LLANIDLOES

'Llanidloes' is a town in Powys, traditional county of Montgomeryshire, mid Wales. It is the first town on the River Severn. It was given a charter to hold a market in 1289 but existed at least 400 years before that.
The town is close to the large dam and reservoir Llyn Clywedog. There is a scenic mountain road connecting Machynlleth and Llanidloes.
Llanidloes has a population of 2,314 and,as of February 2007, there were 17 licensed drinking establishments. This is a high number in a town where half the population are either too young or too old to drink and where the strong Methodist and Baptist tradition stops another large section from taking alcohol.
The town has made the headlines recently, when in September the Powys Local Health Board (LHB) announced that it wanted to make cuts at Llanidloes, which would result in the downgrading and even closure of Llanidloes War Memorial Hospital. The proposals have angered some local people, many of whom have formed the Save Llanidloes Hospital Action Group in response.
Llanidloes is popular with hikers who walk on the many scenic footpaths surrounding the town, including Glyndwr's Way, which in conjunction with the Offa's Dyke path forms a 160-mile circuit around Mid Wales. The section of the route between Llanidloes and Machynlleth, with its passage over the spine of the Cambrian Mountains, forms perhaps the highlight of the whole route. Janet Street Porter, writer, broadcaster and Vice President of the Ramblers Association refers to Llanidloes as a 'Georgian gem'.
The area around Llanidloes was once very important for the mining of lead and even silver, and the town had a thriving flannel industry. It was also notorious as a focus of industrial unrest during the 19th century Chartist revolt in 1839, a campaign for democratic rights prompted by the collapse of the local textile industry.
Llanidloes formerly had a railway station, opened in 1864 by the Llanidloes & Newtown Railway. The station building contained the railway company offices. The building is in the Georgian style and resembles an early 19th century Gentleman's country residence. Closer inspection reveals that the scale has been changed. Imagine the Georgian gentleman to be 10 foot tall and the building is then in perfect Georgian proportion. The Llanidloes and Newtown railway eventually formed part of the Mid Wales line of the Cambrian Railway, linking it with Cardiff, but most of this was closed on 31 December 1962. The Llanidloes by-pass road runs along a section of the former railway, and the station still stands beside this road. It is now restored and occupied by several small businesses.
The ancient half-timbered market hall stands at the crossroads of the four streets of the original medieval town. Built around 1600, it is the only surviving building of this type in Wales. Assize courts were held in the hall around 1605, and John Wesley preached from a pulpit stone on the open ground floor in 1748.
There are many notable timber framed buildings in the town and a parish church with a fifteenth century hammerbeam roof. Other attractions include a museum containing a famous two-headed sheep, and the nearby Hafren Forest, known for its red kites. Two masonry arch bridges, the Long Bridge and the Short Bridge, were designed by Thomas Penson.
The Hafren Forest is also used for numerous Car Rallies and Motorcycle Enduro's through out the year.
The town, home to the famous Llanidloes Fancy Dress festival, has strong connections with Laura Ashley (a small shop on the main street is where she first started her business). Headquarters of the Quilt Association is at the Minerva Arts Centre; here they hold workshops and a very impressive annual exhibition of quilts.
Llanidloes is in the constituency of Montgomeryshire and its local Member of Parliament has been Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik since 1997.
Results from a statistical analysis (2003) of the Y chromosome (genetic genealogy) of locals whose paternal grandfather was born within a thirty kilometer radius of the town suggests that there was a significant and unique German/Danish (Anglo-Saxons) presence in the area over 1500 years ago but strangely this is not borne out in any historical documents.
Llanidloes has been known for many years as a place where old hippies go to die. A very quirky town, even the police stationed in nearby Newtown call it "Planet Idloes".
Llanidloes Town FC established in 1875 now play in the Spar Mid Wales League however have been a prominent team in the First Division in the teams History. Currently managed by Richard Cross and the current Chairman is Michael Davies.
[1].
By some criteria Llanidloes High School has been judged the second best school in Wales.

Contents

Town twinning

See also

External links

Town twinning

★ Derval, Brittany

See also

★ Sub-Roman Britain

★ History of Wales

★ The Celts

External links

★ Llanidloes.com - Official town website

★ powys.gov.uk - Llanidloes Museum

★ powys.gov.uk - Llanidloes Museum

★ ramblers.org.uk - The Ramblers Association

★ The River Severn - Tales of the River Severn

★ Reducing the area's carbon footprint - Recycling and Composting in the Llanidloes area