About Llanfechan
Llanfechan is a small church settlement consisting of a church and a farm, and the surrounding area, it is beside the A483 on the north side of the Irfon Valley near Cilmery, about 7km west of Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. NameThe community was originally known as Llanafan Fechan to distinguish it from the larger one nearby, Llanafan Fawr. The settlement was referred to as Llanavon vechan in 1543. A third Llanafan also exists in Ceredigion, near the Trawsgoed Estate. The settlementThe Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales describes the settlement as follows: LLANAFAN-FECHAN, or LLANFECHAN, a parish in Builth district, Brecon; on the river Irvon. . . Acres, 2, 783. Real property, £927. Pop, 163. Houses, 25. The surface is hilly, and the rocks include slate. Gwarafog, an ancient mansion, is now a farm-house. The living is a p curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Llanafan-Fawr, in the diocese of St. David's. The church is small. The population fell from about 170 in 1801 to less than 90 in 1961, peaking in 1831 at nearly 190. In 1881, agriculture dominated male employment and apart from a schoolmaster all the rest had manual jobs of various kinds. ChurchThe present church dates to a refurbishment in 1866. The church is of typical medieval size and plan and this probably reflects the footprint of its predecessor. The 14th century font inside the church presumably comes from this earlier building. The church stands on an unnatural mound, assumed to be the debris of the earlier church, and within a raised churchyard about 45m across.
Llanfechan Description
Llanfechan is a small church settlement consisting of a church and a farm, and the surrounding area, it is beside the A483 on the north side of the Irfon Valley near Cilmery, about 7km west of Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. NameThe community was originally known as Llanafan Fechan to distinguish it from the larger one nearby, Llanafan Fawr. The settlement was referred to as Llanavon vechan in 1543. A third Llanafan also exists in Ceredigion, near the Trawsgoed Estate. The settlementThe Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales describes the settlement as follows: LLANAFAN-FECHAN, or LLANFECHAN, a parish in Builth district, Brecon; on the river Irvon. . . Acres, 2, 783. Real property, £927. Pop, 163. Houses, 25. The surface is hilly, and the rocks include slate. Gwarafog, an ancient mansion, is now a farm-house. The living is a p curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Llanafan-Fawr, in the diocese of St. David's. The church is small. The population fell from about 170 in 1801 to less than 90 in 1961, peaking in 1831 at nearly 190. In 1881, agriculture dominated male employment and apart from a schoolmaster all the rest had manual jobs of various kinds. ChurchThe present church dates to a refurbishment in 1866. The church is of typical medieval size and plan and this probably reflects the footprint of its predecessor. The 14th century font inside the church presumably comes from this earlier building. The church stands on an unnatural mound, assumed to be the debris of the earlier church, and within a raised churchyard about 45m across.