Llangasty Tal-y-llyn: Church of St Gastyn
Said to have been founded by the Breton saint Gastyn in the mid fifth century, it is possible that the earliest building on the site is of that period. There is no record of a church earlier than the 16th century. The present building is largely the work of Gothic revivalist architect John Loughborough Pearson who was commissioned in 1847 by John Raikes, a banker who had moved to Llangasty to develop his Tractarian or High Anglican ideas into practice. Pearson was also commissioned to build a school and a family home for the Raikes family. His church was practically a completely rebuilt structure though some of the fabric of the older tower was incorporated into the structure.
[Parish Church Leaflet; Haslam]
[Parish Church Leaflet; Haslam]
Llangasty Tal-y-llyn: Treberfedd
Nr. Brecon, on the banks of Llangorse lake. Family home of the Raikes family. Circa 1847-1848, Robert and Frances Raikes moved to Llangasty to start a centre of Tractarian worship for the area. Raikes bought a square late-C18 house, Treberfedd Villa, and over the years 1848-1852 had it progressively replaced by an Elizabethan Gothic family house.
[Parish Church Leaflet; Haslam]
[Parish Church Leaflet; Haslam]
Llangatwg: Church of St Catwg
The dedication to a sixth century saint, the shape of the churchyard and the location all suggest an early medieval origin for the site and it may have been a mother church for the district. It is situated on the south bank of the Usk across the valley from Crickhowell. A church at Llangattock appears in records of the late 13th century and some of the stonework in the fabric of the church appears to be 13th or 14th century with the tower probably dating from the 16th.
Rebuilding and repairing took place at various times in the 18th and 19th centuries.
[Haslam; Historic churches survey]
Rebuilding and repairing took place at various times in the 18th and 19th centuries.
[Haslam; Historic churches survey]
Llangatwg: Glanusk Park
Grand house created by architect Robert Lugar for Sir Joseph Bailey who had made his fortune through his ironworks at Nantyglo and Beaufort and now aspired to the life of the landed gentry. Lugar was later to build Maesllwch for the Wilkins/De Winton family) Extensive parklands were created with three lodges and stable courtyard and gate tower. The main house was built between 1825 and 1830 and was a mix of gothic and tudor styles with faces looking outward on all sides and surmounted by octagonal turrets and pinnacles. It was demolished in 1954. The picture to the left (Courtesy of Powys County Archives) shows Glanusk in the late 19th century)
[Haslam; Poole]
[Haslam; Poole]
Llangatwg: Workhouse
The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 created the Crickhowell Poor Law Union which covered just 10 parishes (the Brecon Union included 41 parishes). Whereas the larger Unions built large new workhouses to prison-based plans supplied by the Poor Law Commission, the Crickhowell Union opted to upgrade the parish poorhouse across the valley from the town at Llangatwg. As can be seen from the section of the Ordnance Survey map shown here the workhouse did not have the large cruciform shape of larger workhouses. (Compare with Llanfyllin Workhouse)
Note the separate Fever Ward and Infirmary.
[County Archives Office B/G]
Note the separate Fever Ward and Infirmary.
[County Archives Office B/G]
Llangors: Church of St Paulinus
The dedication to St Paulinus and the shape of the churchyard suggest an early medieval origin for the site and there is a reference to a monastery in the area before the Norman conquest, and memorial stones of the same period. There are recorded references to a church here in the 12th and 13th centuries. The parish church today has a fine 15th century tower and some masonry but much of what can be seen is the product of Victorian rebuilding.
[Haslam; CPAT Historic churches website]
[Haslam; CPAT Historic churches website]
Llangurig: Church of St Curig
The church is reputed to have been a clas founded by St Curig himself who is said to have died around 550 AD. In the 12th century a church on the site came into the possession of the abbey of Strata Florida in Cardiganshire. The church was rebuilt by Sir George Gilbert Scott and Arthur Baker in 1877/8 and only the tower and some re-used window masonry remains of the medieval church, together with the font.
[Historic Churches Survey; Haslam; Hamer &; Lloyd – The History of the parish of Llangurig]
[Historic Churches Survey; Haslam; Hamer &; Lloyd – The History of the parish of Llangurig]
Llangurig: Clochfaen
Site of medieval house and the seat of the Lloyd family. The name is said to have come from a stone found on the site in the shape of a bell. (See engraving right) This is possibly a prehistoric quern stone. Clochfaen was the home of Chevalier Lloyd, the local historian Jacob Youde William Lloyd, who inherited the estate through his mother. The building was rebuilt in 1915 in the Arts & Crafts style.
[Haslam; Hamer &; Lloyd – The History of the parish of Llangurig]
[Haslam; Hamer &; Lloyd – The History of the parish of Llangurig]