Builth Wells - History and Geography

History and Geography

Builth first emerged in post-Roman times, probably on the other side of the Irfon river from its present site at Dol Eglwys (Church Mound) where a ruined early medieval church is thought to have stood. Vortigern, the British ruler alleged to have invited the Saxons to Britain is sometimes said to have owned land in nearby Builth Road on the Radnorshire side of the River Wye; the site previously having been known as Cwrt Llechrhyd. Early Post-Roman Builth was an independent kingdom. The most famous ruler was Elystan Glodrydd from whom many local gentry claimed descent. As an important component of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren, a political entity referred to in the poems of Taliesin, Builth was regularly at war with the Kingdom of Powys. Ecclesiastically, the Deanery of Builth has always been part of St Davids / later Swansea and Brecon, rather than St Asaph, the Powys diocese. Glodrydd probably lived at Llanafan Fawr rather than the modern site of Builth Wells. Until the foundation of the Norman town Llanfair ym Muallt the main settlement was Llanafan. Stories about Philip de Braose centre on Llanafan not modern Builth.

The site of the town controls an important ford across the Wye and the crossing point of the main north-south route in Wales and an important south-west-east route. It was militarily and economically significant for centuries. The Welsh name for the town "Llanfair ym Muallt" refers to the foundation of a Norman church dedicated to St Mary. The churchyard is however, a truncated oval which is strongly suggestive of an original Celtic foundation. The town was laid out as two streets connecting a castle and a church and was protected by a hedge rather than a wall. This type of town is sometimes called a Bastide, a kind of medieval market settlement. In exchange for rights to live and trade in the market of the new town skilled townspeople paid the lord various dues. In many parts of Wales the skilled workers were of Flemish or English origin. However, Builth may have had important significance in Welsh language culture as The Mabinogion was long thought to have been recorded in its final form by medieval monks here and recent historical opinion has shifted to a view that it was written down by a lawyer in Builth.

Despite repeated destructive fires, at one time involving a charitable collection in London, Builth Wells grew as a traditional Welsh market town. It received major boosts from the development of toll roads; it was at the centre of early road networks and the arrival of the railway at Llanelwedd. The railway allowed it to develop as a spa, and is well known nationally as the location of the Royal Welsh Showground, home to the Royal Welsh Show (although the showground is actually over the river Wye in Llanelwedd, Radnorshire).