City, Powys Explained

Country:Wales
Static Image Name:The hamlet of City - geograph.org.uk - 1066761.jpg
Coordinates:52.5017°N -3.1639°W
Official Name:City
Unitary Wales:Powys
Lieutenancy Wales:Powys
Constituency Westminster:Montgomeryshire
Constituency Welsh Assembly:Montgomeryshire
Post Town:NEWTOWN
Postcode District:SY16
Postcode Area:SY
Dial Code:01686
Os Grid Reference:SO210899

City is a hamlet in Powys, Wales.

Geography

City is 0.75miles from the small village of Sarn (which is situated on the A489 road) and is on the slopes up to the Clun Forest and the English border, which is only 1.2miles to the southeast. The hamlet is situated in a small valley, at an elevation of between 210m (690feet) to 230m (760feet) above sea level.[1]

City is just off the minor road that leads from Sarn up to the Kerry Ridgeway and further to Bishop's Castle, a market town 7.5miles distant, in Shropshire. The two nearer towns however are historic Montgomery — 5.2miles away — and (the larger) Newtown, which is 7.1miles to the west.[1]

At present, 11 dwellings comprise the core of the hamlet (though one is dilapidated) as well as three outlying isolated houses.[1] There are a number of small, disused quarries in the area. Today the landscape is a mixture of woodland and pasture. The local economy is largely based on agriculture and forestry.

There is a Royal Mail post box with a daily collection Monday-Saturday,[2] and the hamlet's postcode is SY16 4HH.

Bachaethlon

A separate and historic settlement called Bachaethlon lies just to the north of City, on the other side of the Sarn-Bishop's Castle road.[3] Bachaethlon lies on more level ground, at an elevation of 200m (700feet). It consists of 6 dwellings and many agricultural buildings.[1] Anglicised spellings include "Bahaithlon" and "Bahaillon".

Governance

The area forms part of the Kerry community (in the ward of Sarn)[4] and for Powys County Council the electoral division/ward of Kerry.[5] It falls in the historic county of Montgomeryshire.

Origin of the name

The hamlet has never held the status of a city and "City" is not a recognisable Welsh word, so its origin is unclear. It is possible that the name came from an Anglicisation of Saith Tŷ, which is Welsh for "Seven Houses".

There is another place in Wales called City, in the Vale of Glamorgan, as well as City Dulas in Anglesey.

Notes and References

  1. [Ordnance Survey]
  2. http://www.dracos.co.uk/play/locating-postboxes/?pc1=SY16 Dracos.co.uk
  3. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1064263 Geograph.org.uk
  4. http://www.powys.gov.uk/uploads/media/16_Kerry_en_01.pdf Powys County Council
  5. Web site: Ordnance Survey Election Maps . 9 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080307072911/http://www.election-maps.co.uk/ . 7 March 2008 . dead .