LLANTWIT MAJOR

Welsh Llanilltud Fawr town, Vale of Glamorgan county, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), Wales. Prehistoric and Roman remains have been discovered in and near the town. Its medieval importance lay in its monastic college (founded c. 500 by the Celtic St. Illtud), which was a famous centre of learning and ecclesiastical influence for the Celtic church. The monastery became a cell of Tewkesbury Abbey and was closed at the dissolution of the monasteries (153639), but its gatehouse and dovecote remain. The parish church dates from the 12th and 15th centuries, and the town hall from the 15th. Llantwit Major is now a retail centre and a resort, as well as a residential community for commuters to a nearby air base and to industrial towns such as Barry and Bridgend. Pop. (1991) 12,909.