Llanigon
| Llanigon | |
|---|---|
 St Eigon's Church | |
  Llanigon Location within Powys | |
| Population | 478 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HEREFORD |
| Postcode district | HR3 |
| Dialling code | 01497 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
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.[1] The nearest town is Hay-on-Wye, some 1.5 miles (2 km) to the east. It is in the historic county of Brecknockshire.
History
[edit]The church of St. Eigon was either dedicated to the 1st-century St. Eigon (daughter of Cartatacus) or more likely the 6th-century St. Eigion (brother of St Cynidr).[2] The Saint Eigon interpretation inspired Barbara Erskine's novel The Warrior's Princess, partly set in Llanigon.[3]
Oral tradition in the parish of St. Eigon suggests that St. Paul crossed Gospel Pass in order to visit Caratacus. St. Eigon and her father may have met St. Paul whilst in Rome.[4][5][6] Some say that St. Eigon is the Claudia mentioned by Saint Paul in Timothy II.[7] St. Eigon may be the first female British saint.[8]
The church of St. Eigon predates the Norman Conquest, though the current building (parts of which are Norman) are somewhat later.[9]
Llanigon contains a Norman manor formerly known as Llanthomas (or Thomas Church). It was part of the lordship of Hay. Remains of a motte and bailey castle for Llanthomas survive near the old manor house.[10] The manor house was demolished in the 20th century.
In 1522, the manor belonged to Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford.[11] It was said to be the birthplace of William Thomas, who died in 1554. He was a scholar of Italian and Italian history, politician and a clerk of the Privy Council under Edward VI; he was executed for treason after the collapse of Wyatt's Rebellion.
Llwynllwyd barn, to the west of the village, was a dissenting academy in the eighteenth century. The pioneer Welsh Methodist Howell Harris[12] and the hymn writer William Williams Pantycelyn[13] were both educated there.
In the 1870s the diarist Rev. Francis Kilvert, curate of Clyro, was a regular visitor to the then vicar of Llanigon, the Rev. William Jones Thomas. Francis, fell in love with his daughter, Frances Eleanor Jane aka Daisy. Her father asked Kilvert not to pursue the matter, probably because as a mere curate he was not sufficiently well-placed. Kilvert noted "On this day when I proposed for the girl who will I trust one day be my wife I had only one sovereign in the world, and I owed that." Daisy never married and is buried in the Llanigon churchyard.[14]
The successor to William Thomas as vicar of St. Eigon was the Rev. William Edward Thomas Morgan. He fell in love with Charlotte Alice, another of the Thomas daughters. Like Kilvert, he was refused permission to marry by William Thomas.
Notes
[edit]- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ S. Baring-Gould; J. Fisher (1908). Lives of the British Saints. Vol. 2. Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. p. 417. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
- ^ "Barbara Erskine". Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ^ "How Christianity first came to Britain". www.celticchristianity.infinitesoulutions.com. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Morgan, W.E.T. (1852). "Transactions of the Woolhope Club - Notes on Llanigon parish" (PDF). p. 32.
- ^ "Barbara Erskine - The 'Real' Caratacus - A brief overview". www.barbara-erskine.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Williams, Jane (1869). A History of Wales: Derived from Authentic Sources. Longmans, Green, and Company.
- ^ "Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust - Projects - Longer - Historic Churches - Brecknockshire Churches Survey - Llanigon". cpat.org.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
- ^ Rev. W. E. T. Morgan, Hay and neighbourhood, 1932.
- ^ "Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust – Projects – Historic Landscapes – Middle Wye – Administrative Landscapes". cpat.org.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "Full text of "Historical memoranda of Breconshire; a collection of papers from various sources relating to the history of the County"". Brecon Printed by E. Owen. April 1903. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
- ^ "The Early Life of Howell Harris - Richard Bennett". Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2009. The early life of Howell Harris
- ^ Rev. W.E.T. Morgan, Hay and neighbourhood, 1932.
- ^ C. Barber, Exploring Kilvert Country ISBN 1-872730-24-8
