When I first commenced my research in the late 1980s, I found a Gazetteer of English Villages at the State Library of Victoria. I was thrilled to discover the village of Erwood in Wales listed, together with a brief description describing Erwood as a picturesque little postal town nestled in the beautiful Wye Valley and situated on a bend of the winding River Wye, about halfway between Builth Wells and Brecon. The gazetteer also stated that Erwood had a post office and railway station, although the railway station no longer served in that capacity and was now a museum. The post office also served as a general store and there were two hotels and a number of B & B establishments in Erwood itself and the surrounding district. Of course back then we did not have the wonderful internet resources at our fingertips that we have today and these have since provided me with some further, and more current, information. 

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Erwood is a village and parish in Brecknockshire lying beside the River Wye, on the A470 road some six miles south-east of Builth Wells. The name Erwood is of uncertain origin and is recorded in numerous forms over the centuries. It may derive from the rare cerwyd  meaning 'stag' with subsequent anglicisation to '-wood'. It is known in Welsh as Erwyd which may be a cymricization of Erwood. No mention of Erwood has been found in medieval documents, the first dated reference appearing in 1608 when 'Errwd' is mentioned, believed to be a reference to Erwood Hall or its successor. The present Erwood Hall dates from 1800, perhaps encasing some earlier elements. It might well be that the medieval settlement of Crickadarn, clustered near its castle, 'migrated' downhill as times became more settled, perhaps as the Civil War ended, so that its residents could benefit from improvements to the main road between Builth Wells and Brecon close to the Wye, and the trading opportunities that this provided. The presence of a market hall in such a small settlement certainly supports this suggestion, even though the current one was built at the end of the 19th century.

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The Clettwr brook, flowing from west to east before turning north through the village to join the River Wye, divides Erwood between the two ecclesiastical parishes of Gwenddwr, to the northwest, and Crickadarn, to the south-east. In former times drovers would ford the Wye at Erwood on their journey towards the Midlands and eventually London, where they would sell their livestock.

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Erwood is overlooked from across the Wye by the ancient hill fort of Twyn y Garth. On its 1,066-foot-high summit is a German field howitzer, a trophy from World War I, which somewhat ironically points towards Erwood from neighbouring Radnorshire and has become a running joke in the community.

 

The parish consists of Erwood village, the two ancient parishes of Gwenddwr and Crickadarn, and the former Forestry Commission hamlet of Llaneglwys. The village is now the centre of a flourishing branch of the Young Farmers' Club. The village shop and post office no longer exist, and of the two pubs one, The Erwood Inn, is now a private house offering bed and breakfast accommodation. The other, The Wheelwright Arms, is still operational. Erwood Market Hall  is a very active village hall, used by many groups, clubs and individuals in the community, and provides a meeting place for local groups and a base for activities to be undertaken. 

 

The population of Erwood in the 2021 Census was listed as 407.

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Sources: 

https://wikishire.co.uk/wiki/Erwood

Walking the Old Ways of East Breconshire and the Black Mountains - written by Andy & Karen Johnson, May 2022

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Visit to Erwood Village in 2023

In July 2023, I fulfilled a life long bucket list item when I finally was able to visit the village of Erwood. To say I was excited and just a little bit emotional  is somewhat of an understatement, given how long I'd been wanting to do this for. I was staying with some friends from Australia in Great Doward, Hereford, and we had planned this visit for some time. I will always be grateful to them for helping to make this happen - thank you Terry and Michael.

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I have to say, Erwood was pretty much as I expected it to be from the photos I had managed to dig up over the years and had previously posted on this page, albeit with some changes to building facades, making it easy to identify buildings such as the former Post Office and Erwood Inn. It very much typifies that village that sits nestled in a beautiful, green valley, with the main access road winding through the middle of it. There are also a number of small, narrow, winding roads and laneways  leading from the main road which we discovered were easy to to get side-tracked by.

 

I have no doubt that I probably looked a bit like an excited child, almost racing from one end of the winding road to the other pointing out things I recognised from photos I'd seen over the years, and taking photos. We met a friendly man at the Erwood Market Hall and I asked him for directions to the Erwood Station Craft Centre, which we were going to visit next. If I had any pre-conceived concept of what I expected a chap from a small village in Wales to be like, he was it. Ever so friendly and helpful, dressed in plaid trousers, a colourful shirt and floral printed braces and who was quite a fountain of information. And an accent so strong I hardly understood a word he said!

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There is also a chapel in Erwood, not surprisingly called Erwood Chapel, although some references state that it was formerly known as the Hepzibah Baptist Chapel. My understanding is that it still operates as a Baptist chapel, even though the name has changed to Erwood Chapel. Given it was built around 1820, and my Erwood ancestors in Devizes, Wiltshire have been traced back to around 1600 and there are around 200 years in between, I was not very hopeful of finding any Erwood headstones there, although having said that, there could have been unmarked Erwood graves there. Nevertheless, we went for a stroll around the little churchyard to confirm that. It's a tiny, quaint-looking chapel and it was well worth visiting as the views from the churchyard over the village and valley are quite lovely.

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From the village we crossed the Erwood Bridge to visit what was the former Erwood Station and is now the Erwood Station Craft Centre, about half a mile or so from the village itself, on the other side of the River Wye. Erwood Station opened in 1864 with the commencement of the Mid Wales Railway, which operated independently before being amalgamated with the Cambrian Railway in 1901, and which ran between Brecon and Builth Wells. The station was closed in December 1962 and the track bed was removed. The property underwent a programme of conservation to a craft centre and café, with the intention of promoting local artists and their work and has been operating as such since 1984, with the current owners taking over in 2015. Over the years it has built up a strong reputation as one of Wales' largest independent applied arts gallery spaces. The original station house is still intact, with extensions and a pretty garden.

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The current Erwood Station Craft Centre was indeed a delight to visit. It is now operated by a family who provide an establishment that encompasses local art, craft and souvenir items, delicious food offerings and beverages, (including freshly brewed tea - always a winner for me!), and all in a beautiful and relaxed setting. The owners  are lovely, so friendly and accommodating. They were quite surprised when I told them my name was Erwood and could not remember anyone with the name ever visiting before, which probably shouldn't have surprised me given how rare the name is, but it did. They also very kindly gave me the last Erwood Station mug they had left, along with some other souvenirs which really topped off the visit! 

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So, it's fair to say that my visit to Erwood and its surrounds did not disappoint. I really didn't know what to expect, so I guess if anything it exceeded what I may have been expecting. I think this was in no small part due to the folk at the Erwood Station Craft Centre, and of course, my friends Terry and Michael - it was wonderful to be able to share this experience with them. And it was certainly a major bucket list item checked off. 

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Photos from my 2023 visit to Erwood

Please click on the first image to open the full photo gallery and descriptions (images previously uploaded can be found in the next section)

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