| Brecon | |
| Welsh: Aberhonddu | |
Brecon, with St. Mary's church |
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Brecon
Brecon shown within Powys |
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| Population | 7,901 2001 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SO045285 |
| Community | Brecon |
| Principal area | Powys |
| Ceremonial county | Powys |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRECON |
| Postcode district | LD3 |
| Dialling code | 01874 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Brecon & Radnorshire |
| Welsh Assembly | Brecon & Radnorshire |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Powys | |
Brecon (Welsh: Aberhonddu) is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901.[1] It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third largest town in Powys.
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In Roman Britain Y Gaer, Brecon (Cicucium) was established as a Roman cavalry base for the conquest of Roman Wales and Brecon was first established as a military base.
After the Dark Ages the original Welsh name of the kingdom in whose territory Brecon stands was (in modern orthography) "Brycheiniog", which later became Anglicised to Brecknockshire or Breconshire, and probably derives from the personal name of the Irish Brychan, the eponymous founder of the kingdom. The English name of Brecon town may also be derived from Brychan.
The Welsh name, Aberhonddu, means "mouth of the Honddu". It is derived from the River Honddu, which meets the River Usk near the town centre, a short distance away from the River Tarell which enters the Usk a few hundred metres upstream.
Before the building of the bridge over the Usk, Brecon was one of the few places where the river could be forded.
The confluence of the Honddu and the River Usk made for a valuable defensive position for the Norman castle[2] which overlooks the town, built by Bernard de Neufmarche in the late 11th century.[3]:80
Brecon's town walls were originally constructed by Humphrey de Bohun after 1240.[4]:8 The walls were built of stone, with four gatehouses and was protected by ten semi-circular bastions.[4]:9 In 1400 the Welsh prince Owain Glyndŵr rose in rebellion against English rule, and in response in 1404 100 marks was spent by the royal government improving the fortifications to protect Brecon in the event of a Welsh attack.[5] Brecon's walls were largely destroyed during the English Civil War. Today only fragments survive, including some earthworks and parts of one of the gatehouses; these are protected as scheduled monuments.[5]
About 250 m north of the castle stands Brecon Cathedral, a fairly modest building compared to many cathedrals. The role of cathedral is a fairly recent one, and was bestowed upon the church in 1923 with the formation of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon from what was previously the archdeaconry of Brecon — a part of the Diocese of St David's.
Saint Mary's Church began as a chapel of ease to the priory but most of the building is dated to later medieval times. The West Tower, some 27 m (90 ft) high, was built in 1510 by Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham at a cost of two thousand pounds. The tower has eight bells which have been rung since 1750, the heaviest of which weighs 16 cwt (815 kg). In March 2007 the bells were removed from the church tower for refurbishment.[6]
Today Brecon is a thriving community and is popular as a holiday destination, being on the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, affording among the best views of the Brecon Beacons themselves, a range of hills, including Pen-y-Fan, the highest point in southern Britain at 886 m (2,907 ft). The latest Powys County Council (2011) estimate of the population of the town is 8,020.
The east end of town also has two military establishments:
Approximately 9 miles (14 km) to the west of Brecon is Sennybridge Training Area, an important training facility for the British Army.[8]
The west end of Brecon has a small industrial area, and recent years have seen the cattle market moved from the centre of the town to this area, with markets held several times a week.
Brecon has many primary schools, with a secondary school and further education college (Coleg Powys) on the northern edge of the town. Due to Brecon being a rural area, bus trips of over an hour are not uncommon for pupils making their way to school. The town is also home to Christ College, the oldest school in Wales, a private boarding and day school with a strong academic, sporting and musical tradition.
Brecon is located near where the east-west A40 (Monmouth-Carmarthen-Fishguard) meets the north-south A470 (Cardiff-Merthyr Tydfil-Llandudno). The nearest airport is Cardiff Airport.
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal runs for 35 miles (56 km) between Brecon and Pontnewydd, Cwmbran. It then continues to Newport, the towing path being the line of communication and the canal being disjointed by obstructions and road crossings. The canal was built between 1797 and 1812 to link Brecon with Newport and the Severn Estuary.
The canal in Brecon was redeveloped in the 1990s and is now the site of two mooring basins and the Theatr Brycheiniog.
The Neath and Brecon Railway reached Brecon in 1867, terminating at Free Street. By this point, Brecon already had two other railway stations:
Through services from the Midlands ceased in 1930, while services to Merthyr ended in 1958, Neath in October, 1962 and Newport in December 1962. Therefore, Brecon lost all its train services prior to the notorious "Beeching Axe".
Brecon hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1889.
August sees the annual Brecon Jazz Festival. Concerts are held in both open air and indoor venues, including the town's market hall and the 400-seat Theatr Brycheiniog, which opened in 1997.