The Meifod Eisteddfod
In 2015 the National Eisteddfod was held in Meifod, on Mathrafal Farm – a beautiful setting, with broad green fields surrounded by gentle Montgomeryshire hills.
A new venture
Up to this point, there had never been a specialist history area on the Maes, but thanks to Heritage Lottery Funding the Powysland Club (the oldest historical society in Montgomeryshire, founded in 1867) inaugurated Y Lle Hanes (the History Place) at the 2015 Eisteddfod.
Montgomeryshire’s Lle Hanes
The Powysland Club decided to take the historic and cultural landscape of Montgomeryshire as the 2015 theme for the new pavilion. Over twenty local history groups joined in the project, and each produced material that showed aspects of their own area’s history and culture – each group deciding how they would interpret this. The text was translated, and a series of boards was designed and produced professionally to a high standard (the text being in both Welsh and English).
The new Lle Hanes was a great success. The impressive research displays, hung in the tent, combined with audio-visual displays, stalls from national organisations including Cadw, the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, People's Collection Wales, and the Welsh Place Names Society, and a local history book stall, attracted plenty of visitors.
The legacy!
When the Eisteddfod was over, local groups were given their own boards to keep.
Meifod Local History Group’s five boards showed the changing fortunes of Meifod’s imposing and historically important church, founded in the 6th century, and how these changes had been reflected in the village throughout the years.
The boards are now hung at the west end of the church, in the bottom of the tower, and can be seen by visitors.
