Knucklas
 |
Knucklas
| |
|---|---|
 Knucklas Viaduct, on theHeart of Wales Line,and the village of Knucklas beneath | |
  Knucklas Location withinPowys | |
| Population | 220[1] |
| OS grid reference | SO251742 |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Knighton |
| Postcode district | LD7 |
| Dialling code | 01547 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
Knucklas(Welsh:Cnwclas,meaning "green hillock" ) is a village inPowys,Wales, previouslyRadnorshire.It lies in the upper valley of theRiver Teme,just off theB4355 roadand is served byKnucklas railway stationon theHeart of Wales Line.It is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from the market town ofKnighton.
Notable landmarks
[edit]The Castle Mound
[edit]A protected ancient monument in the care of Knucklas Castle Community Land Project[1]and listed byCadw,[2]it is the site of a castle believed to have been built by the Mortimers in about 1220–25.[3]It consisted of a square stonekeepwith four round towers, sited on top of a steep hill. There is some evidence that there may have been further outer walls. It was captured by a Welsh army in 1262, which destroyed the defences.
Below the castle lies the battlefield of theBattle of Beguildythought to have been fought between the Welsh and theMortimerfamily ofNormanMarcher Lordsin 1146. The castle was attacked and destroyed by the forces ofOwain Glyndŵrin 1402 during his rebellion.[citation needed]Whilst there is a romantic story associating the castle location with the marriage ofGuinevereandKing Arthur,[4]this probably developed from an earlier story, which suggested that a marriage took place betweenGwenhwyfar,the daughter of Ogrfan Gawr (also called 'Gogrfan Gawr "the Giant" of Castell y Cnwclas' – Knucklas Castle), and Arthur the warrior – there being no reference toArthur as a kingin the early Welsh texts.
The Viaduct
[edit]The spectacular 13-arch span was completed by theCentral Wales Railwayin 1865 and recorded in an engraving from theIllustrated London News.[5]
Heyope
[edit]ThreeBronze Age torcswere found here and declared treasure in 1991.[citation needed]They are now housed in the National Museum, Cardiff.[6]
Theparish churchof St David was built in 1882, on the site of a medieval church. Thefontdates from the 15th century.[7]
The longest-burningtyre firein British history occurred in Heyope, lasting 13 years from 1989 to 2001.[7]
Further reading
[edit]- Noble, F. (1955): "The Bronze Age gold torcs from Heyope".Transactions of theRadnorshire Society,25, pp. 34–38.
Notable people
[edit]- Vavasor Powell(1617–1670), Nonconformist Puritan preacher, evangelist, church leader and writer, who was imprisoned for his role in a plot to depose King Charles II.
- Malcolm Page(born 1947), former footballer with 350 club caps and 28 forWales
References
[edit]- ^KCCLP
- ^Cadw website
- ^"CPAT Report No 1088 Historic settlements in Radnorshire"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 11 December 2014.Retrieved9 October2012.
- ^"Castle Wales Website".Retrieved3 December2007.
- ^"Gathering the Jewels".Archived fromthe originalon 30 October 2007.Retrieved3 December2007.
- ^http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/cardiff/
- ^abEvans, A. T. D. (2008)Border Wanderings,p. 116.
External links
[edit]- Useful Archaeological Records
- Photos of Knucklas and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
- Photo of Arriva Trains Wales Class 153 Passing over Knucklas Viaduct
