Llandyssil

Llandyssil is a village in Powys, Wales, about two miles from the town of Montgomery. 
The village is part of the Llandyssil community. In 2001 there were 420 inhabitants in the parish, of whom 300 lived in the village itself.
Connection with Celtic saints.
Llandyssil takes its name from St Tysul, a little known Welsh saint of the 7th century AD. Only two churches in Wales were dedicated to this saint, Llandyssil in Montgomeryshire and Llandysul in Ceredigion, and the feast day for this saint was celebrated on 31 January. The old church in the village (largely demolished in 1866) stood in the graveyard to the SE of the present village. This suggests that the present settlement dates back to the period around 700AD. There is also a connection with another early Welsh and Breton saint, St Padarn. On the highland to the south in Cefn y Coed is the farm Cwm Badarn. The Llandyssil Brook rises in this Cwm or valley, and between Cwm Badarn Farm and the Pinion is a rock cut spring, that was possibly a Holy Well, dedicated to St Padarn.
History.
In the Medieval period, Llandyssil was in the Cantref of Cedewain in the Kingdom of Powys. The parish was divided into four townships: Bolbro, Bronywood (or Bronycoed), Bryntalch and Rhandir. Rhandir, which contained the parish church, was the largest of these townships. It was probably an amalgamation of three other townships; Cefn-y-coed, Coedywig and Trefganol. In 1536, following the Act of Union, Llandyssil became part of the new county of Montgomeryshire. For ecclesiastical administration, the parish was in the Bishopric of St Asaph, the Archdeaconry of Montgomery and the Deanery of Cedewain. 
For Parliamentary representation, Llandyssil fell within the County of Montgomery until 1885, when, for electoral purposes, it was included within the Montgomery Boroughs. It was transferred back to the County in 1918, when only one MP represented Montgomeryshire.
With the establishment of the Montgomeryshire County Council in 1894, Llandyssil Parish Council was created, and it was included in Forden Rural District Council. In 1974, as a result of Local Government reform, Llandyssil Parish Council became a Community Council within the Montgomeryshire District Council. At this time, Llanmerewig was joined with Llandyssil to form the new Community Council, and in 1984 this was renamed Abermule with Llandyssil Community Council. At this time, the Community Council covered the old parishes of Llanmerewig and Llandyssil, together with Dolforwyn, which had been a township in Bettws Cedewain parish. In 1996, with the abolition of the Montgomeryshire District Council, the Community Council became part of Powys County Council.
Population and language.
The Census returns are as follows:.
In 1880 a portion of the township of Bolbro was transferred from Llandyssil to Llanmerewig and the size of the parish was reduced from 4187 acres to 3800 acres. This may be reflected in the decrease in population between the 1881 and 1891 censuses.
During the later part of the 18th century, it appears that the Welsh language was supplanted by English for general usage in the village. There are some Welsh speakers in the village, but they have mainly come from elsewhere in Montgomeryshire.
Archaeological and historic monuments.
Llandyssil is particularly rich in archaeological sites, especially of the Later Bronze Age and Iron Age. To the NE it is overshadowed by Ffridd Faldwyn, possibly the largest Hillfort in Wales, which is adjacent to Town Hill in Montgomery. Most of the sites have been discovered by aerial photography. The main sites are:
Prehistoric.
The prehistoric sites include:
Quoiting.
Playing Quoits was a widespread pastime in many rural areas. It had largely died in much of England by the 2nd World War, but after the War enjoyed a revival in Mid-Wales, when the quoits were made by a light engineering company in Newtown. In Llandyssil the “Old” or Long Quoits rules were followed. The quoits court was moved to behind the Upper House Public House by 1983, when an international game was played between Wales and Scotland. The Welsh team was captained by Glyn Owen of Llandyssil, and other village players were Les Owen and George Mills. The Welsh team lost to Scotland. In the 1991 International match at Llandyssil, when Les Owen was in the team, Wales convincingly beat Scotland 252 to 83. The last championship match was held at Llandyssil in 2003, after which the court was closed. It is to be hoped that the sport might be revived in Llandyssil in the future. 
Sheep Dog Trials.
The 2012 Welsh National Sheep Dog Trials were held on the field by Llandyssil bridge at Henfron, Llandyssil, between 19 and 21 July 2012 by kind permission of Mr A. & Mrs S. Harding. This brought the village much publicity and was greatly enjoyed by local people.