Llanilid
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Llanilid is a small settlement of in the county borough of
Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...
, Wales. It is in the historic county of
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
. Llanilid is part of the
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 ...
of
Llanharan Llanharan () is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community Llanharan takes in the neighbouring settlements of Bryncae, Brynna, Llanilid, Peterston-super-Montem and Ynysmaerdy. Llanharan thrived ...
along with the villages of Bryncae,
Brynna Brynna () is a small village situated between Pencoed and Llanharan. It is located at the point where the borders of two Welsh county boroughs, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend, meet. Due to Brynna's proximity to the M4 motorway as well as bot ...
, Ynysmaerdy, Peterston-super-Montem and Llanharan itself.


History

Since the time of the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
Llanilid and neighbouring Llanharan were part of the Welsh lordship of
Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...
, one of the lordships of
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
in the cantref of
Penychen Penychen was a possible minor kingdom of early medieval Wales and later a cantref of the Kingdom of Morgannwg. Penychen was one of three cantrefi that made up the kingdom of Glywysing, lying between the rivers Taff and Thaw, the other two being ...
.Williams (1971), p.206 The region was wild and heavily
wooded A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
, consisting of scattered hamlets in the clearings and the land was predominantly taken to
pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...
ism. Tradition states that Rhys ap Jestyn was granted lordship of the region by the Normans, but there is little historical proof of this. It is known that the Normans left the region fairly untouched, though the
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
in Llanilid, believed to be Norman in construct, show evidence of encroachment into the area. Eventually the lordship of Ruthin was partitioned, and by 1245 Richard Seward of the neighbouring lordship of Talyfan had wrested the region of Ruthin away from its Welsh rulers. In 1245 Ruthin, along with Talyfan and Llanblethian, were confiscated by Richard de Clare. Little is known of the early history of Llanilid after the end of Norman control, though it is known the region boasted an ancient church, a smithy and several displaced small holdings. Most of the farms dealt with livestock, with only the western area of Llanilid, in modern times known as Felindre, possessing fertile land.Williams (1971), p.208 This portion of Llanilid was given over to the Knights of St. John before 1338 and was known as the manor of Milton. The manor of Milton was the chief possession of the Knight of St. John within Glamorgan and its primary form of income for the order was a water mill which sat on the banks of the
River Ewenny The Ewenny River () is a river in South Wales. For most of its length, it forms the border between the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend. It is a major tributary of the River Ogmore, which it joins near its estuary. Course The river rises to the ...
. This
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...
and the mill was let and its oversight entrusted to a separate
seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...
.Williams (1971), p.209 When the order was dissolved in 1540, Milton was purchased by John Thomas Bassett of
Bonvilston Bonvilston () is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village is situated on the A48 road, A48 about four miles east of Cowbridge and near the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. The population in 2011 was 392. History It is named after ...
. Around this time, Llanilid had a population of around a hundred people whose land was controlled by absentee landlords. By 1666 three land owners, Humphrey Wyndham of Dunraven, Sir Robert Thomas of Llanmihangel and David Jenkins of Hensol, owned most of the parish.Williams (1971), p.210 Llanilid remained a rural parish throughout the 18th and 19th century, though with the coming of the industrialisation of South Wales its northern border was transformed by a large opencast mine. In 1848 Sophia Crichton-Stuart, Marchioness of Bute, wrote to her land agent, expressing concern at the actions of the Earl of Cottenham, then Lord Chancellor, who had the patronage of the parish, "where hardly anyone speaks English", for appointing as rector "a man ''without Welsh''". Despite the changes, the hamlet saw little growth or additional housing and in 1961 the population was 95.Williams (1971), p.211


Etymology

According to Thomas Morgan, Llanilid follows the tradition of Welsh place names attached to a parish in taking its title from the dedicated saint of the local church. In Llanilid the local church is St. Ilid & St Curig's church, and Morgan states that this relates to Ilid a person who introduced Wales to Christianity in the 1st century. This research may be connected to that of famed literary forger
Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10March 174718December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia''. R ...
, who produced elaborate tales of Ilid going as far as stating that it was the Welsh names of
Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...
. Morgan relates that " Llan" – "Ilid", refers to the 'parish of St Ilid'. This is challenged by R.W.D. Fenn, who, after studying the ''
Book of Llandaff The Book of Llandaff (; , ', or '), is the cartulary of the cathedral of Llandaff, a 12th-century compilation of documents relating to the history of the diocese of Llandaff in Wales. It is written primarily in Latin but also contains a signific ...
'' and
Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...
's ''
Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...
'' writes in 1962 that the Latin equivalent of Ilid represents the name of a district, similar to
Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...
, and not a person. Fenn then writes that in 1566 Llanilid was dedicated to Ilid and Curig, whom he connects to the saints more commonly known in Christian tradition as Julietta and Quiricus. He links this through the Appendix of the ''Book of Llandaff'' which states that the church at Llanilid is first given as the 'Church of St Julitta'.


Major landmarks

With a sparse population and made up mainly of farm houses, Llanilid still contains several buildings and structures of note. Arguably the oldest recognised structure in Llanilid is the Castle
ringwork A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles without the motte. Defences were usually earthworks in the form of a ditch and bank surrounding the site ...
datable to the 12th century. The ringwork and raised
motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
, which is roughly circular, are described as one of the best preserved in
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
and contains a visible bank and ditch. It is classed as a
Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...
and comes under the care of
Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage ...
, but it is not one of its protected sites. To the ringwork's immediate south-west sits St. Ilid & St Curig's church. The origin of the church is unknown, but the lower foundation stones are ancient in origin, believed to be pre-Norman Conquest. The rebuild date is unknown but architectural historians, such as John Newman, find comparisons in the design of Ruperra Castle (1626); also the south wall contains two light Tudor windows. The square tower has
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
led
battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...
s with two-light Tudor bell-openings, though these are described as being later than the original design. John Prichard, whose work on Llandaff Cathedral saw him work on many buildings of the Diocese of Llandaff, of which St Ilid and St Cruig's belongs, 'refixed' the chancel roof in its original style, but new-roofed the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
. This work was completed around 1881 after a sum of £380 was found to repair the building from its then ruinous state. The
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
appears to have been taken from an earlier building, dated as 13th century. In 2005, work started on a major film studio on the northern borders of Llanilid, named Dragon International Film Studios. The £330m development saw its first major international film, ''
Ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
'' released in 2009.


Notes


Bibliography

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External links


Heritage Trail:Llanharan
{{Authority control Villages in Rhondda Cynon Taf Llanharan