Builth Wells, Brecknockshire : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Builth Wells. You may be able to find further references to Builth Wells in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Builth hundred Bartholomew
Builth parish and town with railway station Bartholomew
BUILTH a small town, a parish, a subdistrict, a district, and a hundred Imperial
Builth Wells station Bartholomew
Llanfair in Buallt Bartholomew

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Builth Wells within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

Traveller Section No. of Refs.
William Gilpin To the source of the Wye 10
William Camden Hereford, Radnor, Brecon, Monmouth and Glamorgan 4
Charles Wesley Sept. 1- Dec. 31, 1748: Ireland and central Wales 4
Robert Gammage Touring South Wales 4
Charles Wesley May 3 - Dec. 28, 1747: Wales and Ireland 3
Charles Wesley May 1 - Aug. 31, 1748: London, Wales and Ireland 2
Charles Wesley 1749: Marriage to Sally Gwynne 2
Gerald of Wales Book I, Ch. 1: Hereford and Radnor 1
Charles Wesley Jan: 15 - Apr. 29, 1748: Ireland, Wales and meeting future wife 1
John Wesley 1749-50: Wesley and the Soldiers; In Ireland and Wales Again; Wesley Burned in Effigy 1
John Wesley 1754-6: Retirement in Paddington; Wesley Slandered; Premonitions 1

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Llanddewir Cwm 0 2
Llanelwedd 0 2
Rhosferig 0 2
Llanfaredd 0 2
Cwmbach Llechryd 1 1
Allt Mawr 0 2
Llanganten 0 2
Llanynys 0 2
Maesmynys 8 2
Llangynog 0 2
Aberedw 0 2
Llansanffraid Yn Elfael 0 2
Llanafan Fechan 0 3
Gwenddwr 0 2
Cregrina 0 2
Llanbadarn Y Garreg 0 2
Colwyn 2 2
Disserth 0 2
Newbridge on Wye 0 2
Howey 0 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Builth Wells. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
BUALT William Gilpin Observations of the River Wye, and several parts of South Wales (London: Cadell Junior and W. Davies, 1800).
BUELTH William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
BUILTH John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
Robert Gammage 'Recollections of a Chartist', in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle (Newcastle upon Tyne, 1883-5).
Gerald of Wales The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin through Wales (Oxford, Mississippi, 1997).
Charles Wesley The Journal of the Rev. Charles Wesley (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1849).
John Wesley The Journal of John Wesley (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 2000).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
BUILTH WELLS John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
BULLEUM SILURUM William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).
LLANFAIR IN BUALLT John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
John Marius Wilson Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (Edinburgh: A Fullarton & Co., 1870-72).
THE WELLS Charles Wesley The Journal of the Rev. Charles Wesley (London: Hutchinson & Co., 1849).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.