Brecon

Town in Powys unitary authority, south Wales, situated at the junction of the rivers Honddu and Usk 20 km/12.5 mi north of Merthyr Tydfil; population (2001) 7,900. The priory church of St John became the cathedral of the new diocese of Swansea and Brecon in 1923. The town sits on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Much of the architecture in the town is Jacobean and Georgian and some of the medieval town walls still exist. Founded in the 13th century in an 11th-century priory, the cathedral has a choir in Early English style with lancet windows, and a nave in the Decorated style. The ruins of the 10th-century Brecon Castle still exist, but now have a modern road running through them, cutting them in half. Christ College, a public school for boys, was founded by Henry VIII in 1541. The building was originally a Benedictine friary and was restored in the 19th century. The museums in the town include the Museum of the South Wales Borderers. The English actor Sarah Siddons was born here in 1755.