The early village grew north of the river crossing, where a church was built dedicated to St Cynidr, a 6th-century bishop said to be buried in Glasbury.[1] The name 'Glasbury' derives from the Welsh 'clas', which signifies a glebe or church land. St Cynidr's name is retained in the small settlement of Ffynnon Gynydd to the north of the village, where Cynidr's well is still visible. From the 6th century to the 11th century, Glasbury formed part of the Kingdom of Brycheiniog, ruled from nearby Talgarth.
The importance of this early church was such that Glasbury was made a diocese. A list of the bishops of Glasbury still exists and gives the last bishop as Tryferyn, who died in 1055.[2] The diocese was subsumed by the bishopric of Glamorgan, later Llandaff.[3]
Battle of Glasbury
In the mid 11th century, the Welsh kingdoms (including Brycheiniog) were temporarily united under Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Wales. On 16 June 1056, a battle was fought at Glasbury between an English force, led by Bishop Leofgar of Hereford, and a Welsh force led by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, at which the warrior bishop was killed.[4]
Marcher lordship
After the Norman invasion, the kingdom of Brycheiniog (including Glasbury) was conquered or otherwise acquired by Bernard de Neufmarché, one of the Marcher Lords.[5] In 1088, he presented the Manor and church of Glasbury to the Abbey of St Peter's at Gloucester and the parish church of St. Cynidr was rededicated to St Peter. The patronage of the church was later transferred to the Bishop of Gloucester and subsequently to the Bishop of St David's, with whom it remains today.[6]
In 1144, as part of an exchange, the lordship of the Manor of Glasbury passed from Gloucester Abbey to Walter de Clifford,[7] after which time it was frequently contested by the marcher families. Following a dispute with John Giffard, the lordship passed to John de Braose of Glasbury (son of John de Braose) in 1275.[8] In 1299, it passed to Margaret Longespee and her husband Henry de Lacy, 3rd Earl of Lincoln and in 1330 to Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. The lordship was seized by the crown in 1331, and granted to Eubulo le Strange, but returned to Mortimer's grandson Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March in 1354 and in 1360 to his son Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March.[9] In 1404, King Henry IV granted the lordship to Sir Robert Whitney "in consequence of his father...having been killed in the royal service and his property burnt by the Welsh rebels".[10]
Glasbury Castle
Glasbury Castle, north of the river, was first mentioned in 1144 when it was granted (with the manor) to Walter de Clifford. In August 1233, the castle was attacked and captured by King Henry III following a baronial rebellion by the Cliffords, but little more is recorded after that, though it was still in existence in a survey of Glasbury Manor dated 1561[6] Remains of its earthworks were visible near the centre of the village until housing development in the 1970s.[11]
Split between Radnorshire and Breconshire
Following the end of the semi-autonomous Marcher Lordships with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, the parish and village of Glasbury north of the Wye together with the village south of the Wye were placed in the hundred of Painscastle in the county of Radnorshire, whilst the outlying parts of the parish south of the Wye (including Felindre, Pipton, and Tregoyd) were placed in the hundred of Talgarth in the county of Brecknockshire. This continued till 1844, when all of Glasbury south of the Wye was transferred to Brecknockshire.[12]
The village today
St Peter's church
Two ecclesiastical parishes
Following floods in the mid seventeenth century, the River Wye changed course and the old parish church of St Peter's found itself south (rather than north) of the river and subsequently fell into disrepair. A new one was built still further south in 1661, though the current building dates from 1837. It is now a Grade II listed building.[13] In 1883, a second church was built north of the river and the Radnorshire side of the village transferred to the new parish of Glasbury, All Saints.[6] The Old Vicarage, overlooking the river just to the south of Glasbury Bridge, is a hall house dating from the 15th century, and a Grade I listed building.[14]
Maesllwch Castle
Maesllwch Castle
Maesllwch Castle, overlooking Glasbury to the north, was built close to an original hall house of the Vaughan family which was later owned by Charles Lloyd. The house was rebuilt by the Howorths in 1715, when the surrounding park was also established. The current building was grandly conceived in castellated style by the architect Robert Lugar for the de Winton family in the mid-nineteenth century. In the Second World War it was requisitioned and used as a Canadian hospital and subsequently by the Land Army. Part of the castle was later demolished to reduce the costs of upkeep, but it remains an imposing private residence and a Grade II listed building.[15][16] The gardens and park are listed at Grade II* on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.[17]
The early puritan non-conformistVavasor Powell is believed to have first started his preaching career to the north of the village in the 1640s. The 1654 pamphlet 'Hue and cry after Mr Vavasor Powell' was written by Alexander Griffith, vicar of Glasbury, who had been expelled from the living by Vavasor and others for "drunkenness and lasciviousness".[18][19]
Maesyronnen chapel was founded around 1691 on land donated by Charles Lloyd, squire of Maesllwch.[20] It is considered the most important surviving building associated with the non-conformist movement in Wales and lays claim to being the first and oldest chapel in Wales.[21] It is now a Grade I listed building, still used and maintained by the United Reformed Church.[22] A much later United Reformed chapel was built on the village green in "Gothic style" in 1866,[23] but is now a private residence. It remains a Grade II listed building.[16]
The Methodist chapel at Cwmbach in the north of the village dates from 1818, when local farmer Richard Hergest received a revelation that it should be built in his meadow.[23] It is also a Grade II listed building[16] and remains in use.
The Baptist chapel at Treble Hill, just south of and conveniently close to the River Wye, was built in "temple style" in 1866 and closed in 2010.[23] It remains a Grade II listed building.[13]
Glasbury Bridge
Bridge at Glasbury
Glasbury Bridge has repeatedly been destroyed by floods. A wooden bridge was washed away in 1738, a replacement in 1777 and a stone bridge in 1795.[24] In 1850, a dispute between Brecknockshire and Radnorshire over costs for a new bridge led to the construction of a compromise half-wooden (Radnorshire), half-stone (Brecknockshire) bridge. The current six-span masonry bridge was built in 1923.[25]
Turnpikes, tramway, and railway
Glasbury was and still is on the main road between Brecon and Hereford and Brecon and Hay-on-Wye. These roads were formerly turnpikes and a turnpike toll house (now a private residence) still remains on the northern edge of the village. In 1843 a royal commission of inquiry took evidence that "The Glasbury gates are a great inconvenience" since "persons travelling from one part of the village to the other pay two tolls", one to the Radnorshire and one to the Brecknockshire trust.[26] This provoked an incident during the Rebecca Riots of 1843-44 when one of the Glasbury turnpike gates was destroyed.[27]
A tramway connecting Hay-on-Wye with the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal ran through Glasbury, on the southern side of the river. Called the Hay Railway, it was horse-drawn, carried coal, limestone, and agricultural produce, and opened on 7 May 1816. The stations were known as 'wharves' and Glasbury Wharf was at Llwynau-bach, to the south-east of the village, where traces of stabling for the draught horses remain.[27]
The tramway was replaced by the Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway which opened for traffic in 1864 and closed in 1962. The route mostly followed the old tramway. Glasbury Station was in the Treble Hill area in the south of the village, where three railway bridges are still standing.
Inns and shops
Foyles of Glasbury (formerly the Maesllwch Arms) in the northern half of the village is an old coaching inn with stables and is a Grade II listed building. Though no longer on the main road, it still offers accommodation as well as food and drink,[28] as does the Harp Inn on the southern side.[29] Glasbury still retains a post office that operates from inside Glasbury Service Station. The red telephone box on the northern side, near Glasbury House, has now been turned into a book exchange.
Canoeing and outdoor activities
Glasbury is a centre for canoeing and kayaking on the River Wye[30] and for walking and other activities in the Black Mountains. Two outdoor education centres are based in the village: Woodlands Outdoor Education Centre, owned by Oxfordshire County Council,[31] and The River Wye Activity Centre, formerly owned by the London Borough of Redbridge.[32] Both offer accommodation and a range of activities for young people.
Following local government reorganization in 1974, the village of Glasbury was split between two communities. The southern (Brecknockshire) part of the village was placed in the community of Gwernyfed together with the neighbouring villages of Aberllynfi and Felindre.[35] The northern (Radnorshire) part of the village was placed in the misleadingly named community of Glasbury together with the neighbouring villages of Boughrood, Llanstephan and Llowes.[36]
Orchards and the 'Glasbury' apple
In 1815, the late Rev. John Hughes, curate of Glasbury, was described as "an active and zealous orchard-planter" who "introduced grafts from vigorous-bearing trees of the choicest cyder sorts".[37] Perhaps as a result of his endeavours, a 1912 guide book referred to Glasbury "nestling in a circle of orchards",[38] some few of which survive to this day.
An apple cultivar called 'Glasbury' is still obtainable. It is a dessert apple, said to have originated in Norfolk in 1872,[39] presumably from seeds or cuttings taken from Glasbury. Curiously, another cultivar called 'Glasbury' was recommended as a cider apple in a book published in 1835,[40] but this earlier apple now seems to be unknown.
Glasbury still lies entirely within the vice-county of Radnorshire for the purposes of biological recording. Plant and lichen records are thus included in the Flora of Radnorshire.[42]
The Brecknock Wildlife Trust nature reserve known as ‘Glasbury Cutting’ has been created from part of the disused Hereford, Hay and Brecon Railway line and is to the east of Glasbury, on the B4350 towards Hay-on-Wye. The reserve is home to rare dormice which were discovered there in 2000.[43]
↑ S. Baring-Gould; J. Fisher (1908). Lives of the British Saints. Vol.2. For the honourable Society of cymmrodorion , by C. J. Clark. p.258.
↑ Wyn Evans, J.; Wooding, Jonathan M., eds. (2007). St. David of Wales: Cult, Church and Nation. Studies in Celtic History. Boydell and Brewer. pp.300–301. ISBN978-1843833222.
↑ Davies, J. R., The Book of Llandaf and the Norman church in Wales, p.27 (2003) ISBN1-84383-024-8
Hay-on-Wye, known locally as Hay, is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival.
Powys is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.
Brecon, archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire (Breconshire); although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons mountain range, but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Until 1974, Brecknockshire, also formerly known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was an administrative county in the south of Wales, later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Named after its county town of Brecon, the county was mountainous and primarily rural.
Builth Wells is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh part of the Wye Valley. In 2011 it had a population of 2,568.
Three Cocks or Aberllynfi is a village near Glasbury in Powys, Wales. The Welsh name refers to the mouth of the Afon Llynfi which enters the River Wye a mile from the village. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye some 5 miles (8.5 km) to the northeast.
Clyro is a village and community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, with 781 inhabitants as of the 2011 UK Census. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south-east.
Boughrood is a village in the community of Glasbury in Powys, Wales.
Llanigon is a village and community in Powys, Wales on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains, Wales. The community population was 478. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 1.5 miles (2 km) to the east. It is in the historic county of Brecknockshire.
Llowes is a small village in the community of Glasbury, Powys, Wales. The village has approximately 110 inhabitants (2005). The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 3 miles (5 km) to the south-east.
Pipton is a small settlement and former civil parish in Powys, Wales on the Afon Llynfi near its confluence with the River Wye. It was formerly in the county of Brecknockshire and is now part of the community of Bronllys. The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye some 5 miles (8.0 km) to the east.
Maesyronnen Chapel is about 1 mile (2 km) north of the village of Glasbury, Powys, Wales. It is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building. The chapel is one of the earliest Nonconformist chapels to be built in Wales, and is the only chapel existing from that time to be largely unchanged and still in use as a chapel. It is currently administered by the United Reformed Church. The attached ccaretaker's cottage is also listed at Grade I.
Glasbury is the name of an electoral wards in central Powys, Wales. It covers the community of Glasbury as well as the neighbouring communities of Clyro and Painscastle. The ward elects a county councillor to Powys County Council.
The farm at Great Porthamel, at Talgarth in Powys, Wales, comprises a range of buildings including the farmhouse, the gate tower and an agricultural building. They form the remnants of a major medieval manor that was the principal seat of the Vaughan family. The complex has been described as "one of the more remarkable mediaeval houses of Wales". The gatehouse is a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument, while the farmhouse is listed at Grade II* and the agricultural building at Grade II.
Llanthomas Castle Mound (LCM) was built by the Normans after the 1066 Norman conquest of England but before 1215. It is a first-generation motte and bailey castle design; the building materials were earth and timber.
Reverend William Jones Thomas (1811–1886) was a 19th-century Welsh Anglican priest. He was vicar at the pre-conquest church of St. Eigon, Llanigon.
Reverend William Edward Thomas Morgan (1847–1940) was a 19th-century Welsh Anglican priest. He was vicar at the pre-conquest church of St. Eigon, Llanigon, Wales.
Felindre is a village in southern Powys. The village is a part of the Gwernyfed community which also includes Three Cocks and Glasbury, and is in the UK parliamentary constituency of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe.
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