Lledrod

Lledrodis a village andcommunityinCeredigion,Wales. The village is situated on theA485road fromLlanilartoTregaron,where it crosses the valley of the River Wyre (Welsh:Afon Wyre). The parish is divided into Lledrod Isaf (Lower Lledrod) and Lledrod Uchaf (Upper Lledrod); Lledrod village is located in the former,Swyddffynnonvillage is situated in the latter.The name 'Lledrod' is a contraction ofLlanfihangel-Lledrod,which derives fromLlanfihangel Llether-troed,meaning 'the church ofSt Michaelat the foot of the slope'. The community includes the small settlements ofTyncelynand Blaenpennal.

Lledrod
Lledrod Location withinCeredigion
Population	735 (2011)
OS grid reference	SN645703
Principal area	Ceredigion
Preserved county	Dyfed
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Aberystwyth
Postcode district	SY23
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Ceredigion Preseli
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Ceredigion

Geology

The solid geology of the area comprisesSilurianmudstoneof theBorthMudstone Formation, which are partially overlain bysuperficial depositsofglacial till(Devensiandiamicton).

History

Lledrod village

The 'llan' element of Llanfihangel-Lledrod suggests that the parish church was established in theearly medievalperiod. The nature of the settlement prior to the 18th century remains obscure, but by 1610 it was significant enough to be included onJohn Speed's map ofCardiganshire.

Religion

TheAnglicanparish church is dedicated to St Michael. The 'llan' element of the village's original name suggests that the church was founded in theearly medievalperiod. The present church was built in 1883.There are a number of non-conformist chapels in lledrod parish, one of which, RhydlwydCalvinistic MethodistChapel, is located on the northern edge of the village. This denomination started meeting in 1745; the first chapel was builtc1755, and rebuilt in 1783, 1809 and 1837. The present chapel was built in 1833 and rebuilt in 1899. The chapel remained open in 2006.

Education

A free grammar school was founded in the village in 1745 by the Rev. Thomas Oliver.Ysgol Gynradd Lledrod (Lledrod Primary School) was built in 1877,but is now closed. The nearest alternative school is Ysgol GynraddLlanilar,or Rhos y Wlad in Bronant.

Governance

Anelectoral wardwith the same name exists. This stretches beyond the confines of Lledrod Community with a total population at the 2011 Census of 2,209.

Demography

In 2021, the community had an estimated population of 694, 98.7% of whom are White, 0.9% are Asian, and 0.4% have a mixed ethnic background. The religious makeup of the district is recorded as: 57.2% Christian, 40.7% No Religion, 1.2% Buddhist and 0.9% other religions.

Notable residents

• Evan Evans(1731–1789), poet, born and died in Cynhawdref, Lledrod, and was buried in the churchyard of St Michael's church.
• Evan Davies(1805–1864), a Welsh Protestant Christian missionary among the Chinese in Malaysia in Penang
• John Cambrian Rowland(1819–1890), a Welsh painter, mainly of Welsh costume prints
• Richard Edwards(1822–1908), a Welsh American educator, emigrated to Ohio aged 11, where he taught astronomy, physics, map-drawing and geography.
• Lt. Colonel John Rea(1868–1944), footballer who played for West Bromwich Albion, with nine caps forWales
• B. T. Hopkins(1897–1981), a Welsh poet and a noteworthy judge of theNational Eisteddfod