Erwood is a village lying along the A470 road, roughly 6.5 miles (10.5 km) south of Builth Wells

Builth Wells

Builth Wells is a town in the county of Powys, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, mid Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Wye and the River Irfon, in the Welsh of the Wye Valley. It has a population of 2,352....

, Powys

Powys

Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It is in the former county of Breconshire and the older cantref of Cantref Selyf. The Clettwr brook runs through Erwood to join the River Wye

River Wye

The River Wye is the fifth-longest river in the UK and for parts of its length forms part of the border between England and Wales. It is important for nature conservation and recreation.-Description:...

 and separates the village between the parishes of Gwenddwr to the north and Crickadarn to the south. The Church of St Dubricius

Dubricius

Saint Dubricius was a 6th century Briton ecclesiastic venerated as a saint. He was the evangelist of Ergyng and much of South-East Wales.-Biography:Dubricius was the illegitimate son of Efrddyl, the daughter of King Peibio Clafrog of Ergyng...

, Gwenddwr was extensively rebuilt in the Victorian period after a fire.

Erwood is overlooked from across the Wye by Twyn y Garth, which is 325m high. On the summit of Twyn y Garth is a German field howitzer, a trophy from World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, which is pointed at Erwood by the neighbouring county of Radnorshire

Radnorshire

Radnorshire is one of thirteen historic and former administrative counties of Wales. It is represented by the Radnorshire area of Powys, which according to the 2001 census, had a population of 24,805...

 as part of a running joke.

At the southern end of the community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

, on the Scithwen Brook, is Trericket Mill where Roderick Murchison

Roderick Murchison

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet KCB DCL FRS FRSE FLS PRGS PBA MRIA was a Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system.-Early life and work:...

 recorded that he had identified "the first true Silurian

Silurian

The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...

".

Village name

The name Erwood is unmistakably a corruption of the Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 term Y Rhyd, meaning The Ford. This is supported by the fact that drovers used to ford the Wye at Erwood to continue driving their livestock towards the Midlands and eventually London, where they would sell their livestock.

Village life

The Erwood Community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 consists of the village, the two ancient parishes of Gwenddwr and Crickadarn, and the former Forestry Commission

Forestry Commission

The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....

 hamlet of Llaneglwys.
The village is the centre of a flourishing branch of the Young Farmers' Club

National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs

The National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs is the largest rural youth organisation of its kind, in the United Kingdom. The Federation covers various Young Farmers' Clubs throughout England and Wales, helping support young people in agriculture and the countryside...

.
The village shop and post office no longer exists, and of the two pubs one, The Erwood Inn, has recently changed to a private house offering bed and breakfast accommodation.

Up to 1962 Erwood railway station

Erwood railway station

Erwood railway station lay about from Erwood, Powys, Wales. It was closed on 31 December 1962 and the trackbed removed. It lay on the old Cambrian Railways between Brecon and Builth Wells. The line finally reached Moat Lane junction on the Shrewsbury Machynlleth branch.The station building has...

, about 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) away, served the village.