Llanwrthwl parish is the northernmost parish in Breconshire. It stretches from the River Wye in the east over the mountain lands to the Ceredigion border in the west.
On its northern edge it comes down to the Elan Valley. It is a remote mountainous area today and must have seemed even more remote in Victorian times.
It was inhabited then mainly by farmers, shepherds and labourers and their families.

Compare this graph with those of other rural parishes in the area like Abbey Cwmhir or Llansanffraid Cwmdeuddwr.
Is the overall trend the same?
Which parishes have the same trend and which don't?
What was going on in the 1890s to make the population shoot up so dramatically?
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