The ancient village of Nercwys, set on the lower slopes of Nercwys Mountain, was first mentioned in the tax list of 1291 and many of the farmhouses in the area date back as far as the 17th century. The tower of the Church of St Mary is probably Norman, while some parts of the wall date back to the “Decorated Period” around the late 13th or early 14th century. In the south sanctuary stands a richly carved, coloured and gilded chair, known popularly as “Cader Fair” or Mary’s Seat.

In Victorian times, 450 men were employed in collieries at nearby Treuddyn, as the area was rich in coal and ironstone. On the outskirts of the village, just after turning right off the A5104 onto the B5101 at Leisure Tour Sign 59, is part of Offa’s Dyke. This 1,200 year-old earthwork is the most impressive of its kind anywhere in Europe and runs along the England-Wales border to Sedbury Cliffs on the Severn Estuary.

The Dyke consists of an earthen bank which can be up to eight metres high with a ditch to the west and is easily Britain’s longest ancient monument. Christ Church at Llanfynydd, badly damaged by fire in 1892, is a typical plain Welsh church with a bell-cote on the western end but lacking any tower or ornament. At Ffrith the foundations of a Roman hypocaust - or vapour bath - were discovered quite by accident in the 16th century. Since then other treasures have been uncovered including gold rings, pins of ivory, glass and amber beads and coins of Nero, Agrippa, Agricola and Maximillian, proving the Romans were at Ffrith for more than three hundred years.

They were perhaps attracted by the lead reserves of the Nant-y-Ffrith valley and woods which lie to the west of the village. One of the old mining processes was “hooshing”. This involved damning the stream to build a head of water and then allowing it to “hoosh” down the valley - removing the topsoil to expose seams of lead for mining and refining.

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