Llansantffraed (Llansantffraed-juxta-Usk) is a parish in the community of

Talybont-on-Usk Talybont-on-Usk ( cy, Tal-y-bont ar Wysg) is a village and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. It lies on both the Caerfanell river and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, about from the River Usk. In 2001, i ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, Wales, near

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 ...

. The benefice of Llansantffraed with Llanrhystud and Llanddeiniol falls within the

Diocese of St Davids The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The epis ...

in the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The pos ...

Grade II listed Llansantffraed Church (geograph 2590550)

The church of St Ffraed is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ire ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. It was largely restored in 1690 and was completely rebuilt in 1885 by the architect

Stephen W. Williams Stephen W Williams or Stephen Williams (1837–1899) was a civil engineer and architect who worked mainly in Radnorshire and Breconshire, Wales. He was county surveyor of Radnorshire from 1864 to 1899. He had offices at Rhayader and lived at ...

. The parish is the burial place of the 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.''Oxfor ...

(1621–1695), who was born in the hamlet of Scethrog within the parish. Vaughan's grave in the churchyard, on the slopes of a hill known as Allt yr Esgair or simply The Allt, overlooks the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) 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 flo ...

. The poets

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

Roland Mathias Roland Glyn Mathias (4 September 1915 – 16 August 2007) was a Welsh writer, known for his poetry and short stories. He was also a literary critic, and responsible with Raymond Garlick for the success of the literary magazine ''Dock Leaves'' (f ...

, Brian Morris and Anne Cluysenaar were all inspired to write poems by their visits to the grave. Sassoon's "At the Grave of Henry Vaughan" is the best-known of these and is read every year at the graveside following the Vaughan memorial service. Another grave of note in the churchyard is a Grade II listed tomb erected for the Gwynne-Holford family, residents of nearby Buckland Hall. The family included James Gwynne-Holford, Conservative

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

(died 1886). Vaughan's twin brother, Thomas Vaughan, became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Llansantffraed in about 1644. He was forced to vacate the position in 1650, on grounds that included his having been on the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...

side during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

. The Old Rectory, which stands close by the church to the northwest, is a Grade II listed building, with an estimated date of late 18th century. It is thought to have been built as a hunting lodge for the Buckland estate and converted into a rectory in the 19th century, but was released by the church during the 1950s. It later became a guest house.

Governance

An electoral ward with the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 1,880.

References

External links

Photos of Llansantffraed and surrounding area
at geograph.org.uk {{authority control Villages in Powys