Cefn Meiriadog

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Cefn Meiriadog
Elwy Valley landscape - geograph.org.uk - 782531.jpg
Fields in the Elwy Valley above Cefn Meiriadog
Denbighshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Cefn Meiriadog
Location within Denbighshire
Population389 (2011) [1]
OS grid reference SJ007725
  Cardiff 122.3 mi (196.8 km)
  London 185.6 mi (298.7 km)
Community
  • Cefnmeiriadog
Principal area
Preserved county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ST. ASAPH
Postcode district LL17
Post townABERGELE
Postcode district LL22
Dialling code 01745
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Denbighshire
53°14′24″N3°29′17″W / 53.240°N 3.488°W / 53.240; -3.488

Cefn Meiriadog (sometimes Cefnmeriadog) is a rural community in Denbighshire, Wales, just south-west of the city of St Asaph. [2] The boundary of the community on three sides is the river Elwy, which here forms the county boundary with Conwy County Borough. Arguably the largest settlement in the community is the hamlet of Bontnewydd. Also in the community are the hamlets of Groesffordd Marli where Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog is situated, and Cefn.

Contents

Wigfair, in the parish of Cefn Meiriadog Wigfair - geograph.org.uk - 1579552.jpg
Wigfair, in the parish of Cefn Meiriadog

The community is named for a small ridge of the same name (cefn in Welsh means "ridge"). It is said that the place was named for St Meiriadog, a 4th or 5th century Breton saint. Cefn Caves are nearby, where human and early Neanderthal remains dating back 250,000 years have been discovered. Visitors to the site have included Charles Darwin, in 1831. [3] The site is known as Bontnewydd Palaeolithic site.

There is a local spring, Ffynnon Fair ("St Mary's spring"), and it was once believed to have healing properties. The poet Siôn Tudur (1522 – 1602) lived at Plas Wigfair (GR028712) nearby.

St Mary's Church, Cefn

About 300 metres SE of the fort Bryn y Cawr ("Giant's Hill", at the SE end of the ridge) stands the small St Mary's church (Grade II listed). [4] The stone was quarried at the site of the church; the church was opened and consecrated on 3.9.1864 by Bishop Short of St Asaph, and the new ecclesiastical parish of "Cefn" was created on 7. 2. 1865, made up of two "townships": Wigfair and Meiriadog (both in Denbighshire), previously part of St Asaph parish.

Population

In 2011 the population of Cefnmeiriadog was 389, with 30.4% able to speak Welsh.

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References

  1. Welsh Government website; 2011 Census Returns and stats; accessed 9 May 2014
  2. Cefn Meiriadog Historic Society; accessed 16 April 2014.
  3. National Museum of Wales Archived 17 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine ; accessed 16 April 2014
  4. "Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust; accessed 16.9.2014". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2018.