Llanbister (ⓘ) is a small village and community with a 2011 population of 382[1] in Powys, mid Wales, in the historic county of Radnorshire. It is on the river Ithon, at the junction of the A483 road (which follows the river north towards Newtown and south towards Llandrindod Wells) and the B4356. It is served by Llanbister Road railway station on the Heart of Wales Line, but the station is some 4 miles east of the village (and longer by road).
| Llanbister | |
|---|---|
  Llanbister Location within Powys | |
| Population | 382 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SO111733 |
| Community |
|
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LLANDRINDOD WELLS |
| Postcode district | LD1 |
| Dialling code | 01597 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Facilities edit
The village is not directly served by a railway station: the nearest is Llanbister Road railway station which is about 5 miles east of the village. It is served by a bus service (the T4 operated by Stagecoach Wales) which connects Cardiff to Newtown via Merthyr Tydfil, Brecon, Builth Wells and Llandrindod Wells.
Llanbister is situated on the A483 main road from Newtown to Llandrindod Wells, at its junction with the B4356 road. It also lies next to the River Ithon which flows southward just west of the village.
In the past, there was a police station in Llanbister, on the north west outskirts of the village, but this has since been sold off as private housing.[2]
Other facilities include a primary school, Llanbister C P School,[3] a children's play area[4] and a 200-person capacity community hall built in 1996 which has a stage and a 6.25m × 4m dance floor.[5] There used to be a Post Office in the centre of the village but it is no longer operating: it was proposed for closure in 2008.[6]
There is a Victorian pub and bed and breakfast hotel (The Lion Hotel) in the village and a caravan and camping site to the north west of the village, near the former police station.
There is an area of common land to the east of the village, named Llanbister Common. In July 1991 an unlicensed free music festival was held there, which was not well received by the local population, so in summer 1992 manure was spread on the land to make a repeat less likely.[7] There is evidence of possible medieval ridge and furrow cultivation on Llanbister Common.[8]
In 2018 the horror film You Should Have Left was partly filmed at a property near Llanbister,[9] the John Pawson-designed Life House (Tŷ Bywyd) just east of the village.[10]
Churches edit
The village has an Anglican church in the centre, St Cynllo's Parish Church (part of the Church in Wales), parts of which date from around AD 1300.[11] It is listed with Cadw as Grade II*.[12]
There is also a Methodist church on the southern outskirts.
Notable residents edit
- Eleanor Bufton (1842–1893), the actress, was born here.[13]
References edit
- ^ Llanbister Archived 27 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine 2011 Census Key Statistics Llanbister Community Council, accessed 20 February 2014
- ^ Zoopla property search, accessed 19 February 2014
- ^ Llanbister School www.llanbister.powys.sch.ukaccessed 25 December 2022
- ^ Llanbister Play Area Archived 2014-02-27 at the Wayback Machine Powys Play Areas, accessed 20 February 2014
- ^ Powys Village and Community Halls accessed 25 December 2022
- ^ Powys County Council Post Office Closure Impact Report April 2008 Archived 2014-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 20 February 2014
- ^ Roads closed as police seal off hippie festival, Stephen Ward, The Independent, Monday 27 July 1992, accessed 25 December 2022
- ^ Cefn Llanbister, Cultivation Ridges, National Monuments Record of Wales online database, accessed 12 March 2014
- ^ "Hollywood star Kevin Bacon stays in Llandrindod Wells hotel". The Brecon & Radnor Express. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- ^ Review: Life House, Living Architecture's latest venture in Wales, Robert Bevan, The Independent, Friday 22 April 2016. accessed 22 July 2020
- ^ Llanbister at Wales Directory www.walesdirectory.co.uk accessed 25 December 2022
- ^ www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk; retrieved 2015
- ^ Joseph Knight, Bufton , Eleanor (1842–1893), rev. J. Gilliland, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 25 Jan 2015