Llandrindod Wells

infobox UK place
latitude= 52.24354
longitude= -3.38547
country = Wales
official_name= Llandrindod Wells
welsh_name= Llandrindod
constituency_welsh_assembly=
unitary_wales= Powys
lieutenancy_wales= Powys
constituency_westminster= Brecon & Radnorshire
post_town= LLANDRINDOD WELLS
postcode_area= LD
postcode_district = LD1
dial_code= 01597
os_grid_reference= SO055615
population= 5,024

Llandrindod Wells ( _cy. Llandrindod), known locally as "Llandod", is a town in Powys, Wales. It was developed as a spa town in the 19th century, with a boom in the late 20th century as a centre of local government. Before the 1860s the site of the town was common land in Cefnllys parish.

Development of the town

During the mid-18th century the 'healing qualities' of the local spring waters attracted visitors to the area resulting in an economic boom with the building of a 'splendid' hotel at Llandrindod Hall. A period of relative decline during the late 18th and early 19th centuries was reversed with the construction of the Heart of Wales Line making Llandrindod accessible from the Midlands and North West of England, and South Wales. Enclosure of the common in 1862 enabled expansion of the town with the construction of new streets, hotels, shops and houses.

During the 'season' between May and mid-September visitors would take the waters at the pump rooms at the Rock Park and Pump House Hotel, entertained by orchestras. Shops — including the Central Wales Emporium on the corner of Temple Street and Station Crescent — and hotels and boarding houses catered for the visitors. In the early 1870s the ornamental lake had been formed by draining marshland near the Pump House Hotel (current site of the Powys County Council offices), and in 1893 a 9-hole golf course was opened on the common beside the lake. (This was later replaced by the present 18-hole course on the hills above the lake.) Horse races (and, later, air displays) were held on the Rock Ddole meadow beside the river. In 1893 the Archdeacon with responsibility for the area had Llandrindod old church [ [http://www.cpat.demon.co.uk/projects/longer/churches/radnor/16835.htm Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust - Radnorshire Churches Survey - Church of Holy Trinity , Llandrindod] ] and Cefnllys church [ [http://www.cpat.demon.co.uk/projects/longer/churches/radnor/16743.htm Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust - Radnorshire Churches Survey - Church of St Michael , Cefnllys ] ] unroofed in order to persuade the congregations to attend the new church in the centre of the town. In 1895 both churches were restored.

The town's boom continued until the First World War during which time soldiers on training courses were billeted in hotels and boarding houses, and refugees and wounded soldiers were accommodated in the town. The depression of the late-1920s and 1930s led to many hotels and boarding houses being turned into private homes and flats. During the Second World War the town was again used for military hospitals and billets, followed by a slump in the post-war years. [cite book
first=Chris
last=Wilson
title=Around Llandrindod Wells
publisher=The Chalford Publishing Company Limited
isbn=0-7524-0191-2] The Beeching Axe resulted in the closure in the mid-1960s of the Mid-Wales line and with it Llandrindod's connection from nearby Builth Wells direct to Cardiff in the south and to North and West Wales. The town does however retain connections to Swansea and Shrewsbury via its station on the Heart of Wales Line.

During the 1970s the mid-Wales area became popular with hippies many of whom settled permanently in the area. In Llandrindod a hippy wholefood shop and cafe was established. At the time this was viewed with curiosity and even suspicion by local residents, some of whom harboured suspicions about the unfamiliar herbs sold in the shop! The shop's practice of asking customers to return paper bags for re-use in packaging food was also unfamiliar. In time, however, the shop became established and is now an accepted part of the local community, as well a being a successful business wholesaling to other outlets around Wales.

While Llandrindod was already the capital of the county of Radnorshire, the reorganisation of local government in 1974 resulted in Llandrindod becoming the capital of the newly-formed administrative county of Powys. This led to an influx of people employed by the new bureaucracies, on salaries determined by national pay scales. With the relatively low cost of living in the area this resulted in a boom in the town's economy as the newcomers spent their money on housing and entertainment.

In more recent years the economy has again flagged. Significant local industries, the town's carpet and stationery factories, closed, and many shops likewise. As in many such areas there are now many charity shops occupying premises once used by for-profit enterprises. An open-air market is held once a week which brings many visitors into the town, and supermarkets have established with more planned, but whether any of this benefits local businesses is debatable.

Features

The architecture of the town includes many buildings in ornate styles dating from the boom period of the Victorian and Edwardian eras including the Metropole and the Glen Usk hotels, the Albert Hall theatre and former county hall building adjacent to it. There are also buildings in the Art Deco style including two striking former garages, Pritchard's and the Automobile Palace. The latter was notable for a collection of antique bicycles owned by the proprietor, Tom Norton, which were displayed suspended from ceilings in the building. The building has in recent years been renovated and is now home to several small businesses and the National Cycle Museum, featuring some of the bicycles originally displayed in the garage. [ [http://www.cyclemuseum.org.uk/ Welsh National Cycle Museum] ]

Visitors may be dismayed at the apparent lack of pubs in the town: however their function is provided by the public bars of the town's many hotels. The largest of these are the Metropole (with 120 bedrooms of 3 star standard, an indoor swimming pool and leisure centre), the Glen Usk and the Commodore. The Hotel Metropole's swimming pool used to be open-air and was open to the public when it was the only pool in the town, but a public pool is available now at the sports centre attached to the local comprehensive school. A hotel in the scenic Rock Park has not survived, and various cafes and restaurants have come and gone over the years leaving a handful of establishments currently operating.

The large man-made lake is popular for fishing and, in recent years, model boating. In the centre of the lake is a striking sculpture of a water serpent and leaping carp, the scales of which are made of thousands of copper plates initialled by local people and visitors during construction of the work. The sculpture was officially opened during carnival week 2005. Beside the lake a distinctive tree-trunk sculpture known as the Llandoddy has been carved "to create a corporate image ... to attract tourists and provide the town with a strong identity for people to rally round" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/2959203.stm Llandoddy in a BBC article] .

An 18-hole golf course, established in 1905, [ [http://www.lwgc.co.uk/vardon.html History of Llandrindod Wells Golf Club] (from club's website)] features challenging topology and sweeping views over the lake, the town and surrounding countryside.

The town has international standard outdoor bowling greens dating from 1912 which hosts national and international events [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/walks/pages/spa_walk.shtml BBC mid-Wales walks] ] [ [http://www.llandrindod-bowling.co.uk/history.php History of Llandrindod Wells Bowling Club] ] and a newer indoor bowling centre. [ [http://www.radnorbowls.co.uk/ Radnorshire Indoor Bowling Centre] ]

Llandrindod also hosts the recently-established Heart of Wales Walking Festival [http://www.llandrindod.co.uk/walking/index.htm]

Culture

The amateur Drama Festival, held in May at the Albert Hall, attracts theatrical groups from all over the British Isles and achieves high standards of performances.

The town hosts annual Scrambler Bike Trials in June.

Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival, known locally as Victorian Week, at the end of August, brings many visitors to the town. Many locals and some visitors dress in Victorian, Edwardian or other antique costumes, and many of the town's shops and other high-street businesses dress their windows or otherwise join in the spirit of the event. The festival typically offers open-air and street theatre and music, a fairground, craft fair, historical re-enactment, entertainments at the Albert Hall and exhibitions of things old-time. [http://www.vicfest.co.uk/ Victorian Festival] - official site.

The town is twinned with Contrexéville in France and Bad Rappenau in Germany. [http://llandrindodtwinning.wordpress.com/]

Welsh Politics

*Following Devolution in Wales, Llandrindod has developed a reputation for being the place where important decisions are made by political parties. Because of its position in Mid Wales close to the A470, Llandrindod is favoured by political parties for meetings that require representatives to turn out from across Wales.

Bibliography

* Jane Griffiths, "Walking Around Llandrindod Wells: Historic Spa Town", Kittiwake Press, 2007, ISBN 1902302516
* Olivia Harries, "Llandrindod Wells in Old Postcards", C Davies, 1986, ISBN 0715406639
* Reginald Campbell Burn Oliver, "Bridging a century: [the Hotel Metropole, Llandrindod Wells, 1872-1972] , a century of growth in the story of Llandrindod Wells, Radnorshire", Sayce Brothers Printers, 1972, ISBN 0950233706
* Reginald Campbell Burn Oliver, "The centenary of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Llandrindod Wells, 1871-1971", R.C.B. Oliver, 1971, ISBN 0950148016
* Bruce Osborne, "Llandrindod Wells", New Millennium Spa Heritage Series, 1999, ISBN 1873614063
* Joel Williams, "Voices of Llandrindod Wells", Red Dragon, 2000, ISBN 1903610001
* Chris Wilson, "Around Llandrindod Wells", The Chalford Publishing Company, 1995, ISBN 0752401912

External links

* [http://www.llandrindod.co.uk/ Welcome to Llandrindod Wells] Website about Llandrindod Wells with useful details on the history and architecture of the town; also contains a list of publications
* [http://www.llandrindod-wells.com/ Welcome to Llandrindod Wells] Website of the Llandrindod Wells & District Chamber of Trade
* [http://llandrindodtwinning.wordpress.com/ Llandrindod Wells Twinning] Website of Llandrindod Wells and Area Twinning Association

References