Builth Wells (; ) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in the county of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

and historic county of

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

(Breconshire), mid

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, lying at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the

Wye Valley The Wye Valley () is a valley in Wales and England. The River Wye () is the Rivers of Great Britain#Longest rivers in the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The upper part of the valley is in the Cambrian Mountains an ...

. In 2011 it had a population of 2,568.

Etymology

''Builth'' is a longstanding anglicisation of the Old Welsh or , which combines () ' ox' and (later ) ' lea or leas'. The town added ''Wells'' in the 19th century when its springs were promoted as a

visitor attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

. Its modern Welsh name means 'Saint Mary in Ox Leas'. In the centre of the town is a large mural (about by wide) depicting , who was killed at the

Battle of Orewin Bridge The Battle of Orewin Bridge (also known as the Battle of Irfon Bridge) was fought between English (led by the Marcher Lords) and Welsh armies on 11 December 1282 near Builth Wells in mid-Wales. It was a decisive defeat for the Welsh beca ...

on 11 December 1282.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Builth Wells, at

(town) and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

level: Builth Wells Town Council and

Powys County Council Powys County Council () is the local authority for Powys, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act ...

. The town council is based at Strand Hall on Strand Street, which also serves as a community hall and events venue. For elections to Powys County Council the community boundaries are coterminous with the Builth

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 t ...

, which sends one county councillor to sit on the council. Since 1995 the ward had been represented by

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

councillors. At the May 2017 elections the seat was won by former international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player,

Jeremy Pugh Jeremy David Pugh (born 4 March 1960) is a former international rugby union player. He played for the Wales national rugby union team in the late 1980s. Pugh played his club rugby for Neath. He first played for Wales in 1987 against the USA. Al ...

. Builth Wells is in the Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe constituency for elections to the UK parliament and Brecon and Radnorshire for elections to the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

Administrative history

The

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

covering the town was called Builth, which formed part of the Builth

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Brecknockshire. In 1866 a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

was created covering the more built-up part of the parish, governed by an elected local board. Such local government districts were converted into urban districts under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

. The urban district was extended at the same time to cover the whole parish of Builth. In 1898, Breconshire County Council changed the urban district's name from Builth to Builth Wells, at the urban district council's request. Builth Wells Urban District was abolished in 1974, with its area instead becoming a community called Builth Wells within the

Borough of Brecknock The Borough of Brecknock () was one of the three local government districts of the county of Powys, Wales from 1974 until 1996. It covered the majority of the former administrative county of Brecknockshire. The borough was abolished in 1996, with ...

in the new county of

. The former urban district council's functions therefore passed to Brecknock Borough Council, which was in turn abolished in 1996 and its functions passed to Powys County Council.

Livestock breeds

The White Bull of Builth may be a reference to a herd of

White Park Cattle The White Park is a modern British list of cattle breeds, breed of cattle. It was established in 1973 to include several herds or populations of colour-pointed white cattle – white-coated, with points of either red or black on the ears and ...

that lived in the area from Post-Roman times. Two herds survived in Wales to modern times. The laws of the time suggest that the medieval and later economy of the Welsh borders was strongly dependent on cattle. The

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British List of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It was the result of selective breeding from the mid-eighteenth century by a few famil ...

breed, named after

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

market where it was most prominently sold was the main breed of the Welsh borders. Builth was the market for a variant of the Hereford called the Builth Smokey Face. This was the traditional animal of the area but the breed has not existed for many, many decades. The Beulah Speckled Face is a local breed of sheep. Nearby

Mynydd Epynt Mynydd Epynt () is an upland region of Mid Wales, within the county of Powys. It is bounded on the south by the upper stretch of the Usk Valley, on the north by the Irfon Valley, and on the east by the Wye Valley. Its western boundary is less ...

was famous for its horses until it was seized for military training purposes. The beef cattle market has vanished and economically sheep are now vastly more important than cattle with consequences for the traditional woodlands of the area, the salmon runs and other important ecological features.

Industry

Llanelwedd Quarry was the source of the stone used in many of Builth's buildings, and in the dams along the

Elan Valley The Elan Valley () is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside. The valley contains the Elan Valley Reservoirs and Elan Village, desi ...

. The quarry was the source of the first

laumontite Laumontite is a mineral, one of the zeolite group. Its molecular formula is , a hydrated calcium-aluminium silicate. Potassium or sodium may substitute for the calcium but only in very small amounts. It is monoclinic, space group C2/m. It forms ...

mined in Wales. It is operated by Hanson Aggregates.

Transport

The town is served by

Builth Road railway station Builth Road railway station is a station primarily serving the town of Builth Wells, in mid Wales. It is on the Heart of Wales Line. The station is over northwest of Builth Wells via the A470, a busy trunk road. The hamlet of Builth Road ha ...

on the Heart of Wales Line, which is located just over 2 miles to the north-west. The more central (

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

) railway station on 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 ...

was opened in 1864, and closed with the line in 1962 – actually before the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. It was located across the river, next to the present showground. A dedicated cycle route linking the town with

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

( NCR 43) has been proposed and a 13-mile section of the route from Swansea has already been developed. One of the main Wales north-south trunk roads, the

A483 The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and W ...

, passes through the town, using the former railway route. As of June 2009 part of this road, along with the other main route through town (

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 navigate th ...

), is the subject of a transport study by the Welsh Assembly to help alleviate traffic congestion in the town centre. The bridge at Builth Wells carries vehicles on the A470. It dates from the 18th-century and has six masonry spans, with small cutwaters on the upstream side. The centre of the bridge has two pedestrian refuges. It was built in 1775 and widened in 1925. The river here marks the boundary between the old counties of

Breconshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...

and

Radnorshire Radnorshire () was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974, later becoming a Districts of Wales, district of Powys from 1974 to 1996. It covered a sparsely populat ...

Education and recreation

Ysgol Calon Cymru Ysgol Calon Cymru (meaning 'Heart of Wales School') is a bilingual secondary comprehensive school with campuses in Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells, Powys, mid Wales. It replaced Builth Wells High School and Llandrindod High School and opened at ...

is the main

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and is

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

. It replaced Builth Wells High School in September 2018 and can draw on certain specialist teachers and facilities as is dual campus with its other site in

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...

. In 2000 its predecessor was placed 67th in

(by percentage of its children, 59%, gaining 5

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

s at full pass grades A*–C). According to a 2010 report by

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb meaning 'to reach (out), stretch or extend'. Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality and stand ...

its rate rose to 77%, making it 9th best performing (state secondary) in

and the only ranking in

after

Llanidloes High School Llanidloes High School is a State school, state secondary school and sixth form in Llanidloes, Powys. As of 2023, there were 702 pupils on roll at the school. It is an English-medium school with significant Welsh language provision, with pupils at ...

. A fall to two years of Special Measures was followed in 2017 by the closing report of the old school finding sufficient progress to remove it from those measures. Progress was ranked as strong as to six recommendations of 2015, in 2017, and sufficient progress as to the other. The town features Wyeside Arts Centre, which has two cinemas and a live performance stage. Builth Wells has a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team called Builth Wells RFC, also known as 'The Bulls', who play on the Groe. The team play in the WRU SWALEC National League 2. The town's football team is Builth Wells F.C. who play in the

Ardal Leagues The Ardal Leagues are a association football, football league in Wales. The word "ardal" translates as "district" in English, with Wales split into four regions at this level. They have clubs with amateur/semi-professional status and sit at the t ...

, the third tier of Welsh football. Builth Male Voice Choir has approximately fifty members and performs concerts to support local and national charities. Builth Wells also has a cricket pitch, tennis courts, a sports centre with squash courts, a 25m swimming pool and a bowling green.

Notable people

:''See :People from Builth Wells''. *

Caesar Jenkyns Caesar Augustus Llewellyn Jenkyns (24 August 1866 – 23 July 1941) was a Welsh international footballer who played in the Football League for Small Heath, Woolwich Arsenal, Newton Heath and Walsall. Playing career Born in Builth Wells, Jenky ...

(1866–1941), footballer with over 200 club caps and 8 for

Percy Benzie Abery Percy Benzie Abery (20 October 1876''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 20 January 1948)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a prominent Welsh photographer of the early ...

(1876–1948), photographer, settled locally in 1898 *

Grenville Morris Arthur Grenville Morris (13 April 1877 – 27 November 1959) was a Welsh footballer who played in the Football League for Nottingham Forest. He is the club's all-time highest scorer with 217 goals. He also played for Aberystwyth Town and Swindon ...

(1877–1959), footballer with over 450 club caps and 21 for

, all-time record goalscorer for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

(217 goals) *

David Milwyn Duggan David Milwyn Duggan (May 5, 1879 – May 4, 1942) was a Welsh-born Canadian politician who was the Mayor of Edmonton from 1920 to 1923, a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and a leader of the Conservative Party of Alberta. Early l ...

(1879–1942), Canadian politician, emigrated in 1905 * Hilda Vaughan (1892–1985), novelist and short story writer * Kevin Sheedy (born 1959), a football coach and footballer with 391 club caps and 46 for

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. *

Iolo Williams Iolo Tudur Williams (; , born 22 August 1962) is a Welsh ornithologist, nature observer, television presenter and author, best known for his BBC and S4C nature programmes, working in both English and his first language of Welsh. After a 14-y ...

(born 1962), ornithologist, nature observer, TV presenter and author *

Alice Hart-Davis Alice Hart-Davis (born 1963) is a British journalist, author and founder of thetweakmentsguide.com. Early life Born in Builth Wells, the daughter of the biographer and journalist Duff Hart-Davis, and a granddaughter of publisher and biographer ...

(born 1963), journalist and author * Jack Harris (born 1986), singer and songwriter

Buildings and landmarks

Builth Wells has a large number of Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s and fixtures. A plaque on the wall of the

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

stakes its claim as the only in England and Wales to bear a contemporary inscription to less-than-one-year monarch

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

. The claim can be qualified to active post offices as the former one in

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

has a similar insignia. After a small health centre opened in the town, Builth Wells Hospital closed in 2013.

References

External links

BBC Wales feature on Builth Wells life

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Builth Wells and surrounding area
{{Authority control Market towns in Wales Spa towns in Wales Towns in Powys