Sennybridge ( cy, Pontsenni) is a village in the historic county of Brecknockshire,

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 ...

, now within the unitary authority area of

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 ...

, situated some from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and from Swansea. It lies west of

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

on the A40 trunk road to

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Hi ...

, at the point where the Afon Senni flows into the

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

. It is in the

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, ...

of Maescar.

Economy

One of the factors which influenced the growth of Sennybridge was the establishment of the

Neath and Brecon Railway The Dulas Valley Mineral Railway was incorporated in 1862 to bring coal from the Onllwyn area north-east of Neath to the quays there, and in the following year was reconstituted as the Neath and Brecon Railway. The line was opened as far as Onllw ...

which opened a station in the adjoining village of Defynnog in 1867. The promoter and contractor of the railway, John Dickson, also made a start on constructing a railway north from Sennybridge that would have linked the Neath and Brecon Railway to the Central Wales Line at

Llangammarch Wells Llangammarch Wells or simply Llangammarch ( cy, Llangamarch) is a village in the community of Llangamarch in Powys, Wales, lying on the Afon Irfon, and in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire). It is the smallest of the four spa ...

but work was suspended on his bankruptcy in 1867 and never resumed. The partially completed earthworks can still be seen in the countryside north of Sennybridge.

Climate

Landmarks

An extensive area of land to the north of Sennybridge is used by the Ministry of Defence for military training purposes. Sennybridge Camp and Army Field Training Centre, known as SENTA, is one of the major bases for Infantry Warfare Training by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the UK.

Education

Sennybridge's primary school, which houses a

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 has ...

Unit, utilises the old Secondary Modern buildings in the village. Although the school is in Sennybridge, it continued to be named Defynnog Primary School until the 1980s when its name was changed to Sennybridge Primary School.

Notable people

* Tom Rees, born in 1895, at Cefnbrynich, near the town, was the first official victim of the "Red Baron"—German flying ace

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

. *Sennybridge is the home village of X Factor 4 runner up

Rhydian Roberts Rhydian James Roberts (born 14 February 1983), also known mononymously as Rhydian, is a Welsh baritone singer, television presenter and musical theatre actor. He made his name by finishing second in series 4 of ''The X Factor'', and has since ...

References

External links

BBC Mid Wales webguide to SennybridgePhotos of Sennybridge and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
Villages in Powys River Usk Fforest Fawr {{Powys-geo-stub