Machynlleth is a small town of some 2,150 inhabitants situated within the former historic county of Montgomeryshire and within the modern county of Powys. The town lies at almost the most westerly point of Powys and is located within the Dyfi Valley just a few miles upstream of where the river Dyfi flows into Cardigan Bay, on a broad plain surrounded by mountains, most notably Arran-y-gessel and Cader Idris.
The name Machynlleth comes from the Welsh prefix "ma" for ‘plain’ and the personal name Cynllaith or Cynlleth, and hence the "plain of Cynlleth".
The first historical reference to Machynlleth is in the year 1291 when king Edward I granted to Owen de la Pole, the Lord of Powys the right to hold a weekly market every Wednesday in the town. More famously Machynlleth is where Owain Glyndwr held his Welsh Parliament, where he survived an assassination attempt by Dafydd Gam, and where he was crowned Prince of Wales during his revolt in 1404.
Machynlleth is now a quiet market town that contains a number of historic buildings and a particlarly Victorian Gothic clock tower. Nearby is Plas Machynlleth which was once the family home of the Marquess of Londonderry and the Centre for Alternative Technology.
Table of References
- http://www.gazetteer-wales.co.uk/
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/
- http://cyber-space.co.uk/machynlleth/
- http://history.powys.org.uk/history/mach/machint.html
- http://www.gwp.enta.net/waleshist.htm