Bleddfa

St Mary's Church

Bleddfa is a village in Powys, Wales. Historically it was a parish in Radnorshire.

Bleddfa is recorded as early as the 12th century as Bledwach. By c.1600 it was still spelt as Bleddfach. This leads the name to be interpreted locally as "blaidd bach" - the "place of the wolf". However Blaidd could also be a personal name.

St Mary's Church is said to have been founded by the Irish saint Brendan in the 6th century. There is no evidence for this though, and the oldest surviving parts of the church are from the 13th century.

Bleddfa was also the site of a motte and bailey castle. It was built before 1195, and by 1304 it was abandoned.

In those times there wasn't much else at Bleddfa. In 1276 there was also a watermill. All buildings in the village today, except the church, date to the 18th century or later.

In 1836 a turnpike road was built running through the village. It appears to have cut through a village green, changing the layout of the village.

The parish is now part of Llangunllo community, governed by Llangunllo & Bleddfa Community Council. Until 1983 they remained separate. Bleddfa was a small parish - from the 1911 census until it was abolished, it had never had more than 200 people.