Llanddewi Brefi

Llanddewi Brefi (IPA| [ɬan'ðɛwi 'brɛvi] ) is a village of approximately 500 people in Ceredigion, Wales.

In the 6th century Saint David (in Welsh, "Dewi Sant"), the patron saint of Wales, held the Synod of Brefi here and it has borne his name since; "Llan" referring in Welsh place names to a church or holy place. The parish church is dedicated to St. David and contains a modern statue of him.

History and description

Llanddewi Brefi (Welsh meaning 'Church of David on the stream' ) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4732993.stm] is one of the largest parishes in Wales. Its parish church dates from the 12th century, on a site associated with religious worship since the 7th century. Fragments of much older buildings are incorporated into the Norman architecture church. The church holds a collection of Norman crosses, some of the oldest religious artefacts in the United Kingdom. When the Synod of Brefi was held in the village in the sixth century, it is said that the small hill upon which the church stands marks the spot where the ground was miraculously raised up under St David so that he could be heard better at this Synod.

In addition to the Anglican Church, there is a non-conformist chapel, two pubs and one village shop. The village and the surrounding area are largely Welsh language speaking and the local economy is dominated by sheep and dairy farming.

In 1977 the village was the scene of one of the world's biggest ever raids involving the drug LSD. Over 6 million tabs of the drug were seized as part of Operation Julie on March 26 of that year.

Little Britain

Llanddewi Brefi is now arguably more famous as the home of Daffyd Thomas, a character in the "Little Britain" comedy show, played by Matt Lucas (though in the show the village is actually called "Llandewi Breffi")Fact|date=May 2008. Daffyd is a homosexual man, who believes himself to be "the only gay in the village". However, in the show, Llanddewi Breffi appears to have a fairly large gay population, despite its small size, and many of its inhabitants are either gay or have had gay experiences. The fictional view of the village also sees a very tolerant attitude to homosexuality, with gay nights at the pub and lesbian pottery lessons on offer. Dafydd's encounters with homosexuality and reluctance to believe the acceptance and existence of other gay men and women form the background to the comedy sketches. However, inhabitants of the real village report that, as of 2004, there were no known homosexuals living there.Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/3737126.stm|title=Village's last laugh at TV comedy|accessdate=2007-01-03|publisher=BBC News|year=2004|author=Carl Yapp]

There have been a number of attempts to steal road signs showing the village's name, since Little Britain has been broadcast. [Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/4622520.stm|title=Dafydd village sign theft foiled|accessdate=2007-01-03|publisher=BBC News|year=2006]

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/llanddewibrefi/pages/moelwynmerchant.shtml 20 minute BBC film about the village]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/tregaron/pages/julie_lyn.shtml Operation Julie on BBC Online]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2750288 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llanddewi Brefi and surrounding area]