Llanelly, Breconshire

Photography by John Ball - 5th June 1998
(with an Agfa ePhoto307 digital camera)

Llanelly (Llanelli) is a tiny Breconshire village about five miles west of Abergavenny. It is the site of the Church of St Elli (left), serving the now rural parish of Llanelly whose area once included the former Clydach Ironworks. My visit to Llanelly was prompted by a recent [in 1998] discussion about Bethlehem Chapel on the Powys Mailing List, hosted by RootsWeb.

Above: Apart from its church (hidden behind the trees on the left) and a pub, the
village of Llanelly consists of little more than can be seen in this photograph.

Above: The church of St Elli and its well-populated churchyard.

Above: The churchyard possesses many yew trees, some of which are over 800 years old.

Right: One of the many impressive and
ornately decorated memorial stones,
this one dating from Victorian times.

Above: One of the older gravestones in the churchyard. The inscription reads:
In
Memory of Ann Pritchard
Daughter of William &
Martha Pritchard of this
Parish who died Dec ...
1810 Aged ... years & 11 mths

Above: The newer part of the graveyard overlooks the valley of the River Usk
and its surrounding hills.

Above: Hidden away, half a mile south of the village of Llanelly, is this
170-year-old Welsh chapel.

Above: The notice-board identifies the building as the Bethlehem Baptist Chapel,
established in 1830, and gives details of the order of services.

Left: Above the main entrance to the chapel is a small plaque confirming the name (Bethlehem) and date (1830) of the chapel.

Above: Around the walls of the chapel are a number of gravestones, some
quite badly eroded.