Carno: Local history in the River Carno valley

Carno combines the landscape of a highland valley with a local history shaped by its church, archaeological remains and industry. The old village and church lie on the south side of the Afon Carno, on a raised gravel terrace above the valley floor. The landscape classification and the description of the historic village centre shed light on different aspects of the place.

Landscape and orientation

Carno lies in the Carno Valley Landscape Character Area, a highland valley of the River Carno. This landscape character area lies within the Cambrian Mountains National Landscape Character Area. These designations place Carno in two landscape areas: the River Carno valley and the wider landscape area of the Cambrian Mountains.

The woodland areas nearby are also shaped by different landscape features. The Carno Forest Resource Plan, approved on 5 June 2023, covers six woodland areas in Powys with a total area of approximately 324 hectares. Most of these woodland areas lie among predominantly unimproved grassland on hilltops and native woodland along the valley floors. Carno Forest also includes 17 hectares of plantations on sites of ancient woodland or ancient semi-natural woodland. The landscape description thus brings open uplands and wooded valley areas together.

Carno is on the A470. Public rights of way lead mostly west from the settlement. If you plan to walk there, check the path conditions before setting out. There is also access to the banks of the Cwm-Llwyd River in Carno. This is a different river connection from the Afon Carno, on whose south side the old village and church lie.

Churches, archaeological remains and local history

A church has been documented at the site of St John the Baptist since 1100 AD. Inside the church, on the south wall, is a locally found stele or standing stone from the 7th or 8th century. The same church site thus brings together a long documented history of worship and an older archaeological find.

Caer Noddfa is a rectilinear enclosure on the banks of the River Carno, surrounded by banks and ditches. The Scheduled Ancient Monument adjoins the settlement of Carno's south-western development boundary. It probably dates from the Middle Ages. A hospital of the Knights Hospitaller is documented at Caer Noddfa in 1253. The structural description, tentative dating and historical reference to the hospital are different aspects of this site's history.

Peniel Methodist Chapel also reflects several phases of construction. It was built in 1811, remodelled in 1842 and 1861, then demolished in 1903 and replaced by the present chapel. Peniel Methodist Chapel is listed as Grade 2 and has not been used as a place of worship since 2002. Its history thus encompasses both changes to the building and the later shift in its religious use.

Carno was the original Welsh location of the company Laura Ashley. The company’s founders, Bernard and Laura Ashley, moved there from Kent in 1961. The Laura Ashley factory in Carno opened in 1967 and closed in 2005. This sequence traces the founders’ move, the opening of the factory and its closure; it adds the town’s industrial history to its older church and archaeological remains.

If you are considering Carno when planning your trip, these themes offer different points of reference: the raised location of the old village, the landscape of the Carno Valley, and the history of the church, chapel and industry. The local rights of way and access to the banks of the Cwm-Llwyd River add practical points of reference for spending time outdoors.

Discover more destinations: Meifod, Abercrave, Llangammarch Wells, Pontrobert, Sarn, Vaynor, Caersws, Clyro

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