Llanilar () is a village and community in Ceredigion, Wales, about southeast of Aberystwyth. It is the eponym of the hundred of Ilar. The population at the 2011 census was 1,085.
Name
In
Welsh toponymy, many smaller communities are named for their parish (
llan), having grown up around the local church. This town's name honours its
patron saint, although it is disputed whether that is the church's presumed founder
Saint Ilar (
Welsh language for "Hilary"),
[ listed as a member of Saint Cadfan's mission and a martyr but now almost totally forgotten, or the more famous Hilary who was bishop of Poitiers in France and is still celebrated by the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.][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. III, pp. 299 f. Chas. Clark (London), 1908. Hosted at Archive.org. Accessed 25 Nov 2014.] (The confusion is not helped by Iolo Morganwg's numerous forgeries which he included in the Iolo Manuscripts.)
History and amenities
There is a Roman Britain site just to the east. The present village was built along the southern side of the scenic River Ystwyth and contains a parish church, Nonconformist chapel, primary school, GP Surgery, and garage. The village post office is now closed but a mobile van visits several times during the week.
St Hilary's Church[Church in Wales. " St Hilary, Llanilar". 2014.] ( Eglwys Sant Ilar) has a large square tower, chancel, nave, and porch. In the porch is a hollowed stone for holding holy water and, above the door, there is an ancient beam with carved heads and animals inscribed with the words J.S. W.W.A. Church Wardens, 1683. [Meyrick, Samuel Rush. (1907) The History of Cardiganshire. Stephen Collard. pg. 284.] Under the name "Church of St Ilar", it is a grade II* listed building.
Llanilar railway station on the line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth opened in 1867 and closed in 1964 following severe flooding in the Llanilar area.
Llanilar Football Club play at Castle Hill Park in the village.
Notable people
-
Saint Ilar (6th C. AD), a putative Bretons missionary and martyr
-
John Jones (1700–1770), clergyman and controversialist
-
Evan Lewis (1818–1901), clergyman, Dean of Bangor Cathedral from 1884
-
Dai Jones MBE (1943–2022), a Welsh broadcaster who lived and farmed in Llanilar
External links
