Meifod, formerly also written Meivod (), is a small village,

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

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 ...

7 miles north-west of Welshpool in

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

, Powys,

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 ...

, on the A495 road and located in the valley of the River Vyrnwy. The River Banwy has a confluence with the Vyrnwy approximately two miles to the west of the village. The village itself had a population of 317. The community includes the village of Bwlch-y-cibau and the hamlet of Allt-y-Main.

History

Although the Mediolanum of the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

has since been identified as Whitchurch in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

, Meifod is sometimes identified as the Mediolanum among the Ordovices described in

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

's ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

'',Williams, Robert
"A History of the Parish of Llanfyllin" in ''Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire'', Vol. III, p. 59
J. Russell Smith (London), 1870. although others argue for Llanfyllin or Caersws. Meifod is about a mile north-east of the royal residence of the Princes of Wales at Mathrafal, and it was an early Christian centre known at ''Caer Meguaidd'' or ''Meguaid''; It is associated with St Gwyddfarch in the 6th century and St Tysilio in the 7th. Tysilio's father was Brochwel Ysgithrog, a prince of Powys, who made Meifod his summer residence. The first Christian foundation was probably a clas and a monastery in the early medieval period. A church built by Madog ap Maredudd, the last prince of the entire Kingdom of Powys, and dedicated to St Fair, was consecrated in 1156. The same churchyard once contained three separate churches; Eglwys Gwydafarch, Eglwys Fair and Eglwys Tysilio. The churchyard is said to contain the royal tombs of Madog ap Maredudd (d. 1160) and his son Gruffydd Maelor (d. 1191), Prince of Powys Fadog. There is also a stone slab in the church dated late-9th or early-10th century, although very weathered the decorations on it are still clear and include a large cross and a smaller cross in a circle, it is assumed that it once covered a tomb. The village has never been served by a railway. However the Llanfyllin Branch line ran a few miles north east of the village and the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway terminus is in the nearby town of Llanfair Caereinion. The village lies in the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the River Vyrnwy and was flooded in 1955.

Religion

At the village centre is the

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, ...

of St Tysilio and St Mary, which occupies a very large site; the building includes material with a wide range of ages some dated to the 12th century. In addition, in common with many Welsh villages, there are a number of Nonconformist

chapel 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 ...

s within the village and its catchment area. Calvinist Methodist Chapel, Meifod - geograph

Buildings

The village has one pub, the King's Head and a convenience store (with a

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 se ...

). In 2006, local

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team C.O.B.R.A built a new rugby clubhouse and two pitches. The club house has two bars and a balcony. The village football team plays in the amateur division. The village also has a

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 ...

, Ysgol Meifod (formerly Meifod County Primary (or CP) School) and a modern village hall located next door which provides facilities for a wide variety of clubs and societies. Dyffryn Hall, a Georgian period

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 ...

, is situated to the west of the village and was home to

Clement Davies Edward Clement Davies (19 February 1884 – 23 March 1962) was a Welsh politician and leader of the Liberal Party from 1945 to 1956. Early life and education Edward Clement Davies was born on 19 February 1884 in Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire ...

, the

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

MP and leader of the post-war Liberal Party between 1945 and 1956.

Demographics

57% of the population of Meifod were born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. However, this is not in itself evidence of any large-scale immigration from England; it may simply reflect the preference of local parents for using larger hospitals more conveniently situated in nearby

for giving birth. The United Kingdom Census 2001 revealed that some 38% of the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

over 3 years old had some knowledge of the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

, with almost 20% able to speak, read and write in Welsh. The Meifod valley hosted 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. Competitor ...

in 2003 and 2015.

References

External links

Ysgol Meifod

Photograph of headteacher and boys Meifod School 1890s

Photograph of teachers and girls Meifod School 1890s

BBC: Meifod

2001 Census Neighbourhood Statistics for Meifod

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Meifod and surrounding area

Images of St Tysilio and St Mary Church and the early Christian carved stone slab
{{authority control Villages in Powys