Editing Brecon (section)

==History==

===Early history===
The [[Welsh language|Welsh]] name, Aberhonddu, means "mouth of the Honddu". It is derived from the [[River Honddu (Powys)|River Honddu]], which meets the [[River Usk]] near the [[town centre]], a short distance away from the River Tarell which enters the Usk a few hundred metres upstream. After the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] the original Welsh name of the kingdom in whose territory Brecon stands was (in modern orthography) "[[Brycheiniog]]", which was later [[Anglicisation|anglicised]] to Brecknock or Brecon, and probably derives from [[Brychan]], the eponymous founder of the kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/brychbbg.html|title=Brychan Brycheiniog, King of Brycheiniog|publisher=Early English Kingdoms|access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

Before the building of the bridge over the Usk, Brecon was one of the few places where the river could be [[ford (river)|forded]]. In [[Roman Britain]] [[Y Gaer]] (''Cicucium'') was established as a Roman cavalry base for the conquest of [[Wales in the Roman Era|Roman Wales]] and Brecon was first established as a military base.<ref>{{cite web|title=A short guide to Brecon Gaer Roman Fort| url=http://www.cpat.org.uk/educate/guides/brecgaer/brecgaer.htm|publisher=Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust|access-date= 2 February 2013}}</ref>

===Norman control===
The [[confluence]] of the [[River Honddu (Powys)|River Honddu]] and the [[River Usk]] made for a valuable defensive position for the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] [[castle]] which overlooks the town, built by [[Bernard de Neufmarche]] in the late 11th century.<ref name="Davies">Davies (2008).</ref>{{rp |80}} [[Gerald of Wales]] came and made some speeches in 1188 to recruit men to go to the [[Crusades]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historypoints.org/index.php?page=geralds-journey-through-wales-in-1188|title=Gerald's Journey through Wales in 1188|publisher=History Points|access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

===Town walls===
Brecon's town walls were constructed by [[Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford|Humphrey de Bohun]] after 1240.<ref name = "Pettifer">Pettifer (2000).</ref>{{rp |8}}  The walls were built of cobble, with four [[gatehouse]]s and was protected by ten semi-circular [[bastion]]s.<ref name = "Pettifer" />{{rp |9}}  In 1400 the Welsh prince [[Owain Glyndŵr]] rose in rebellion against English rule, and in response in 1404, 100 [[mark (money)|marks]] was spent by the royal government improving the fortifications to protect Brecon in the event of a Welsh attack. Brecon's walls were largely destroyed during the [[English Civil War]]. Today only fragments survive, including some earthworks and parts of one of the gatehouses; these are protected as [[scheduled monument]]s.<ref name= BreconGatehouse>{{Citation | first = Philip | last = Davis | url = http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/Welshsites/23.html | contribution = Brecon Town Walls | title = Gatehouse | access-date = 13 October 2011}}.</ref>

In Shakespeare's play ''[[Richard III (play)|King Richard III]]'', the Duke of Buckingham is suspected of supporting the Welsh pretender Richmond (the future Henry VII), and declares:
 
<blockquote>''O, let me think on Hastings and be gone<br />To Brecknock, while my fearful head is on!''<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tAI5-zNxErgC&pg=PA1250 |title=The Plays of Shakspere, Carefully Revised from the Best Authorities|first= Barry |last=Cornwall|volume=2|year=1853|page=1250}}</ref></blockquote>

===Priory and cathedral===
[[File:Brecon Cathedral (5726564531).jpg|thumb|[[Brecon Cathedral]]]]
A priory was dissolved in 1538, and Brecon's Dominican Friary of St Nicholas was suppressed in August of the same year.<ref name="stmichaelsrcbrecon.org.uk">{{cite web |title=History of St. Michael's Church – St. Michael's Catholic Church, Brecon |url=http://www.stmichaelsrcbrecon.org.uk/?page_id=11667 |website=stmichaelsrcbrecon.org.uk |access-date=23 July 2021}}</ref> About {{convert|250|m|yd|abbr=on}} north of the castle stands [[Brecon Cathedral]], a fairly modest building compared to many cathedrals. The role of cathedral is a fairly recent one, and was bestowed upon the church in 1923 with the formation of the [[Diocese of Swansea and Brecon]] from what was previously the [[archdeaconry]] of Brecon — a part of the [[Diocese of St&nbsp;Davids]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.crockford.org.uk/places/27973/swansea-and-brecon|title=Swansea and Brecon|publisher=Crockford's Clerical Directory|access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

===St Mary's Church===
[[St Mary's Church, Brecon|Saint Mary's Church]] began as a [[chapel of ease]] to the priory but most of the building is dated to later medieval times. The West Tower, some {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} high, was built in 1510 by [[Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham|Edward, Duke of Buckingham]] at a cost of £2,000. The tower has eight bells which have been rung since 1750, the heaviest of which weighs {{convert|16|Lcwt|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}. They were cast by [[Rudhall of Gloucester]]. In March 2007 the bells were removed from the church tower for refurbishment. When the priory was elevated to the status of a cathedral, St Mary's became the parish church.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stmarysbrecon.org.uk/bellringing | title=Bellringing|publisher=St Mary's Church in Wales|access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stmarysbrecon.org.uk/history|title=History|publisher=St Mary's Church Brecon|access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref> It is a Grade II* [[listed building]].<ref>{{Cadw|num=7015|desc=Church of St Mary, Brecon, Powys|grade=II*|access-date=22 February 2024}}</ref>

===St David's Church, Llanfaes===
[[File:St. David's church and churchyard, Llanfaes - geograph.org.uk - 1284712.jpg|thumb|[[St. David's Church, Llanfaes|St&nbsp;David's Church]]]]
The [[St. David's Church, Llanfaes|Church of St&nbsp;David]], referred to locally as Llanfaes Church, was probably founded in the early sixteenth century. The first parish priest, Maurice Thomas, was installed there by John Blaxton, Archdeacon of Brecon in 1555. The name is derived from the Welsh – Llandewi yn y Maes – which translates as 'St&nbsp;David's in the field'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Poole|first=Edwin|title=The Illustrated History and Biography of Brecknockshire: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Illustrated by Several Engravings and Portraits|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6FCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA67|edition=Public domain|year=1886|publisher=Edwin Poole|page=67}}</ref>

===Plough Lane Chapel, Lion Street===
[[Plough Lane Chapel, Brecon|Plough Lane Chapel]], also known as Plough United Reformed Church, is a [[Grade II* listed building]]. The present building dates back to 1841 and was re-modelled by Owen Morris Roberts.<ref>{{NHAW|desc=Plough Lane Chapel, Brecon|num=6945|access-date=11 June 2022}}</ref>

===St Michael's Church===
After the Reformation, some Breconshire families such as the Havards, the Gunters and the Powells persisted with Catholicism despite its suppression. In the 18th Century a Catholic Mass house in Watergate was active, and Rev John Williams was the local Catholic priest from 1788 to 1815. The present parish priest is Rev Father Jimmy Sebastian Pulickakunnel MCBS since 2012. The Watergate house was sold in 1805, becoming the current Watergate Baptist Chapel, and property purchased as the priest's residence and a chapel between Wheat Street and the current St Michael Street, including the "Three Cocks Inn"; about this time Catholic parish records began again. The normal round of bishop's visitations and confirmations resumed in the 1830s. In 1832 most civil liberties were restored to Catholics and they became able to practise their faith more openly. A simple Gothic church, dedicated to St Michael and designed by [[Charles Hansom]], was built in 1851 at a cost of £1,000.<ref name="stmichaelsrcbrecon.org.uk"/>