Editing Llantwit Major (section)

{{Short description|Town in Wales}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                     = Wales
| welsh_name                  = Llanilltud Fawr
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Vale of Glamorgan]]
| static_image_name           = Llantwit Major, East Street.jpg
| static_image_caption        = East Street
| coordinates                 = {{coord|51.40623|-3.47503|display=inline,title}}
| official_name               = Llantwit Major
| unitary_wales               = [[Vale of Glamorgan]]
| lieutenancy_wales           = [[South Glamorgan]]
| constituency_westminster    = [[Vale of Glamorgan (UK Parliament constituency)|Vale of Glamorgan]]
| post_town                   = LLANTWIT MAJOR
| postcode_district           = CF61
| postcode_area               = CF
| dial_code                   = 01446
| os_grid_reference           = SS975685
| population                  = 9,486
| population_ref              = (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125987&c=Llantwit+Major&d=16&e=62&g=6494408&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1428659066110&enc=1|title=Community population 2011 |access-date=10 April 2015}}</ref>
| community_wales             = Llantwit Major<ref>{{cite web |title=Llantwit Major Town Council Website |url=https://llantwitmajortowncouncil.gov.uk/ |website =Llantwit Major Town Council |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>
| module=  {{Collapsible list
| framestyle=border:none;text-align:center; padding:0; |title=Community map
|1=[[File:Wales Vale of Glamorgan Community Llantwit Major map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
}}
{{wide image|Llantwit Major Beach, Oct 2023 01.jpg|650px|Llantwit Major beach|45%|right}}
'''Llantwit Major''' ({{langx|cy|Llanilltud Fawr}}) is a town and [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Wales]] on the [[Bristol Channel]] coast. It is one of four towns in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]], with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]] and [[Penarth]], and ahead of [[Cowbridge]]. It is {{convert|4+1/2|mi}} from Cowbridge, {{convert|9|mi}} from [[Bridgend]], {{convert|10|mi}} from Barry, and {{convert|15|mi}} from [[Cardiff]]. It had a population of 9,530 in 2021.

''Llanilltud Fawr'', named for the [[Llan (placename)|Llan]] (land) of [[Saint Illtud]], was home to the Monastery of Illtud and the college known as Bangor Illtyd. It became one of the most esteemed centres of Christian culture in the [[Celtic Britons|Celtic]] world. At its peak it had over 2,000 students, including princes, eminent clergymen, and revered saints. The institutions were destroyed by the raiding [[Vikings]] in 987, but [[Anglo-Normans|Normans]] rebuilt the monastery in 1111 and it continued to be a centre of learning until it was disbanded in 1539 during the [[dissolution of the monasteries]]. The 13th-century [[St Illtyd's Church, Llantwit Major|St Illtyd's Church]], near the ancient monastery, is a [[Grade I listed building]] and one of Wales's oldest parish churches.

In the 20th century, the modern town developed rapidly to accommodate [[Royal Air Force]] personnel from the [[MOD St Athan|St Athan base]]. Remnants of the medieval cobbled streets can be seen adjacent to the 12th-century Old Swan Inn, and numerous buildings of the 15th and 16th centuries remain.

Colhugh Beach is a popular surfing venue and has the remnants of an [[Iron Age]] fort and some of Wales' finest examples of [[Jurassic]] fossils. The pebble beach and its clifftops are protected as part of the [[Glamorgan Heritage Coast]], which stretches for {{convert|14|mi}} from [[Gileston]] to the east to [[Southerndown]] and Newton Point to the west.