BUILTH - Extract from National Gazetteer, 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)] "BUILTH, (or Llanvair-yn-muallt), a parish and market town in the hundred of Builth, in the county of Brecknock, South Wales, 14 miles to the N. of Brecknock, and 172 miles from London. It is situated on the W. bank of the river Wye, which here separates the counties of Radnor and Brecknock, and is crossed by a stone bridge of six arches, built in 1779. The Welsh name for this place is Llanvair-yn-Muallt. It was the site of a castle, erected probably by the Normans soon after the Conquest. The castle and lordship were held at one time by the family of Do Braose, and subsequently by the crown. The last struggles of the Welsh with their English conquerors, and the death of the last Llewellyn, took place in the neighbourhood of Builth. The inhabitants of the town acquired the designation of bradwyr Buallt, or "traitors of Builth", in consequence of their refusing to receive Llewellyn, when fleeing from his English pursuers. The Cwm Llewelyn, where the unhappy prince was slain, is about 3 miles from this place.

The town has two principal streets, and is irregularly built. It has a market-house of recent erection. Builth is the seat of a Poor-law Union and the head of a County Court district, and contains the Union poorhouse. The town stands on a fertile spot, in the midst of very picturesque and romantic scenery. Near the town are some mineral springs. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of St. David's, value £106, in the patronage of Thomas Thomas, Esq. The church, rebuilt in 1793, except the tower, is dedicated to St. Mary, and contains a monument to one of the Lloyds of Towey, who lived in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

There are chapels belonging to the Independents, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, and Baptists, and a free school for boys and girls, endowed in 1752 by Thomas Prichard, which has a revenue of about £60. The other charities are of trifling value. The town was nearly destroyed by fire in December, 1691. Some slight remains of the ancient castle exist on the banks of the river. Trout are abundant in the Wye. Monday is the market day. Fairs are held on the 27th June, the 2nd October, and the 6th December."

"DOLFACH, a hamlet in the parish and hundred of Builth, in the county of Brecon, 1½ mile from Builth. It is situated on the little river Dihonw."

"PARK WELLS, a hamlet in the parish and hundred of Builth, county Brecon, 1 mile from Builth. It is situated near the river Irvon, a feeder of the Wye, and is celebrated for its medicinal springs, of a chalybeate, saline, and sulphureous nature close to each other."

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]

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