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Llangeitho

Coordinates: 52°13′N 4°01′W / 52.22°N 4.02°W / 52.22; -4.02
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Llangeitho
Afon Aeron at Llangeitho
Llangeitho is located in Ceredigion
Llangeitho
Llangeitho
Location within Ceredigion
Population819 [1]
OS grid referenceSN679597
Community
  • Llangeitho
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townTregaron
Postcode districtSY25
Dialling code01974
PoliceDyfed-Powys
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Ceredigion
52°13′N 4°01′W / 52.22°N 4.02°W / 52.22; -4.02

Llangeitho is a village and community on the upper River Aeron in Ceredigion, Wales, about four miles (6 km) west of Tregaron and 11 kilometres (7 mi) north of Lampeter. Its population of 874 in 2001 fell to 819 at the 2011 census.[2]

Nonconformism

The village is linked with Daniel Rowland, born here in 1713, and the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century. Rowland served as curate at Llangeitho and Nantcwnlle. The village chapel, built in 1760, became famous throughout Wales as a Calvinistic Methodist centre. Thousands visited it to hear the preaching. Rowland was buried in the village and there remains a memorial column to him. Larger replacement chapels were built in 1764 and 1814.

Llangeitho saw several further periods of religious revival in that century, the strongest in 1762, when rejoicing, dancing and jumping for joy earned the Welsh Methodists the nickname "Jumpers". William Williams Pantycelyn wrote in defence of the celebrations.[3]

A local character in around 1885: Bet Fach at age 92.

Language

Like much of Ceredigion, Llangeitho was a stronghold of the Welsh language, but in the 1970s newcomers contributed to a decline in the proportion of habitual Welsh speakers from 83 per cent in 1971 to 55 per cent ten years later, and again in 2011.[4]

The Welsh-language poet and minstrel Dafydd Llwyd Mathau (c. 1601–1629) is thought to have come from the Llangeitho area.[5]

About a mile and half (2.4 km) north of the village is the mansion of Cwrt Mawr, where the antiquary J. H. Davies (1871–1926) built up a valuable collection of Welsh-language manuscripts known as the Cwrtmawr manuscripts. He donated them to the National Library of Wales, where they remain.

Church

The village church, across the river to the north of the village, is on an ancient site, but the current church was wholly rebuilt in 1821, retaining nothing of the medieval fabric, which included a double rood screen and three arches.[6]

The church and parish are named after St Ceitho. The water of St Ceitho's Spring is said to have the peculiarity of being cool in summer and tepid in winter.[7]

School

The village primary school, Ysgol Gymunedol Llangeitho, changed names in 2012 due to an amalgamation becoming Ysgol Rhos y Helyg.[8] The nearest secondary school is Ysgol Henry Richard in Tregaron, which teaches in Welsh and English.

The earliest record of a school in the village marks the foundation of a mixed, Calvinistic Methodist school there in 1821.[9]

Governance

Llangeitho gained a seat on Cardiganshire County Council in 1889. In November 2019, the Llangeitho member of what is now Ceredigion County Council was David Rhodri Wyn Evans.[10] The ward extends to some neighbouring communities, giving a population of 1,459.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  2. ^ Office for National Statistics: Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: Ceredigion Retrieved 19 January 2010
  3. ^ Evans, Eifion (1985). Daniel Rowland. Banner of Truth. ISBN 9780851514468.
  4. ^ "Welsh speakers by electoral division, 2011 Census". StatsWales. Welsh Government. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. ^ Bowen, Geraint (1959). "Dafydd Llwyd Mathau". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  6. ^ "St Ceitho's Church, Llangeitho (400475)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  7. ^ Baring-Gould, Sabine; Fisher, John (1908). The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain, Volume 2. C. J. Clark. p. 102.
  8. ^ Ysgol Gymunedo Llangeitho. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  9. ^ Historical records. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. ^ [1] County Council website
  11. ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
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