Tirabad is a village in

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. The name means "the abbot's land"; the village belonged to

Strata Florida Strata Florida Abbey (; ) is a former Cistercian abbey situated just outside Pontrhydfendigaid, near Tregaron in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The abbey was founded in 1164. After the region around St Davids was firmly occupied by the Norman ...

abbey in the Middle Ages. The village is located on the edge of the Crychan Forest and is south of

Llanwrtyd Llanwrtyd is a small settlement in Powys, mid-Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), through which flows the River Irfon. It lies 1.5 miles north of the town of Llanwrtyd Wells. Llanwrtyd was historically the centre of a ...

and north of Llanymddyfri. Many people had to leave the village during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the military used the area for

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

training, but the village expanded substantially in the 1950s, when the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

, now defunct, began tree plantations and built about 25 houses, a school, a village hall and a shop for their employees. St. David's Church, built in 1726, is the only Georgian church in

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 ...

. No services are currently held at the church due to structural problems with the building, although work is underway to enable it to be reopened. Just outside the village is the Tirabad Centre, an

outdoor pursuits Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

centre run by the Tirabad Residential Educational Trust and owned jointly by outsiders, three state schools in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

- Charters in

Sunningdale Sunningdale is a village and a civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. It takes up the extreme south-east corner of Berkshire, England and is adjoined by green buffers including Sunningdale Golf Club and Wentworth Golf ...

, The Emmbrook near

Wokingham Wokingham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is the main administrative centre of the wider Borough of Wokingham. At the 2021 census the parish had a population of 38,284 and the wider built-up area had a populati ...

and Maiden Erlegh in

Earley Earley ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, Berkshire, Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; fo ...

. The Centre was closed in March 2021 and its assets taken over by liquidators. Tirabad is on the Epynt Way long distance walking/cycling/horse-riding route. Epynt Way Section 3 uses the road that runs past the village, linking to Maesyron to the east. Epynt Way Section 4 (the "Tirabad Section") starts just west of the village near the Tirabad Old Chapel, taking a forestry track from the Cynghordy Road. Section 4 links to Craigyrwyddon and the Crychan Forest.

References

External links

Tirabad CentrePhotos of Tirabad and surrounding area on geograph
Villages in Powys {{Powys-geo-stub