Llanfair Caereinion

Market town in Powys, Wales

Human settlement in Wales

Powys

Powys

CountryWalesSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townWELSHPOOLPostcode districtSY21Dialling code01938Police Dyfed-Powys Fire Mid and West Wales AmbulanceWelsh UK Parliament

Montgomeryshire

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Montgomeryshire

List of places: UK; Wales; Powys

52°38′56″N 3°19′28″W / 52.64882°N 3.32434°W / 52.64882; -3.32434

Llanfair Caereinion is a market town and community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales upon the River Banwy (also known as the River Einion), around 8 miles west of Welshpool. In 2011 the ward had a population of 1,810; the town itself had a population of 1,055 according to Nomis.^[2]

History

Its name is a combination of Welsh llan "church" + Mair "Mary" and caer "fort" + Einion, a personal name, meaning "the church of Mary [at] the fort of Einion".^[3] The town is built upon the site of an old Roman fort. The site of the Battle of Maes Moydog (1295) is nearby. In 1758 the town was almost completely wiped out by a major fire.^[4]

Geography

The town is close to Welshpool. It acts as a centre for many scattered hamlets and villages in the area. The electorate of the community places it fourteenth in size, out of the county's eighteen towns. Llanfair Caereinion is classified as an area centre in the Powys Unitary Development Plan, for the market town has the largest range of community services and facilities and the greatest capacity to accommodate additional development in its locality. There are also rural settlements within the community at Heniarth and Melin-y-ddol. The remainder of the population lives in scattered farms and dwellings.^[5]

Transport

The town is served by the following bus routes: 73 (Llanfair-Welshpool-Oswestry) which operates only two services each way on Wednesdays and Fridays between 8:58 and 14:57.^[6] 84 (Llanfair-Newtown) which operates only two services each way Mondays-Fridays but is more a school service. 87 (Llanfair-Welshpool-Foel) which operates Mondays to Saturdays with six services a day and three each way to Foel, Llanfair and Welshpool. 89 (Llanfair-Welshpool) offer additional service on Mondays only to Welshpool and back to Llanfair.^[7]

The nearest mainline railway station is Welshpool and further away is Machynlleth. The town is also the terminus of the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. This offers an additional method of travel to Welshpool from the town between Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays although it is primarily a heritage railway.

Governance

Since the May 2022 local elections, Llanfair Caereinion, with neighbouring Llanerfyl, has been part of the Llanfair Caereinion and Llanerfyl electoral ward, represented by one county councillor on Powys County Council.^[8]

Notable residents

John Griffiths (1837–1918), an artist who worked in India, noted for his Orientalist works, was born here.
Thomas John Jehu (1871–1943), geologist and physician, was born here.^[9]
Lu Corfield (born ca.1980), a Welsh actress, raised at nearby Four Crosses
Alis Huws (born 1995), a Welsh harpist, born at Foel.

Gallery

Llanfair Caereinion Town Hall in 1802
Llanfair Church by David Cox, c.1813

References

^ "Town population 2011". neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
^ "Custom report - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics". nomisweb.co.uk.
^ Mills, A. D. (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198527589.
^ "Historic Settlement Survey - Montgomeryshire" (PDF). Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust.
^ "Community No. M23 LLANFAIR CAEREINION" (PDF).
^ "73 - Llanfair Caereinion - Oswestry". bustimes.org. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "Llanfair Caereinion – bustimes.org". bustimes.org. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "The County of Powys (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
^ "Jehu, Thomas John". Who's Who: 1301. 1919.