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COMMANDING an outstanding setting on the crest of a hill, and enjoying a picturesque viewpoint, Llantrisant's splendour lies in its enchanting beauty and celebrated past. The glory of what was once a magnificent hilltop fortress town, like a dominant city from biblical times, was crowned by its medieval castle and a fine parish church. Those landmarks still stand, surrounded by a cluster of homes, which cling precariously to the steep slopes, and are scattered throughout the town's charming, unplanned cobbled streets. Llantrisant became one of the most strategically important Norman strongholds in South Wales and, as such, has witnessed a colourful history of which its people remain justifiably proud.
Llantrisant c.1930
Today, many of its landmark buildings stand as a testimony to a turbulent past, boasting a history of fierce battles, ancient customs, and notorious characters, the likes of which we may never see again. Proud, quarrelsome and stubborn folk, members of large, feuding families, have occupied these buildings for generations in a town where an archdruid resided, as well as eccentrics, lord mayors and Chartist leaders, murderers and even a captured king of England.
Chiefly remarkable for its vantage point, it would not be unreasonable to believe that a Celtic community existed here, at least as early as the 7th Century, if not as far back as the Roman invasion, given the legion's interest in neighbouring lands. The first settlement of largely timber dwellings, within a wooden fort-like enclosure, was probably a highly sophisticated, well-organised, post-Roman society, eventually overthrown by the conquering Norman barons centuries later.
Yr Hen Felin Wynt
The popular belief that the original settlement was called Llangawrdaf is pure speculation, probably fabricated by the likes of Iolo Morgannwg during his splendid (if not criminal) rewriting of Welsh history during the 18th Century. Situated in the ancient Lordship of Meisgyn and Glynrhondda, early Christian ceremonies undoubtedly took place here following centuries of pagan worship. With the advent of Christianity, this extensive ecclesiastical centre, dedicated by missionaries of Llantwit Major to saints Illtyd, Gwynno and Tyfodwg, gave the town its present name of Church of the Three Saints. A Romanesque-style church was probably built as early as 1096 by the first Norman lords who occupied the town and it was later rebuilt sometime around 1246 when the neighbouring castle was also fortified. It was these Norman lords who recognised the advantages of further developing Llantrisant as a military base, owing to its elevation between the conquered vale and the barren mountain terrain of the north. In this hill country, or blaenau, the Celtic or Welsh warriors gathered periodically to raid settlements from the invading
Norman Armies.
Llantrisant c. 1832
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 Cefn Mabley Farm c.1909
Llantrisant was certainly ruled under Norman occupation by the early part of the 12th Century, becoming established as a fortress town under the leadership of Robert Consul, Earl of Gloucester, although he can hardly be congratulated for recognising the site's potential. Gwrgan ab Ithel, or Einon ab Collwyn, both Welsh Lords of Glamorgan, may have built the first wooden fort, well before the Norman invasion. Quite possibly, the first Norman castle was completed on this same site, sometime between 1096 and 1100, its ringwork walls offering protection for a community of smallholdings accompanied by the parish church. It was within such a settlement that those early Norman masters faced fierce opposition from the Celtic tribesmen and were probably expelled from Llantrisant in one of many battles before 1127. Following their inevitable re-emergence, a stone-built defence of several towers, two wards and a timber ringwork, with ditches, were built by Gilbert de Clare in 1246, making it second only to Cardiff in military importance. Gilbert 'The Red' inherited it by 1262, while he built neighbouring Caerphilly.
For the next two centuries the town, increasing to somewhere in the region of 190 houses by 1260, witnessed a series of bloodthirsty rebellions. The most notable of which was the rebellion of Llewellyn Bren, in 1316, which devastated the entire lordship, including Llantrisant, in just nine weeks. The castle, however, remained active until at least a decade later when it was used as an overnight prison for King Edward II, captured in November 1326, and later subjected to a horrifying execution at Berkeley Castle. Following a relatively short and chequered history as a fighting castle, it was of little account from 1404 and it remains uncertain whether it was demolished at the hands of Owain Glyndwr during his raids against the English or possibly fell redundant when a period of greater stability emerged. One of the most notable episodes in Llantrisant's history took place in 1346, with the presentation of its first known charter, although historians have argued that such a document was entrusted to the people four centuries earlier.
The Bull Ring on Market Day c.1900
Tales of courageous longbowmen from the town, fighting at the Battle of Crecy under Lord of Glamorgan Hugh le Despenser, resulted in academics believing that was the reason behind those brave soldiers being rewarded with the issue of such a significant document. Sadly, the legend isn't true, because the charter was actually presented five months earlier, on March 4, 1346. However, it is always comforting to imagine those gallant veterans of Crecy may have been the first to be bestowed with the freedom of the new Ancient Borough of Llantrisant on their return from victory. The charter was reissued in 1424 and gave those Burgesses, or Freemen, absolute possession of the land, the equivalent of the freehold tenure we have today, and made it clear that non-Burgesses could not trade in the town without paying for the privilege. Therefore, a free borough, or corporation town, was a community of Freemen and its main purpose was to earn a corporate living.
In an effort to help it to succeed in a competitive world, its Burgesses gathered a range of privileges, giving them a measure of self government, their own courts of law, and control on markets and fairs. The portreeve exercised power over the administration, while the corporation business was conducted by the Court Leet. The boundary of the ancient borough was also sanctified by the custom of a religious ceremony, which we now know as the Beating the Bounds.
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