To find us

Map of Llanidloes

Click for map of local attractions & activities

Our locale

Llanidloes dates back to the seventh century when a site by the river Severn was chosen to build a church dedicated to Saint Idloes, a Celt. After the Norman Conquest, the town, then dominated by a motte and bailey castle, began to take the shape you find today: a cross of four broad roads meeting in the centre.
The countryside around was rich in mineral sources and also suited to hill farming. For many decades, Llanidloes was an important centre of lead and silver mining, as well as a market for sheep and wool. Flannel weaving became a thriving industry, as did leather working. The population at 5,000 was double what it is now.

The town was granted a charter in 1280, and has the right to elect a mayor and corporation and hold a borough court. Its most famous building, the Old Market Hall, is the only one of its kind in Wales to survive. It was built for judicial purposes about 1600, and has since been a library, a working men’s institute, a museum and exhibition centre and an arts and crafts shop.

A few other fine Black and White buildings survive. Otherwise, much of the architecture is Georgian and Victorian, and protected under a conservation order (which includes the exterior of Lloyds). Converted mills and weavers’ houses reflect earlier industries.

View to the Great Oak Street
Great Oak Street on a summer morning, home to a street market each Saturday. With thanks to our tandem cyclists, Ruth and Stuart, Otterburn, August 2004The imposing non-conformist chapels, built from private money, are a testament to the flourishing commerce of the 19th century. The parish church of St Idloes was extended at this time. It has a massive tower and the belfry is of the Montgomeryshire type. The vast arches on the left of the interior are from an earlier building, and this explains the width of the walls on the southern side. The carved angels in the roof are some of the last created during Henry VIII’s religiously volatile reign.

In the Crown and Anchor in Long Bridge Street hangs a list of over 40 licensed establishments which provided refreshments to thirsty miners, shepherds and mill workers during the 19th century. There are fewer pubs now, nevertheless more than you might expect for the town’s population. Five remain owned and run by their licensees, as opposed to being managed or tenanted.

Trips from Llanidloes by car