the UK, receiving only one train. Wales' rail network was built piecemeal by many small companies, and Parliament mistakenly granted acts for two lines through the same piece of terrain, linking Llanidloes to Aberystwyth: one for the

Manchester and Milford Railway The Manchester and Milford Railway was a Welsh railway company, intended to connect Manchester and the industrial areas of Northwest England with a deep-water port on Milford Haven, giving an alternative to the Port of Liverpool. Despite the ti ...

; the other for the

Mid-Wales Railway The Mid-Wales Railway was conceived as a trunk route through Wales connecting industrial areas in north west England with sea ports in south west Wales. The company was prevented from reaching its goal by competing proposals in Parliament, and i ...

. The M&MR intended to connect the two settlements with a route across Wales, to enable the industrialised Northwest to access the deep-water port in Milford Haven,

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheub ...

. The MWR was authorized to build its line by act of parliament in 1859.Holden, J.S.''The Manchester & Milford Railway''. The Oakwood Press, Second Edition, 2007, Ch 1-4. The M&M was likewise authorized in 1860. The line was to head west from Llanidloes by way of Llangurig to Pant Mawr, through a tunnel, turning southwards for Ysbyty Ystwyth and Tregaron, finally connecting with the Carmarthen & Cardigan Railway at Pencader. After resolving difficulties of accessing Llanidloes through the creation of the joint Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, it would extend of double track southwards to Penpontbren, where the MWR and M&MR would diverge. The M&MR and MWR were to pay 5% ''per annum'' on construction costs and maintenance. Also the three companies were to pay equal shares of interest and running costs for the new station at Llanidloes. These charges were eventually to prove crippling for the M&MR. The Llangurig branch was fully built, and a single goods train ran along its length, at which point the L&NR invoiced the M&MR for the cost of the joint station at Llanidloes. The branch service was immediately terminated, being wholly unprofitable without through traffic. The M&MR continued to pay for the cost of the joint station they could not reach. By 1864 the M&MR had changed its plans for crossing the Pumlumon range, and hence stopped all work west of Llangurig. 1866 was a difficult year, including the collapse of the London Bank

Overend, Gurney and Company Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £ million in . The collapse of the institution triggered a banking panic. History Ear ...

, causing many industrial projects to encounter financial hardship. By 1876 MWR had still failed to build the new route, with an act of parliament permitting abandonment of the scheme. In 1882 the M&MHR started to dismantle the Llangurig branch, lifting of the essentially unused track for maintenance purposes elsewhere. A large part of the route east of Llangurig is marked on current OS maps as 'dismantled railway', much of the course close to the A470 road through Nant Gwynwydd being clearly visible. Some earthworks and tunnel headings survive from the original M&MR scheme west of Llangurig, as can Llangurig station.A view of Llangurig station
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References

{{authority control Montgomeryshire Historic Montgomeryshire Parishes Villages in Powys

'The Railway that never was'

See also

References