Llandegla
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2022) |
Llandegla | |
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Church dedicated to St. Tecla | |
Location within Denbighshire | |
Population | 567 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SJ196524 |
Community |
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Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Wrexham |
Postcode district | LL11 |
Dialling code | 01978 |
Police | North Wales |
Fire | North Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Clwyd West | |
Llandegla (
Name
This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2022) |
The village's name is
Llandegla-yn-Iâl distinguishes the community as "St Tegla's in
Location
Llandegla is located 253 m (830 ft) above sea level in the upper valley of the River Alyn just off the A525 road between Ruthin and Wrexham. The boundaries of the community include both the village of Llandegla itself and the neighbouring village of Pen-y-stryt. Notably the village boundary includes Llandegla Forest, or Coed Llandegla, a famous mountain biking centre, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. To the east rises the Nant-y-Ffrith stream.
History
St Tecla's church is likely to have been an early-mediaeval foundation, and by the 13th century was recorded as a chapelry of Valle Crucis Abbey. The fabric of the building was, however, heavily rebuilt in 1866, probably to a design by John Gibson.[2]
The village was located on one of the main drovers' roads from the north-west coast of Wales to the markets of England, and the cattle trade was central to its economy. Thomas Pennant wrote that it was "noted for its vast fairs for black cattle", and there were formerly several inns in the village to cater for the drovers and cattle-dealers.[3] George Borrow, in his travelogue Wild Wales, recorded meeting a hog-dealer on the road above Eglwyseg taking a large herd of pigs across the mountain from "Llandeglo" towards Wrexham.[4]
As the droving trade tailed off in the later 19th century, due to the construction of the railways, many of Llandegla's residents worked in quarrying.
Local customs and traditions
Pennant recorded an odd tradition connected with St Tecla's Well, a spring in a field close to the church. Sufferers of what were known as Clwyf Tecla, "St Tecla's disease", washed themselves in the well after sunset and walked round it three times, leaving an offering of fourpence, afterwards spending the night in the church.[3]
The nineteenth-century folklorist
The village has an annual Summer Fate festival, which involves vegetable growing, and artwork competitions, as well sports races for the local children.
Amenities
Natural features in the area include the Clwydian Range to the north-west of the village, Llandegla Forest to the south-east and the Horseshoe Pass to the south. The Offa's Dyke Path and Clwydian Way long-distance walking routes pass through the village. Llandegla also has a mountain bike centre located in the forest.
Notable people who have lived in the village include the author
References
- ^ a b Baring-Gould, Sabine & al. The Lives of the British Saints: The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and Such Irish Saints as Have Dedications in Britain, Vol. IV, p. 219. Honorable Society of Cymmrodorion (London), 1913.
- ^ Church of St Tecla , Llandegla, Churches of Denbighshire Survey, Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust
- ^ a b Pennant, T. Tours in Wales, Volume 2, 1810, p. 15
- ^ Borrow, G. Wild Wales, v. 2, John Murray, 1862, p. 286
- ^ Owen, E. Welsh folk-lore: a collection of the folk-tales and legends of North Wales, Woodall, Minshall and Co, 1896, pp. 206–207
- Llandegla Millennium Action Group (2003) Llandegla Then and Now, Llandegla Millennium Action Group, Llandegla.