Place:Llanfihangel Ystrad, Cardiganshire, Wales

Watchers
NameLlanfihangel Ystrad
TypeParish (ancient), Civil parish
Coordinates52.171°N 4.165°W
Located inCardiganshire, Wales     ( - 1974)
Also located inDyfed, Wales     (1974 - 1996)
Ceredigion, Wales     (1996 - )
See alsoAberaeron Rural, Cardiganshire, Walesrural district 1894-1974
source: Family History Library Catalog
the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Llanfihangel Ystrad (English "Vale of St Michael") is a constituent parish of Ceredigion, Wales. It is named after the principal place of worship, St Michael's church at Ystrad Aeron. The total population of the community (or civil parish) taken at the UK census 2011 was 1,430. The community is adjacent to that of Nantcwnlle.

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Llanfihangel Ystrad from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"LLANFIHANGEL-YSTRAD, a village and a parish in Aberayron [registration] district, Cardigan[shire]. The village stands near the river Ayron, 6½ miles SE of Aberayron, and 6½ NW of Lampeter [railway] station. The parish contains also the village of Capel; and its Post town is Lampeter, under Carmarthen. Acres: 7,467. Real property: £4,287. Population: 1,162. Houses: 264. The property is divided among a few. Remains of a Runic pillar are at Maes-Mynach. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St. David's. Value: £96. Patron: the Bishop of St. David's. The church is ancient and tolerable, and has an ancient font. There is an Independent chapel."

Research Tips

  • A 1900 Ordnance Survey map of the historic county of Cardiganshire is available on the A Vision of Britain through Time website. This shows all the old parishes within their urban and rural districts. Large farms and estates are also marked.
  • Ceredigion Archives has a website with a list of their holdings, as well as historical notes on places in Cardiganshire.
  • Some words in Welsh come up time and time again and you may want to know what they mean or how to pronounce them. For example,
    "Eglwys" is a church and the prefix "Llan" is a parish.
    "w" and "y" are used as vowels in Welsh.
    "Ll" is pronounced either "cl" or "hl" or somewhere in between. "dd" sounds like "th".
    The single letter "Y" is "the" and "Yn" means "in".
    "uwch" means "above"; "isod" is "below" or "under";
    "gwch" is "great", "ychydig" is "little";
    "cwm" is a "valley".
In both Welsh and English all these words are commonly used in place names in the UK. Place names are often hyphenated, or two words are combined into one. Entering your problem phrase into Google Search, including the term "meaning in Welsh", will lead you to Google's quick translation guide. I'm no authority; these are just things I have picked up while building up this gazetteer for WeRelate.