Llantrisant Walk
Llantrisant
Parking downhill from the Bull Ring in the centre of Llantrisant, we set off back to the top of the hill and straight down the other side, where we joined a footpath. From here we walked a wide circle around the town, in a clockwise direction.
At times we came close to the busy network of roads around the town, Talbot Green shopping centre and even the Royal Glamorgan hospital. We walked through woodland, followed a tributary of the river Ely, and then the river Ely.
It was firm underfoot for almost the whole walk with good paths, sometimes tarmacked including a disused railway. But where they weren’t solid, they were still firm as the ground was frozen which was lucky as it was muddy where ice had defrosted.
At one point we walked past a sign ‘Private Land Keep Out’ followed by ‘The owners accept no responsibility for loss or injury to persons trespassing on this land’ – we were on a legal footpath which was soon confirmed by an RCT footpath sign!
For lunch we distributed ourselves on mossy walls, logs, and leafy mounds, looking for all the world like a group of gnomes.
The end of the walk involved a long climb from the bottom of the valley to ‘Billy Wynt’ on the hilltop of Y Graig. The squat tower is generally believed to be the remains of a 13th century windmill, but records suggest it was an auxiliary tower of the castle.
The tower was restored as a folly in 1890. Some of us climbed the spiral stairs inside the tower to emerge on the perimeter wall and all of us took in the 3600 views, including the whole of the walk we had done. As we gathered to leave a man came over to talk to us: a Freeman of the town, he was attending to animals in the adjacent field. As a Freeman he is allowed to graze animals, and has a horse, a Billy goat and 3 Nanny goats. He also has beehives which are still active as the winter weather has been so mild. He is continuing a long tradition, Llantrisant common has probably been grazed by Freemen’s animals for over a thousand years.
Returning to the town via a grassy footpath we passed in front of some tiny cottages at Heol y Graig and found ourselves surrounded by history.
Llantrisant has a notable history, today we are all aware of the Royal Mint in the town, but we were surprised by the wealth of history which is still evident as you walk around it.
The Bull Ring has shops and the ‘Model House, craft and Design Centre’ and has been updated with memorial benches for World War II and a memorial stone for the dead of World War I, but it is still dominated by the statue of Dr William Price (a fully qualified doctor and surgeon who promoted Welsh culture, proclaimed himself Archdruid of Wales and was a militant leader of the Chartist cause). Dr Price felt cremation was healthier than burial as it avoided contamination of the water supply. He attempted to cremate his baby son who died at 5 months but was stopped by a constable. A landmark court case followed in Cardiff. He defended himself brilliantly, was found not guilty and later cremated his son. This enabled the Cremation Society to further their cause and the Cremation Act was passed in 1902. He was cremated on 31 January 1893 before 20,000 people.
A Blue plaque indicated that four cottages were one of the first workhouses in Glamorgan (1784). Behind the large parish church of St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St Dyfodwg is the historic part of the town. Here are the remains of the castle which was fortified by Richard de Clare in 1246. It was damaged during the 14th century and King Edward II was imprisoned at the castle in 1326. Owain Glyndwr may have inflicted further damage. In 1767 the estate came to the 1st Marquess of Bute and the tower was dismantled. Local houses (including the police station) were built or restored with its stone and sections were transported to rebuild Cardiff Castle.
A stone commemorates the 650th anniversary of the charter to the town and the presence of Longbowmen from this area at the battle of Crecy 1346.
The Guildhall was established in 1346 and rebuilt 1773, where the Hundred Court was held, dispensing local justice, and governing the ancient borough. In 2017 it was refurbished to become a heritage and visitor centre.
Beating the Bounds is an ancient tradition, a ceremonial seven-mile walk took place in May or June to avoid spoiling the harvest, this ensured that prior to maps, knowledge of the boundary was understood. It continues every seven years and attracts over 10,000 visitors to the old town. I wonder how much of the route we walked.
Walk 7.8 miles, 750ft. Map 151.