Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys - Abernant Lake Hotel - postcard c.1970s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Abernant Lake Hotel, Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys
• Publisher: Beric Tempest [printers]
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

With a population of 850 (United Kingdom Census 2011), it claims to be the smallest town in Britain,^{[citation needed]}although Fordwich in Kent has a smaller population. Most of the town was born in England.

Llanwrtyd Wells grew as a spa town around the Ffynnon Ddrewllyd ("stinking well"), which still exists. The town was also known as an eisteddfod site, and is the site of both the World Bog snorkelling Championships and the annual Man versus Horse Marathon, as well as other annual events.

The Abernant Lake Hotel^[2] was built on the site of an old farm, to cater for the many visitors, keen to take the spa waters. The hotel grounds include a 5 acres (2 ha) lake created in 1903 by damming an oxbow of the Irfon. During World War II, the hotel was home to Bromsgrove School, evacuated from Worcestershire, and from 1943-45 to the Czechoslovak State School for Refugee Children. It remained as a hotel until 2007 when it became home to a multi-activity centre for school groups and families.

Llanwrtyd Wells had two golf clubs and courses during the 20th century, both now defunct. The early course was at the Dol-y-coed Hotel and the later one at Abernant Lake Hotel.^[3]

Built in 1852, the Cambrian Woollen Mill was the largest woolen mill in the Llanidloes area, employing over 250 workers at its peak.^[4] It was reduced to an empty shell by a fire in November 1889, but rebuilt in 1902 and has been in continuous operation since then.^[5] It is one of very few woolen mills still operating in Wales. According to the mill's website, visitors can experience "700 years of weaving history".

Following the discovery in 1732 by the Rev. Theophilus Evans of waters claimed to have healing properties, Llanwrtyd Wells became a spa town. (In 1740 Wales' most famous hymn-writer, William Williams Pantycelyn^[6] was appointed curate to Evans.) The spa was referred to as Ffynnon Ddrewllyd "Stinking Well" because of the strong smell of hydrogen sulfide.^{[citation needed]} The spa is located at the site of the Dol-y-Coed Hotel,^[7] now the home of Charcroft Electronics.

The fashion for spas reached its peak in the Victorian era and many of the hotels in the town date back to that time. The Belle Vue Hotel,^[8] the only purpose-built hotel in Llanwrtyd, was built in 1843.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Llanwrtyd Wells (Welsh: Llanwrtyd) is a small town in the community of Llanwrtyd in Powys, mid-Wales,in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) on the Afon Irfon. The town is on the A483 between Llandovery and Builth Wells and is located near the pass between the Tywi and Irfon valleys.