Llangattock () 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

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 ...

in 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 ...

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 ...

, Wales. It lies in the Usk Valley just across the river from the town of

Crickhowell Crickhowell (; , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community (Wales), community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Brecknockshire. Location The town lies on th ...

. The

Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal () is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural character and tranquillity belies its ...

passes through the village en route between

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), 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 county town of Breck ...

and

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

. It is in the historic county 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 ...

. According to the

2011 UK census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

the population of the community was 999, with the village itself having a population of around 660. Llangattock elects a

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

of ten members who, amongst other things, are responsible for the running of Llangattock

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. Llangattock electoral ward also elects one county councillor to

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 ...

Location

To the south of Llangattock village is the imposing Llangattock Escarpment whose great limestone cliffs were scarred by extensive quarrying in the nineteenth century. Above these is the great gritstone plateau of Mynydd Llangatwg or Llangattock Mountain. Some of Britain's longest cave systems lie concealed beneath this hill, including

Ogof y Daren Cilau Ogof y Daren Cilau is a cave system in the limestone escarpment on Mynydd Llangatwg (Llangattock Mountain), which is south of Llangattock village and above Crickhowell in south Powys, Wales. The escarpment is the remnant of quarrying that had ...

and Ogof Agen Allwedd together with the shorter though more accessible cave of Eglwys Faen (or 'stone church'). The natural amphitheatre formed by the cliffs of Craig y Cilau and the quarried Daren Cilau was designated a national nature reserve on account of a variety of rare plants, notably species of

whitebeam The whitebeams are members of the family Rosaceae, tribe Malinae, comprising a number of deciduous simple or lobe-leaved species formerly lumped together within ''Sorbus'' s.l. Many whitebeams are the result of extensive intergeneric hybridisa ...

endemic to the area. The hollow itself is thought to be a product of both glacial action and a massive rotational

landslip Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...

during the ice ages. The village is near

Crug Hywel Crug Hywel is an Iron Age Celtic hillfort, with a clearly visible earth and stone ditch and rampart. Crug Hywel is approached by a couple of public footpaths across farmland from Crickhowell and Llanbedr and visited by the Beacons Way. It lies ...

which is clearly seen from most houses.

The Village

The village is close to Crickhowell. It has a church, St Catwg's, several pubs, and is a mostly residential area. It is home to a chapel, and is of archaeological interest due to the 4,000 year old burial ground in the park. It has a boathouse and old limekilns, “scars of its industrial past”. It also has a school with around 100 pupils.

The Dardy

There is a smaller village in Llangattock community further along the canal. It houses Llangattock's old workhouse, residents and chicken coops.

The Church

Llangattock church is dedicated to St Catwg (or Cattwg). The tower was built in the 12th century, and it has six bells. It also houses antique whipping posts and stocks.

Llangattock Park House

To the north of the village stands Llangattock Park House, a shooting lodge built by

Thomas Henry Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected president of the Royal Institute of British Architects for 1870–1873 and being awarded its Royal Gold Me ...

for Henry Somerset, 7th Duke of Beaufort. It is a

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, H ...

and its gardens and park are listed at Grade II on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

Plâs Llangattock (Llangattwg)

Also to the north of the village stands Plâs Llangattock, an 18th-century gentry house. It is a

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 ...

and its gardens are listed, also at Grade II* on the

Historical importance

The parish of Llangattock was one of the first and largest in Wales, though it has since shrunk. The Marconi family worked on some of the earliest telegraph experiments there. Llangattock had a large lime quarry.

Famous/notable Residents

* Admiral John Gell retired at Llanwysg House *17th-century metaphysical poet

Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...

and his brother Thomas Vaughan were schooled as boys by the local rector. * Anne Eleanor Colclough, wife of late English rugby player Maurice Colclough.

References

External links

Llangattock Community Council
{{authority control Villages in Powys Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys Communities in Powys Wards of Powys Brecon Beacons