Brecon in the context of The Brecon County Times

Y Gaer (Latin: Cicucium) is a Roman fort situated near modern-day Brecon in Mid Wales, United Kingdom.Y Gaer is located at grid reference SO00332966 (Landranger 160).

Powys (/ˈpoʊɪs, ˈpaʊɪs/ POH-iss, POW-iss, Welsh: [ˈpou̯ɪs]) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire and Wrexham to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Shropshire and Herefordshire to the east; Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Neath Port Talbot to the south; and Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion to the west. The largest settlement is Newtown, and the administrative centre is Llandrindod Wells.

Powys is the largest and most sparsely populated county in Wales, having an area of 5,181 km (2,000 sq mi) and a population of 135,059 in 2024. While largely rural, its towns include Welshpool in the north-east, Newtown in the north-centre, Llandrindod Wells in the south-centre, Brecon in the south, Ystradgynlais in the far south-west, and Machynlleth in the far west. The Welsh language can be spoken by 16.4% of the population. The boundaries of Powys largely follow those of the historic counties of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire, and Brecknockshire.

Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street. The college was founded by Queen Elizabeth I of England on 27 June 1571. A major driving force behind the establishment of the college was Hugh Price (or Ap Rhys), a churchman from Brecon in Wales. The oldest buildings, in the first quadrangle, date from the 16th and early 17th centuries; a second quadrangle was added between about 1640 and about 1713, and a third quadrangle was built in about 1906. Further accommodation was built on the main site to mark the 400th anniversary of the college, in 1971, and student flats have been constructed at sites in north and east Oxford. A fourth quadrangle was completed in 2021.

There are about 475 students at any one time; the Principal of the college is Sir Nigel Shadbolt. Former students include Harold Wilson (who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Kevin Rudd (Prime Minister of Australia), Norman Washington Manley (Prime Minister of Jamaica), T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), Angus Buchanan (winner of the Victoria Cross), Viscount Sankey (Lord Chancellor), Edwin Yoder (Pulitzer Prize winning journalist), Roger Parry (media and technology entrepreneur) and over 30 Members of Parliament. Past or present fellows of the college include the historians Sir Goronwy Edwards, Yuval Noah Harari and Niall Ferguson, the philosopher Galen Strawson, and the political philosopher John Gray. Past students and fellows in the sciences include John Houghton (physicist) and Nobel Laureate Peter J. Ratcliffe.

The River Usk (/ʌsk/; Welsh: Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (y Mynydd Du), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east through Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and Abergavenny, after which it takes a more southerly course.

Beyond the eponymous town of Usk, it passes the Roman legionary fortress of Caerleon to flow through the heart of the city of Newport and into the Severn Estuary at Uskmouth near the Newport Wetlands. The river is about 125 kilometres (78 miles) long and drains a basin of 1160 km. According to the Encyclopaedia of Wales (which gives a figure of 137 km (85 mi)), the river is the longest to flow wholly within Wales.

Thomas Coke (9 September 1747 – 2 May 1814) was the first Methodist bishop. Born in Brecon, Wales, he was ordained as a priest in 1772, but expelled from his Anglican pulpit of South Petherton for being a Methodist. Coke met John Wesley in 1776. He later co-founded Methodism in America and then established the Methodist missions overseas, which in the 19th century spread around the world.

Twm Siôn Cati is a prominent figure in Welsh folklore. While many tales of cunning and trickery have been associated with Twm, he is also said to have been a respected antiquary, genealogist and poet and to have risen to the position of magistrate and mayor of Brecon as well as being a relative of the occultist John Dee.

Due to legends of Twm stealing from the rich and powerful and helping the poor and needy, he became known in the 19th century as "The Welsh Robin Hood" and "The Welsh Rob Roy".