Llantrisant

Coordinates: 51°32′32″N 3°22′43″W / 51.54229°N 3.37849°W / 51.54229; -3.37849

Llantrisant ("Parish of the Three Saints") is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the city's name are SS. Illtyd, Gwynno, and Dyfodwg. Llantrisant is a hilltop settlement, at an altitude of 174 m (565 ft) above sea level. The town is home to the Royal Mint.

History

People have been living in and around Llantrisant for millennia. Two Bronze Age burial mounds are on Mynydd Garthmaelwg, the opposite side of the Ely Valley. A 1.05 metres (3 ft) tall, by 1.68 metres (6 ft) wide, possibly Bronze Age, standing stone, was discovered in Miskin during excavations prior to the M4 motorway construction. An Iron Age hillfort stands on Rhiwsaeson Hill. The enclosure, now known as Caerau Hillfort, measures 230 metres (755 ft) by 180 metres (591 ft).

A settlement has existed on this site from at least the beginning of the 6th century, when the poet Aneurin wrote of 'the white houses of Glamorgan' when referring to Llantrisant. It was seized around 1246 by Richard de Clare who built Llantrisant Castle. It is thought that de Clare established the borough of Llantrisant though the exact charter occurred in 1346.