The village derives its name from the church ("Llan") dedicated to
Mary ("Mair", altered in this compound word to "Fair", hence "Llanfair"), that was founded by a monk called Talhaiarn from Valle Crucis Abbey (according to local legend). The original church has long disappeared. The poet and architect
John Jones (January 1810 – October 1869) was born at the Harp Inn (now known as Hafod y Gân) in Llanfair. He took the bardic name "Talhaiarn", and there is a popular misconception that this was the origin of the name of the village. However, the name of the village is documented long before Jones's birth.
Garthewin The village was once part of the estate of Garthewin. The first written records of Garthewin date to the fourteenth century, but both that house and a later Jacobean house were replaced in the 18th century by the present building, which was subsequently altered in 1930 by
Clough Williams-Ellis. It was from the 18th century until the late 20th the home of the Wynne family and notable for a private theatre constructed in the stables by R.O.F. Wynne which in the 1950s saw the first performances of several of
Saunders Lewis's dramas. The theatre was designed by
Thomas S. Tait. The house is a
Grade II* listed building and its gardens and grounds are listed at Grade II on the
Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. ==Location==