St Catwg’s in Llangattock was founded in the 6th century. It is considered one of the oldest churches in Britain, although it has been largely rebuilt over the years. Its relatively recent additions include a 14th century nave, 16th century tower and two incredibly old yew trees.
On the approach to Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons National Park, is an obelisk dedicated to the memory of a young boy named Tommy Jones who, on 4th August 1900, aged just 5, became lost on his way to visit his grandparents. The whole community was involved in the search for Tommy, which continued every day for 29 days. Search parties had not thought to look for him on higher ground and little Tommy’s body remained undiscovered for almost a month. Today, the obelisk marks the spot where Tommy was found – the jurors at the inquest giving their fees to start a fund for the memorial.
Colonel Sir George Everest was born in 1790 in Crickhowell. Everest was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India along the meridian arc from southern India extending north to Nepal, a distance of about 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles). In 1865, the Royal Geographical Society named Mount Everest in his honour.
The first woman to receive a doctorate in medicine from a university in Europe was Frances Elizabeth Hoggan, who was born in Brecon in 1843. She was also the first female doctor to be registered in Wales.
Rudolf Hess, prominent Nazi politician and Deputy Fuhrer to Adolf Hitler, was held as a prisoner of war at Maindiff Hospital in Abergavenny from 1942 to 1945. The facility was chosen for its added security and need for fewer guards. From here he was permitted to take walks and car trips into the surrounding countryside. After Germany’s unconditional surrender in 1945, Hess, facing charges as a war criminal was ordered to appear before the International Military Tribunal and was transported to Nuremberg on 10th October 1945.
The county of Powys is named after the ancient Welsh/British Kingdom of Powys, which in the sixth century AD included the northern two thirds of the area as well as most of Shropshire and adjacent areas now in England, and came to an end when it was occupied by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd during the 1260s. There are 1130 identified burial mounds within the county, of varying styles and ages, dating from 4000BC to 1000BC, most of them belonging to the Bronze Age. Standing stones, most again dating to the Bronze Age, also occur in large numbers, 276 being found across the county.
