Caersws

Caersws
The former village church
Caersws
Location within Powys
Population1,586 (2011)
OS grid referenceSO031919
Community
  • Caersws
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCAERSWS
Postcode districtSY17
Dialling code01650
PoliceDyfed-Powys
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Caersws (Welsh: Caersŵs; pronounced [kɑːɨrˈsuːs] ⓘ) is a village and community on the River Severn, in the Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. At the 2011 census, the community had a population of 1,586[2] – a figure which includes the settlements of Clatter, Llanwnnog and Pontdolgoch; the village itself had a population of slightly over 800.[3]

Etymology

The name is derived from the Welsh placename elements "Caer-" and "Sŵs". "Caer" translates as "fort" and likely refers to the Roman settlement. The derivation of the second element is less certain.

Thomas Pennant and later writers note that the fort was the termination of the Roman Road from Chester (via Meifod), the name of the road was Sarn Swsan or Sarn Swsog and it is thought that the town and the road share their etymology. The meaning of Swsan/Swsog is again, uncertain, but two local traditions hold that this is a personal name, either of a mythological Queen Swswen a Celtic leader who is said to have fought a battle in the vicinity around the time of the Roman occupation[4] or it is named for a Roman lieutenant "Hesus".[5][6][7]

Other suggested etymologies focus on the fact that "sws" (not sŵs) can be literally translated to "Kiss" in modern Welsh or that the name may retain a Roman-era dedication to Zeus. The linguist John Rhys noted that the dialect of Mid-Wales Welsh (Y Bowyseg) was closer to the Gaulish language than its neighbours, and concluded that the area had pre-Roman links to Gaul. This may suggest a link between Caersŵs and the God Esus venerated by the Parisii and Treverii.[8][9]

In Welsh mythology

In Welsh mythology, Caersws was the location of an ancient city built by Locrinus, the king of Lloegyr around the year 1086 BC (22 years after the construction of London). In the legend, Caersws is built and named for Queen Swswen ("The Blessed/Pure Kiss").[10]

A version of the legend is recorded by Oliver Mathews in 1616. in Mathews version, Locrinus wins a fierce battle against Humber the Hun, who invades Britain following the death of Locrinus' father Brutus of Troy. After defeating the invaders, Locrinus uncovers the beautiful Princess Swswen inside one of Humber's ships and falls in love with her. However, Locrinus is already betrothed to Gwendolen, a daughter of King Corineus of Cornwall. While Locrinus honours this commitment and makes Gwendolen his queen, he conducts a secret affair with Swswen, and constructs a new city for her in Cambria, that is named Caersws in her honour.[10]

Some years later, King Corineus is dead and Locrinus decides to divorce Queen Gwendolen and marry Swswen, living together in Caersws as King and Queen with their illegitimate daughter, Hafren. Outraged by this slight, Gwendolen raises an army in Cornwall and kills Locrinus in battle. She then orders that the ancient city of Caersws be razed to the ground, killing both Queen Swswen and her daughter in the process. The victorious Queen then has both bodies cast into the river that passes by Caersws, which the Britons name "Hafren" in honour of the innocent Princess.[11] The Swswen legend is also reported by Edward Lhuyd, who claimed to have seen an ancient manuscript that detailed Locrinus' building of the ancient city of Caersŵs and which names Sŵs-wên as the wife of Humber the Hun rather than a captive.[10][12][13]

History

Main article: Caersws Roman Forts

Caersws was the location of two Roman forts of Roman Wales. Although the Mediolanum of the Antonine Itinerary has since been identified as Whitchurch in Shropshire, Caersws is sometimes identified as the Mediolanum among the Ordovices described in Ptolemy's Geography,[14] although others argue for Llanfyllin[15] or Meifod.[15][16] Further, this second Mediolanum may be identical or distinct from the "Mediomanum" (lit. "Central Hand") mentioned by the Ravenna Cosmography.[14]

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward includes the community of Carno and, at the 2011 Census, had a population of 2,316.[17]

Buildings

The Church of St Gwynog dates from the 15th century and was restored in 1863. It contains a 15th century rood screen and loft which the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales describes as "exceptional; the best-preserved of thirty known to have existed in the county".[18]

Maesmawr Hall, to the south-east of the village, was built in the early 19th century and is a Grade II* listed building.[19]

Transport

Caersws railway station is a stop on the Cambrian Line. Transport for Wales operates services between Aberystwyth/Pwllheli, Shrewsbury and Birmingham International.[20]

Sport

Downhill mountain biking has flourished in forestry at Henblas farm, to the north of the village, with a number of national races being held there. The current series, The Caersws Cup, began in March 2009.[21]

Cymru Alliance club Caersws F.C. are based in the village and play their home matches at the Recreation Ground.

Caersws is home to current and past champions of a number of sporting disciplines, leading some to christen it the "Sporting Capital of Wales".[22]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Location of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr". parliament.uk. July 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Community population 2011". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Local Area Report for Caersws Built-up area (based on 2011 Census)". Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  4. ^ Morris, Rupert, ed. (1911). Parochialia. Archaeologia Cambrensis. Vol. 3. London: Cambrian Archaeological Association. p. 99. hdl:2027/uc1.b3812192.
  5. ^ Eddowes, John (1832). The History of Wales; Written originally in British by Caradoc of Llancarvan; Translated into English by Dr. Powell. Shrewsbury. pp. 283–284. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  6. ^ Knight, C. (1839). The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Volume 15 ed.). London. p. 363. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  7. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1840). A Topographical Dictionary of Wales: Comprising the Several Counties, Cities, Boroughs, Corporate and Market Towns, Parishes, Chapelries, and Townships, with Historical and Statistical Descriptions (Volume 1) (2nd ed.). London.
  8. ^ Williams, E. W. (30 April 2015). "J.E.Lloyd and his intellectual legacy; the tribes of Wales reconsidered" (PDF). National Library of Wales Journal: 203. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ Rhys J. & Brynmor-Jones D. The Welsh People. London: Unwin. pp. 19–21.
  10. ^ a b c Mathews, Oliver (1877) [1616]. The Scituation, Foundation, and Auncient Names of the Famous Towne of Sallop. Shrewsbury: T. W. Bickley & Son.
  11. ^ Hearne, Thomas, ed. (1722). The History and Antiquities of Glastonbury. Oxford. pp. 249–251.
  12. ^ Bartrum, Peter C. (2009) [1993]. "Locrinus" (PDF). In MPS (ed.). A Welsh Classical Dictionary. Vol. 7. National Library of Wales. p. 485.
  13. ^ Morris, Rupert, ed. (1911). Parochialia. Archaeologia Cambrensis. Vol. 3. London: Cambrian Archaeological Association. p. 99. hdl:2027/uc1.b3812192.
  14. ^ a b Roman Britain Organisation. "Mediomanum?" at Roman Britain Archived 2007-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. 2010.
  15. ^ a b Williams, Robert. "A History of the Parish of Llanfyllin" in Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire, Vol. III, p. 59 Archived 22 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine. J. Russell Smith (London), 1870.
  16. ^ Newman, John Henry & al. Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92. Archived 2016-03-21 at the Wayback Machine James Toovey (London), 1844.
  17. ^ "Ward population 2011". Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  18. ^ "St Gwynog's Church, Llanwnog (146172)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  19. ^ Cadw. "Maesmawr Hall (Grade II*) (7572)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Timetables". Transport for Wales. 15 December 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ "Sporty Village Boasts Famous Five at BBC.co.uk". 28 December 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2008.

Literature

  • Stephenson D. (2014), The Medieval Borough of Caersws: Origins and Decline, The Montgomeryshire Collections, Vol. 102, 103–109.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Caersws.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.