"Llantwit Major" a Llantwit Major Travel Page by uglyscot

Llantwit Major is a fascinating town .Its history dates back at least 3000 years to the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and the Romans before the arrival in 500 AD of St Illtud who crossed the Bristol Channel and established a church and seat of learning- claimed by some to be the oldest in the world. Llantwit Major developed as a trading port, but a tsunami swept up the Bristol Channel and destroyed much of the coastal area and killed over 2000 people in the 16th century.
Today it is a town with narrow streets, quaint stone cottages and old inns. The oldest buildings were built by the Normans.
The Old White Hart pub, in Wine Street, is the most continuously inhabited house in the town . It was built by Robert Raglan. Then in 1465 he built a new house which later became the village school. Another Raglan house is the Old Swan Inn, in Church Street.
Great House or Ty Mawr is at the northern end of the town, built by the Nicholl family about 1600. It was abandoned in the 20th century before WWII, but has since been restored.

One of its attractions is the Victorian Fair held every two years. It will be held on June 20 2009.

St Illtud built his monastery on the banks of the Ogney Brook. Hid teachings attracted disciples, including St David, now patron saint of Wales. The present St Illtud’s church is believed to be built on the site of the monastery. John Wesley described it , in 1777, as ‘the most beautiful and most spacious church in Wales’.

In a very small area there are a number of hotels and pubs. The oldest are the Old Swan Hotel and the White Hart, but there are also The White Lion, The King's Hwad and the Tudor Tavern, all with interesting inn signs.