Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain - Spelling of The Name

Spelling of The Name

In recent years the correct spelling, without a "t", became a contentious issue for a few in the village even though the evidence for the correct spelling is based on the factual evidence of historical records and language.

This Welsh name Llansanffraid is a unique format composed of three parts, ‘Llan’ (Church) ‘san’ (derivative of saint) and ‘ffraid’ (saint’s name). The history of the spelling of the village name encapsulates the history of Wales and the Welsh language over the centuries near the border with England.

Wales, unlike England, remained a Christian country when the Romans left in the 4th Century. During the 5th and 6th centuries many of the classic Welsh place names of ‘Llan’ (Location/Church) followed by a saints name were established, e.g. Llandysilio. However as in the case of St. Tysilio they were not necessarily holy men in the modern sense of a saint but leaders, princes, warrriors; defenders of the faith especially next to pagan England. Neither do they appear to be addressed as saints at the time, so the Welsh for male saint ‘sant’ or female saint ‘santes’ was not included in the place name.

The Celtic Church in Wales had close links with other Celtic nations and when the Vikings raided the holy places of Ireland including the followers of Saint Bhrid, (Bride or Bridget – English: Ffraid – Welsh), the second most revered saint in Ireland after St. Patrick, it is speculated that some followers moved to Wales and Scotland.

Stories tell of how St Bhrid floated across the Irish Sea on a sod of turf, or was carried to Scotland by 2 oystercatchers. The historical basis of these stories is that it was not St Bhrid that left Ireland, she lived in the 5th Century, but her followers, either as refugees or possibly as missionaries, set up 15 churches throughout Wales in the 8th or 9th centuries. We can speculate that in Wales these new settlements would be called by the Welsh ‘Llan Santes Ffraid’, Church of Lady Saint Bhrid. This would explain why the third middle element, derivative of ‘saint’, appears for the first time in a Welsh place name, as opposed to the much older two element Welsh place name. In Welsh ‘santes’ comes before the saints name while for Celtic male saints ‘sant’ is placed after the saints name.

The earliest written form in Liber Landavensis, The Book of Llandav, a 12th Century document, refers to ‘Llann sanfreit’ in 1066. We can only speculate that the name ‘Llansantesffraid’ was abbreviated by the 11th century. With so many places named Llansanffraid in Wales it was necessary to add location details, hence Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain (in Mechain) or Llansanffraid Glyn Ceiriog etc. In all the numerous locations, the first recorded spelling of the name did not include a ‘t’.

The earliest written record for Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain is 1254 as Llansanfret and it is a further 3 centuries before a ‘t’ appears for the first time in 1526 as ‘Llansayntefrayde’ in an English document. “The ‘saynte’ strongly suggests an English influence on the Welsh name.” The English language Tithe Maps of the early 1800’s use 2 Anglicised forms, 'Llansaintffraid' and 'Llansaintfraid'. Clearly the latter was an attempt by the Church to Anglicise even the saints name with one ‘f’; a form of Welsh pronunciation that has never been used. Despite the Church spelling on the Tithe Maps, the first Ordnance Survey Drawing map by Robert Dawson in 1830 records the spelling of the village name as 'Llansanffraid'.

During this same period in the early 19th century the popularity of Non-Conformist Churches in Wales was prominent and it was reported that almost 3 times more children received their education in Welsh language chapel Sunday Schools than in day schools. As a consequence children in Wales were more literate than in England, but they were literate in Welsh.

This Welsh literacy was considered a hindrance by the English establishment, including the clergy and in 1847 three English Anglican Commissioners presented a report about education in Wales to Parliament, notoriously now known as the ‘Treachery of the Blue Books’. The outcome was that the Welsh language was banned especially in Anglican schools like Llansanffraid and the natural linguistic nature of the village was to change.

Thus it was ‘acceptable’ to Anglicise Welsh place names such that when the railway arrived in the village in 1862, the station was called ‘Llansaintffraid’. The Cambrian Railway Company had no regard for Welsh names despite public opinion. The village of Llandysilio had a station called Four Crosses. The railway company did not want Welsh station names because they thought it would deter English travellers. At the time Llandysilio villagers complained about the name of their village station and even though there is no record of such public objection in Llansanffraid, generations of Welsh speaking families from the village have always been consistent in using the correct spelling of Llansanffraid throughout this period.

The Border Advertiser, was originally a railway company publication to advertise the railway but as it became a local newspaper it would continue to perpetuate and influence the incorrect spellings.

By the beginning of the 20th century the ‘i’ was lost and the spelling for some appears to change again. We can only speculate as to why this occurs. Perhaps the remaining Welsh population knew that ‘saint’ was an English corruption and wanted to regain the Welshness of the name, or perhaps because in 1922 when the GWR took over the Cambrian Railway, the station name changed to Llansantffraid. Clearly the imposition of English only education in school, the Church and English railway companies had a great influence on the misspelling between the mid 19th and mid 20th centuries.

As ‘Sant’ is the Welsh word for a male saint this latest English version was still inappropriate because St Bhrid (Santes Ffraid) was a lady. To this day, when long-term residents, the majority by now non–Welsh speaking, pronounce the name, the corrupt ‘t’ is silent and ignored because it should not be there.

As in many parts of Wales and the world, late in the 20th century, incorrectly Anglicised place names were being corrected; from Peking and Bombay to Caernarvon and Conway.

In 2002 Powys County Council published its review of the correct spellings of Welsh place names in the county based on expert considerations. All Community Councils were consulted and the document was accepted apparently without objection.

Llansanffraid Community Council in 2008 decided they were opposed to the correct spelling. In 2010 they conducted a poll via the village newsletter. While the Community Council claimed an overwhelming majority wished to include the "t", the actual number of respondents only accounted for 4% of all the residents of Llansanffraid-ym-Mechain.