LLANTWIT MAJOR

'Llantwit Major' (Welsh: 'Llanilltud Fawr' -- ''llan'' church enclosure + ''Illtud'' + ''mawr'' great) is a small coastal town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, lying on the Bristol Channel coast.

Contents

Local government

Notable buildings

St Illtyd's Church and monastery

Amenities

Sport and leisure

Surfing

External links

Local government

The town is governed by a town council consisting of fifteen councilllors. It also comes under the administration of the Vale of Glamorgan unitary authority. Llantwit Major is twinned with Le Pouliguen, France.

Notable buildings

Notable buildings in the parish include a Roman villa at Caermead which remains as faint earthworks in a field, the 13th century parish church of St Illtyd and a 15th century town hall.

St Illtyd's Church and monastery

:''Main articles: Illtud and St Illtyd's Church, Llantwit Major''.
The town grew up around a monastery or 'llan', founded in the 5th century by Saint Illtud as a centre of learning. Saint David, Saint Samson, Saint Paul Aurelian, Saint Gildas, Saint Tudwal, Saint Baglan and king Maelgwn Gwynedd are said to have studied there. It has often been called "the oldest university in the world". The present church on the site largely dates from the 13th and 15th centuries and contains interesting medieval wall paintings and a fine reredos. There are also a number of important early Christian sculptured stones, three with inscriptions. One is the memorial to King Rhys ap Arthfael of Morgannwg who died in the mid-9th century. Another may date from Saint Samson's time. St. Illtyd's church thus predates the Age of the Saints in early Welsh Christianity and provides evidence of continuity with Christianity in the context of the Roman province.

Amenities

There is one comprehensive school in the town which is named in Welsh, Ysgol Llanilltud Fawr. Immediately adjacent is Llanilltud Fawr primary school, one of three primary schools in Llantwit, the others being Eagleswell primary school and St Illtyd's primary school.
There are also six pubs and four restaurants in the town. Of the pubs, three virtually surround the town's War Memorial, being in literal sighting distance of each other. Of these, the Old Swan Inn advertises itself as the oldest pub in the town.
Llantwit Major railway station on the Vale of Glamorgan Line was re-opened in June 2005.
The town is fictionally portrayed in the late Glyn Daniel's novel 'Welcome Death' (1954).

Sport and leisure

Facilities at the Llantwit Major leisure centre include a medium sized swimming pool, large and small sports halls, the LifeStyle Fitness Studio, sunbed facilities, conference room and Oasis Bar. The Llantwit Major Rugby Football Club runs 2 senior, 1 youth (U/19) and 8 mini/junior teams and plays in Div 4 of the Lloyds/TSB league.

Surfing

Llantwit Major Beach is a popular surfing spot on the Welsh coast and is served by Lifeguards . The beach has the remains of a stone wall which was built during Roman times as well as the nearby remnants of an Iron Age hill fort. The beach itself is mostly rocky, but has several large areas of sand and is accessed through a Single track road along an attractive Glacial valley.

External links

★ Official Website

★ West House Country Hotel

★ Llantwit Major.net

★ Llantwit Major Town Council

★ Llantwit Major Surf Life Saving Club

★ Llantwit Major School