Mynachlog-ddu

Mynachlog-ddu (SN143306) is a village, parish and community in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the parish of Llangolman.

Mynachlog-ddu
Bethel Chapel, Mynachlog-ddu
Mynachlog-ddu Location within Pembrokeshire
Population	494 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	SN 14 30
• Cardiff	72.8 mi (117.2 km)
• London	198.2 mi (319.0 km)
Community	Mynachlogddu[2]
Principal area	Pembrokeshire
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Clunderwen
Postcode district	SA66
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
List of places UK Wales Pembrokeshire 51.9423°N 4.7015°W / 51.9423; -4.7015 Map of the community

Origin of the name

The Welsh placename means "black monastic grange":^[3] before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the parish belonged to St Dogmaels Abbey.

Geography

Mynachlog-ddu sits on a plateau 200 metres (660 ft) above sea level between Carn Menyn (365 metres, 1,198 ft) and Foel Dyrch (368 metres, 1,207 ft) in the Preseli Hills.^[4]

History

Mynachlog-ddu and the surrounding Preselis are rich in prehistoric remains. It is one of the possible sites of the Battle of Mynydd Carn in 1081. By c.1100 it was under the control of the Normans. Much has been unenclosed moorland since the Middle Ages, with few houses. The village developed as housing for slate quarry workers and there has been a chapel in the village since 1794.^[5]

The population of the parish in 1821 was 447.^[6]

Mynachlog-ddu

Carn Menyn is presumed to be the source of the bluestones used in the inner circle of Stonehenge. In 2000/2001 a project was established to try to transport a piece of bluestone from the village to Stonehenge. The project ended when the stone sank in the sea. It was lifted out a few months after, but the project was never resumed. A comedy based on the idea of a campaign to have the bluestones returned Bringing Back the Bluestones premiered in Pembrokeshire.

There are six listed structures in the community.^[7]

Worship

There are two places of worship in the village: the Anglican church (Church in Wales) of St Dogfael (sometimes, Dogmael), and Bethel, the Baptist meeting house.

Notable people

• The poet Waldo Williams (1904–1971) was a pupil at the primary school (where his father was headteacher) between 1911 and 1915, where he learned to speak Welsh. There is a memorial to him at nearby Rhos Fach.^[8]
• Dutch naval officer and Colditz prisoner of war camp escapee Damiaen Joan van Doorninck (1902–1987) spent his retirement in Mynachlogddu and died there.^[9]