St Illtyd is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

near Aberbeeg, in southeast

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 ...

, within the historic boundaries 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 ...

. It is situated on the mountain road between

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 ...

and

Abertillery Abertillery (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Blaenau Gwent County Borough, Wales. It is located in the Ebbw Fach Valley, Ebbw Fach valley, and the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire. The surrounding lan ...

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 ...

. It rests at about 1200 feet above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The

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postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

is NP13 2AY. It is located south of

and north of Newport. The B4471 runs near to the village. The population of the wider

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 ...

including nearby Aberbeeg and Llanhilleth is 4,797.

Geography

In and around the hamlet there can be found cottages, farms, former farms, a public house, a former public house, a huge former open cast site, former levels, a canyon left by an opencast or

strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

and a

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

. A nearby proposal for a sandstone mine has been reported by newspapers locally after a number of unsuccessful planning applications since 2006. The landowner made further attempts in 2011.

History

It is most notable for St Illtyd's Church, a 13th-century building generally believed to have been built by

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monks from Llantarnam on the site of a previous church which historians have tended to date as dating from 863 AD or thereabouts. The present dedication to St Illtyd is not however the original one, for it was not until around 1754 that this saint's name was given as the name of the church. The 9th century "Englynion y Beddau" (Stanzas of the Graves) collected among the texts now known as the

Black Book of Carmarthen The Black Book of Carmarthen () is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. The book dates from the mid-13th century; its name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog ...

(recorded 12th-13th centuries) refer to "Llan Heledd" or "Llan Helet", (Heledd being a sixth to seventh princess of Powys and a "local canonisation". T. D. Breverton records that during the 16th and 17th centuries the parish of Llanhilleth bore the name Llanheledd Forwyn (Church of Heledd the Virgin), and this dedication has survived today in the place-name, having reached its present form via Llan Helet, Llanheledd, Llanhiledd and Llanhylithe down the years, although Llaniddel is given by Archdeacon Coxe in 1701 as the name of the parish and there are references to the church as being dedicated to "St Ithel" until around 1800. Until 1911 it was the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Llanhilleth Llanhilleth () is a village, community and an electoral ward on the A467 road between Ebbw Vale and Crumlin in Blaenau Gwent, Wales. Two large mounds in the field behind the Carpenter's Arms are the remains of the medieval Llanhilleth castle ...

, now in the Diocese of Monmouth, and it remained in intermittent use as a place of worship until 1975. The following list of incumbents is given in various places. * 1560 - The Reverend John Williams * 1612 - The Reverend David Pritchard * 1617 - The Reverend William Price * 1660 - The Reverend Lewis James * c.1700 - The Reverend Walter Evans * 1742 - The Reverend Richard Edwards * 1768 - The Reverend Abednego Pritchard * 1771 - The Reverend David Jones * 1818 - The Reverend Thomas Jones * 1840 - The Reverend William Evans * 1843 - The Reverend James Hughes * 1895 - The Reverend Daniel Felix * 1930 - The Reverend Canon Thomas Madog Williams - obit 1956 * 1957 - The Reverend John MacLaren Price (largely nominal after 1962) * 1968 - The Reverend Lewis David Pritchard (officiated only intermittently at St Illtyd) * 1982 - The Reverend Albert James Way (nominal only, 1982–84) The church was abandoned after 1975, although the circular churchyard, which is now closed for burials remains in the care of the

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () 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 position is currently held b ...

. The building was de-consecrated in 1985 in an advanced state of decay, but was renovated as an historic monument in 1990. Today the Friends of St Illtyd help

County Borough Council look after the church building.

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

visited St Illtyd twice to speak at the preaching cross which is now in the graveyard.

Transport

The hamlet is a 47-minute walk or from Llanhilleth railway station where trains run hourly between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff Central. In 2021 services will operate to Newport. It is a 28-minute walk from the centre of Brynithel village, where residents are served by the number 1 bus between Six Bells and Abertillery, and the slightly further away Rugby Club stop provides connections to Stagecoach South Wales services: * 62 (Ebbw Vale-Cwmbran) * X15 (Newport-Brynmawr) * X1 (Cwmbran-Brynmawr and Pontypool) * 95B (Newbridge)

Governance

The Llanhilleth

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 ...

serves the village. The ward is represented by Councillors Norman Lee Parsons (Llanhilleth,

Ind Ind or IND may refer to: General * Independent (politician), a politician not affiliated to any political party * Independent station, used within television program listings and the television industry for a station that is not affiliated with ...

), Hedley McCarthy (Llanhilleth, Lab), and Joanne Collins (Llanhilleth,

). The area is represented in 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 ...

by Alun Davies ( Labour) and the Member of Parliament is Nick Smith (Labour).

References

{{authority control Villages in Blaenau Gwent