Ysbyty Ifan
| Ysbyty Ifan | |
|---|---|
 St John's Church at Ysbyty Ifan |
|
 Ysbyty Ifan
|
|
| Ysbyty Ifan shown within Conwy | |
| Population | 196 (in 2011) |
| OS grid reference | SH841488 |
| Community |
|
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BETWS-Y-COED |
| Postcode district | LL24 |
| Dialling code | 01690 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
| Welsh Assembly | |
Ysbyty Ifan is a small, historic village and community in the Conwy County Borough of Wales. The population in 2011 was 196 in 76 households (29 household spaces had no usual residents), over 79% of the population were able to speak Welsh.
Ysbyty Ifan, until about 1190, was known as Dôl Gynwal (Welsh for Cynwal's Meadow). Then, it came to the attention of the Knights of St John, the Order of Hospitallers, who set up a hospital to care for pilgrims and also to be a hostel for them on their journeys (Ysbyty Ifan means hospital of St John). Ysbyty Ifan was on the ancient pilgrimage routes, for example, from Bangor Is Coed (Bangor-on-Dee) to Holyhead and Bardsey Island and the Cistercian Way between Aberconwy and Cymer. It is centrally located among a significant number of important pilgrimage destinations of the Middle Ages, see the map which only shows some of them.
In the 15th century, the Red Bandits of Mawddwy used Ysbyty Ifan as a hideout, taking advantage of the Knights' privilege of sanctuary.
The hospital was abolished in 1540 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; the Church of St John is built on the site of the old hospital, and it contains a number of remnants that tell of the area’s history. Effigies in the church are said to depict Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd (fl. 1485-1510), a local nobleman who served Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth, his wife Lowri, and his son Robert, chaplain to Cardinal Wolsey.
There is a bridge over the Afon Conwy in the centre of the village
...
Wikipedia