History of Llantwit Major.

Llantwit Major is Britain’s earliest centre of learning and has a history going back to Roman times. The Church of St. Illtud, dating from Norman times, is one of the loveliest in Wales.Wine Street, where The Curriers is situated, is virtually unchanged for more than 100 years and close by, in the narrow streets of the conservation area, are quaint cottages, shops and pubs as well as fields with chickens and donkeys!

The town boasts leisure and sports facilities and has a large choice of eating and watering holes and a wide variety of shops. The Arts Centre at St. Donats is 2 miles away and it holds concerts, has a small cinema and hosts various arts festivals during the year.

The new rail-link opened in May 2005 and this runs between Bridgend and Cardiff, stopping at Llantwit, Rhoose (airport) and Barry. This  benefits visitors to events at The Millenium Stadium, Cardiff International Arena and The Millenium Centre at Cardiff Bay .

Llantwit Major is convenient for Atlantic College at St. Donats, RAF St. Athan and Aberthaw Power Station. It is ideal for travelers using Cardiff Wales Airport, being 7 miles away.

History of the Curriers Guest House.

We are often asked what a currier is. No – we do not make curry or transport goods and it is not our family name! A currier is/was a craftsman who dealt with leather after it had been tanned. Leather is rigid when the tanner has finished with it and the currier used various tools and substances, of an unmentionable nature, to soften and colour it.

From the 1730's a currier lived in our house and had his workshop next door. Eventually the building deteriorated and was bought by a brewery, smartened up, extended and became The Curriers Arms in the 1840's. Some of the upstairs rooms were used by the school while the building, next door to The Curriers, was being extended in the 1890's. Our courtyard garden housed a skittle-alley. 

In 1924 the brewery did not re-license the premises and it became a boarding house. The garage was rented by the Post Office who used it to park the post-office van, much to the consternation of the lady of the house. She used to bathe there in a tin bath, as there was no bathroom, and was interrupted on more than one occasion by the postman! 

In the 1960's the building was modernised and became a guest house.