Llanelly () is a village,

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 ...

, and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the county of

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the 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 ...

. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 census was 3,899. The

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

encompasses the parish and the surrounding area.

Location

The community lies in the

Clydach Gorge The Clydach Gorge (also known as Cwm Clydach) is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach, Monmouthshire, River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and ...

. It is bisected by the Heads of the Valleys Road, and lies between

Brynmawr ; ; ; ) is a market town, community (Wales), community and Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. The town, sometimes cited as the highest town in Wales, is situated at above sea level at ...

in the west and

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

in the east.

Settlements

The main settlements of the community are: Llanelly Hill, Blackrock, Clydach, Maesygwartha and Gilwern. Llanelly Hill is the north-west hilltop of the

. It developed as a result of coal mining and limestone quarrying for the nearby ironworks which included the Clydach Ironworks and further west, the Ebbw Vale Ironworks. Blackrock and Clydach North (which is also referred to as 'Cheltenham') were built up along the turnpike road that ran on the north side of the river between Govilon and

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

. Clydach South developed on the south side of the river above the ironworks. It climbs the north-west slopes towards Llanelly Hill. Gilwern is located at the mouth of the River Clydach, where it meets the

River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...

. Maesygwartha lies between Clydach and Gilwern along one of the many tramroads in the gorge.

History

The Church of St Elli dates from the 14th century or earlier. In the 1890s the highest part of the parish, the southwest, was transferred into the new urban district of

. Subsequently, from the local government reorganisation of 1974 until that of 1996, the community was part of the district of

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...

. However, the electors overwhelmingly voted to be transferred out of the district.

Governance

The

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 ...

of Llanelly Hill is coterminous with the Llanelly community and elects one county councillor to

Monmouthshire County Council Monmouthshire County Council (or simply Monmouthshire Council) () is the governing body for the Monmouthshire principal area – one of the unitary authorities of Wales. The current unitary authority was created in 1996 and covers the eastern ...

Notable persons

* Sir Henry Bartle Frere (1815–1884), Governor-General of South Africa at the outbreak of the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

Thomas Phillips Thomas Phillips (18 October 1770 – 20 April 1845) was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the notable men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers. Life and work Phillips was bor ...

(1801–1867), Mayor of Newport during the

Newport Rising The Newport Rising was the last large-scale armed rising in Wales, by Chartism, Chartists whose demands included democracy and the right to vote with a secret ballot. On Monday 4 November 1839, approximately 4,000 Chartist sympathisers, under ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Monmouthshire Communities in Monmouthshire