April 2021 Gallery
This month's gallery features images of Builth Wells from Mick Pleszkan.For more information, see notes at foot of page.
Builth Wells is a pretty town at the confluence of the Wye and Irthon rivers, in the old county of Brecknockshire. The first part of the name comes from the Welsh term for a cow pasture, or cattle range. An alternative translation is a wild ox pasture on a wooded hillside, which explains why the town symbol is a bull. The bull may be a reference to herds of white cattle thought to have thrived here in the Post-Roman period.
The 'Wells' part of the name was appended in the 1830s after mineral springs were developed at Glanne Wells and Park Wells to the west of the town.
The first record of mineral waters at Builth comes from 1740, but it was not until the development of Park Wells with its saline springs, and the Glanne Wells with its sulphur springs, that Builth gained a reputation as a spa town.
HISTORY
The history of Builth goes back to the immediate post-Roman period when the British ruler Vortigern is said to have owned land here. The first settlement was on the north side of the River Wye in Radnorshire, and it was not until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th and 12th centuries that the present town of Builth began to develop on the south side of the river.
The Welsh name of Builth is Llanfair ymMuallt, which translates as 'The church of St. Mary in Buallt', referring to the Norman church of St Mary. But it was not the church that prompted the development of Builth but a castle built by the Norman lord Philip de Braose around 1100.
Castle no longer remains just a mound on the hill..
The 'Wells' part of the name was appended in the 1830s after mineral springs were developed at Glanne Wells and Park Wells to the west of the town.
The first record of mineral waters at Builth comes from 1740, but it was not until the development of Park Wells with its saline springs, and the Glanne Wells with its sulphur springs, that Builth gained a reputation as a spa town.
HISTORY
The history of Builth goes back to the immediate post-Roman period when the British ruler Vortigern is said to have owned land here. The first settlement was on the north side of the River Wye in Radnorshire, and it was not until the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th and 12th centuries that the present town of Builth began to develop on the south side of the river.
The Welsh name of Builth is Llanfair ymMuallt, which translates as 'The church of St. Mary in Buallt', referring to the Norman church of St Mary. But it was not the church that prompted the development of Builth but a castle built by the Norman lord Philip de Braose around 1100.
Castle no longer remains just a mound on the hill..