| Country: | Wales |
| Welsh Name: | Trefflemin |
| Official Name: | Flemingston |
| Coordinates: | 51.4249°N -3.4181°W |
| Static Image: | Flemingston Village, Vale of Glamorgan - geograph.org.uk - 858196.jpg |
| Static Image Width: | 250px |
| Unitary Wales: | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Lieutenancy Wales: | South Glamorgan |
| Constituency Welsh Assembly: | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Constituency Westminster: | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Postcode Area: | CF |
| Os Grid Reference: | ST017701 |
Flemingston (cy|'''Trefflemin''') (previously known in English as Michaelston Le Mont, Flimston or Flimstone, and in Welsh as Lanmihangel y Twyn) is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It is located northwest by road from the town centre of Barry.[1] It contains the Church of St. Michael the Archangel, the ruins of Flemingston Court, and Flemingston Manor or Grange, all of which are listed buildings. Historically, the parish of Flemingston was a sub-manor of Aberthaw or St Athan.[2]
The village was anciently known as Lanmihangel y Twyn (the Llan of Saint Michael on the hillock), following the Norman invasion of Wales this name was commonly transliterated into Michaelston Le Mont.[3] Robert Fitzhamon gifted both the castle and the "Lordship of St George" to Sir John le Fleming, whose family maintained possession for generations.[4] As such, the names Flimston, Flimstone and Flemingston gradually came into use.[5] The Welsh version of this name, Trefflemin is a modern appellation.
The area is part of the Cantref of Gorfynydd, historically part of the kingdom of Glamorgan. John le Fleming is said to have gained the manors of St. George, Wenvoe, Flemingston, and Llanmaes. Fleming was married to Amicia, daughter of Baldwin Magnus, Lord of Whitney. Fleming gave the manors of Flemingston and Constantine Walles to a younger son. In 1317, Flemingston was held by Philip le Fleming. It continued in his descendants until, on failure of issue male, William Fleming sold the estate to Lewis Thomas of Bettws;[6] while an alternate account states that the le Fleming line ended in an heiress, who married a Thomas, of Llanfihangel, through whom a sale of the property was made to the Wyndhams of Dunraven.
In 1801, the population amounted to 66 residents. A Topographical Dictionary of The Dominion of Wales (1811) by Nicholas Carlisle described Flemingston as belonging to what is now called the Hundred of Cowbridge, within the County of Glamorgan. Thomas Wyndham was the patron of the rectory, and the village church was dedicated to St. Michael. The John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–72) states that the Flemingston parish was within the Bridgend district or Glamorgan. The population included approximately 63 residents, and there were ten houses. Flemingston was described as being one estate, the manor belonging to Sir John Fleming, one of the twelve knights who came in with Fitzhamon in the time of William Rufus. The rectory, part of the diocese of Llandaff had a patron, the Earl of Dunraven.
Flemingston exists within the Flemingston % Eglwys Brewis community electoral ward, being allocated three councillor seats to sit on the St Athan Community Council.
The village is approximately south-southeast from Cowbridge, south-southwest of Llantrisant, north of St Athan, and it is also north of Eglwys Brewis and RAF St Athan. Flemingston is connected to the villages of St Mary Church, Vale of Glamorgan and St Hilary, Vale of Glamorgan to the north; and Tre-Aubrey and Llantrithyd to the northeast. The River Thaw flows to the east across Flemingston Moor; excavations on the moor have unearthed some pottery dated to the 12th-13th centuries. The Nant y Stepsau also flows to the southwest.[7] In the 19th century, Flemingston parish was approximately 600 or 672[8] acres in size.
The following landmarks are listed historic buildings:[9] Church of St. Michael the Archangel (grade II*), Flemingston Court Farmhouse (II*), Detached Kitchen at Flemingston Court (II), Garden Wall and House Ruins at Flemingston Manor (II), Combination farm buildings at Flemingston Court Farm (II), Telephone Call-Box north of parish church (II) and Gregory Farm / Yr Hen Fferm Dy (II).
Yr Hen Fferm Dy, also known as Gregory Farm, has a white painted rubble farmhouse dated to the 17th century but refashioned in the 18th and 19th centuries.[10] It became a Grade II listed building on 18 June 2007. The rectory is located in the northern part of the village in a wooded garden and dates to the 19th century.[10] Rose Cottage is dated to the 16th or 17th century, built from rubble stone, with a thatched roof and "eyebrow windows".[10]
The poet, Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams; 1747–1826), was from Flemingston.[13] [14] Homeschooled by his mother, he learned to read by watching his father carve words on tombstones.[15]