Carmarthen
Carmarthen
| |
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OS grid reference | SN415205 |
Community |
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Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | CARMARTHEN |
Postcode district | SA31-33 |
Dialling code | 01267 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | |
Website | www |
Carmarthen (/kɑːrˈmɑːrðən/, RP: /kərˈmɑːrðən/; Welsh: Caerfyrddin [kairˈvərðɪn], "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy 8 miles (13 km) north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay.[2][3] The population was 14,185 in 2011, down from 15,854 in 2001,[4] but gauged at 16,285 in 2019.[5] It has a claim to be the oldest town in Wales – Old Carmarthen and New Carmarthen became one borough in 1546.[6] It was the most populous borough in Wales in the 16th–18th centuries, described by William Camden as "chief citie of the country". Growth stagnated by the mid-19th century as new settlements developed in the South Wales Coalfield.[6]
History
Early history
When
During the
The Black Death of 1347–1349 arrived in Carmarthen with the thriving river trade.[13] It destroyed and devastated villages such as Llanllwch. Local historians cite the plague pit for the mass burial of the dead in the graveyard that adjoins the Maes-yr-Ysgol and Llys Model housing at the rear of St Catherine Street.
Priory
In 1110, the ancient
Grey Friars
The Friary was dissolved in 1538, and many unsuccessful plans were made for the building. Even before the friars had left in 1536,
Arthurian legend
Legend also had it that if a certain tree called Merlin's Oak fell, it would bring the downfall of the town. Translated from Welsh, it reads: "When Merlin's Oak comes tumbling down/Down shall fall Carmarthen Town."[24] To obstruct this, the tree was dug up when it died; pieces of it remain in the town museum.
The Black Book of Carmarthen includes poems that refer to Myrddin (Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin, "Conversation of Merlin and Taliesin") and possibly to Arthur (Pa ŵr yw'r Porthor?, "What man is the porter?"). Interpretation of these is difficult, as the Arthurian legends were known by this time and details of the modern form had been described by Geoffrey of Monmouth before the book was written. Some historians suggest that Vortigern along with his army from Powys may have invaded the Ystrad Tywi in order to gain control of it but had to retreat either due to local rebels fighting back or being defeated by Dyfed, but in the process may have kidnapped a young Merlin from Carmarthen hence why the character is legendary within the town.
Early modern
One of the earliest recorded Eisteddfodau took place at Carmarthen in about 1451, presided over by Gruffudd ap Nicolas.[25][26]
The Book of Ordinances (1569–1606) is one of the earliest surviving minute books of a town in Wales. It gives a unique picture of an Elizabethan town.[27]
After the
The Priory and the Friary were abandoned after the dissolution of the monasteries under
In 1689, John Osborne, 1st Earl of Danby, was created 1st Marquess of Carmarthen by William III. He was then created Duke of Leeds in 1694, and Marquess of Carmarthen became the courtesy title for the Duke's heir apparent until the Dukedom became extinct on the death of the 12th Duke in 1964.
18th century to present
In the mid-18th century, the Morgan family founded a small ironworks at the east end of the town. In 1786 lead smelting was established to process the ore carried from Lord Cawdor's mines at Nantyrmwyn, in the north-east of Carmarthenshire. Neither of these firms survived for long. The lead smelting moved to Llanelli in 1811. The ironworks evolved into a tinplate works that had failed by about 1900. The borough corporation was reformed by a 1764 charter and again by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
In the late 18th century John Spurrell, an auctioneer from Bath, settled in Carmarthen. He was the grandson of Robert Spurrell, a Bath schoolmaster, who printed the city's first book, The Elements of Chronology in 1730. In 1840, a printing press was set up in Carmarthen by William Spurrell (1813–1889), who wrote a history of the town and compiled and published an 1848 Welsh-English dictionary and an 1850 English–Welsh dictionary.[28] Today's Collins Welsh dictionary is known as the "Collins Spurrell". A local housing authority in Carmarthen is named Heol Spurrell in honour of the family.[28]
The origins of Chartism in Wales can be traced to the foundation in the autumn of 1836 of Carmarthen Working Men's Association.[29]
Carmarthen gaol, designed by John Nash, was in use from about the year 1789 until its demolition in 1922. The site is now taken by County Hall, designed by Sir Percy Thomas. The gaol's "Felons' Register" of 1843–1871 contains some of the earliest photographs of criminals in Britain. In 1843, the workhouse in Carmarthen was attacked by the Rebecca Rioters.
The revival of the Eisteddfod as an institution took place in Carmarthen in 1819. The town hosted the
Carmarthen Grammar School was founded in 1587 on a site now occupied by the old hospital in Priory Street. The school moved in the 1840s to Priory Row, before relocating to Richmond Terrace. At the turn of the 20th century, a local travelling circus buried one of its elephants that fell sick and died. The grave is under what was the rugby pitch.
The population in 1841 was 9,526.[30]
The Carmarthen community is bordered by those of Bronwydd, Abergwili, Llangunnor, Llandyfaelog, Llangain, Llangynog and Newchurch and Merthyr, all in Carmarthenshire.
Carmarthen was named as one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017.[33]
Politics and governance
From 1536 until 1832, Carmarthen, as the borough town of
From 1832, Carmarthen shared the borough member with Llanelli, which ultimately became dominant due to its larger population. The borough constituency was abolished in 1918. In 1966, Carmarthen attracted widespread attention following the by-election in Carmarthenshire which led to the election of Gwynfor Evans as the first Plaid Cymru MP.
Carmarthen Town Council, established in 1974, and replacing the former Carmarthen Borough Council, consists of 18 town councillors elected from the three
There are two county electoral wards, Carmarthen Town North and South (formerly Carmarthen Town North and Carmarthen Town South) electing three councillors and Carmarthen Town West, electing two councillors to Carmarthenshire County Council.
Climate
Climate data for Carmarthen (26m elevation) 1981–2010 | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
13.4 (56.1) |
16.6 (61.9) |
19.0 (66.2) |
20.9 (69.6) |
20.7 (69.3) |
17.9 (64.2) |
14.6 (58.3) |
11.1 (52.0) |
8.7 (47.7) |
14.2 (57.6) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) |
1.7 (35.1) |
3.1 (37.6) |
4.2 (39.6) |
6.9 (44.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.6 (52.9) |
11.0 (51.8) |
9.5 (49.1) |
6.9 (44.4) |
3.9 (39.0) |
1.9 (35.4) |
6.0 (42.8) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 136.0 (5.35) |
104.7 (4.12) |
106.4 (4.19) |
76.7 (3.02) |
71.5 (2.81) |
70.5 (2.78) |
71.6 (2.82) |
109.4 (4.31) |
122.1 (4.81) |
160.6 (6.32) |
143.0 (5.63) |
150.7 (5.93) |
1,323.2 (52.09) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 16.7 | 13.0 | 13.7 | 11.7 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 15.9 | 16.9 | 15.8 | 156.9 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 55.6 | 81.2 | 111.5 | 180.4 | 204.8 | 195.5 | 195.2 | 174.4 | 135.0 | 102.7 | 67.6 | 47.8 | 1,551.7 |
Source: metoffice.gov.uk[36] |
Religion
Anglicanism
The Anglican Church in Wales (Eglwys yng Nghymru) has six dioceses. St Peter's is the largest parish church in the
By the early 19th century, St Peter's was too small to accommodate the congregation, which had grown in line with the town's population. After several false starts a new church, St David's, was consecrated in 1841. Another church in the same western part of the town, Christ Church, opened in 1869 to serve the English-speaking congregation.
Catholicism
St Mary's, Carmarthen is part of the Carmarthen Deanery.
Nonconformity
Carmarthen has several notable nonconformist chapels, some of which date back to the 18th century or earlier.
A
Lammas Street Chapel is the town's oldest Congregational or Independent chapel, traceable back to 1726, with the present building erected a century later.[41] Union Street Chapel, now closed, was formed after a split among the Lammas Street congregation.[42] Priory Chapel in Priory Street, was founded in 1872 as a branch of Ebenezer, Abergwili.
The earliest Calvinistic Methodist Chapel was Water Street Chapel, which is now closed. It had ties with Peter Williams, who produced a celebrated Welsh-language version of the Bible in the 18th century.[43] Bethania Chapel in Priory Street, dating from 1909, closed shortly after celebrating its centenary.
Landmarks
Carmarthen Castle
Little remains of the medieval castle at Carmarthen, but the old Gatehouse still dominates Nott Square. The
Carmarthen Bridge
The concrete
Pont King Morgan
To create better pedestrian access across the River Tywi from the railway station to the town centre, a cable-stayed bridge was constructed in 2005 linking to the foot of Blue Street. The cost was £2.8 million.[46] The bridge was commended in 2007 by the British Constructional Steelwork Association's Structural Steel Design Awards for its high-quality detailing. Previously, access was across Carmarthen Bridge some 700 feet (210 m) to the east.[47]
Picton's monument
In 1828, a monument was erected at the west end of the town to honour
Within a few years, the monument became dilapidated. The entire pillar was taken down in 1846. In the 1970s, the replacement sculptures were rediscovered in
After demolition of the first monument, a new structure honouring Picton was commissioned from the architect Frances Fowler. The foundation stone was laid on Monument Hill in 1847. In 1984, the top section was declared unsafe and taken down. Four years later, the whole monument was rebuilt stone-by-stone on stronger foundations.
A campaign to remove the monument due to Picton's treatment of slaves arose in the wake of the removal of the Statue of Edward Colston in Bristol on 6 June 2020.[48]
The Nott statue and plaque to Ferrar
A statue of
The Market Square was where
Listed buildings
The many listed buildings include
Amenities
Dyfed–Powys Police headquarters, Glangwili General Hospital and a campus of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David are located in Carmarthen.
The former cattle market in the heart of the town became a new shopping centre, which opened in 2010.
Transport
Roads
The
Railway
The area suffered a number of railway line closures in the 1960s under the
in 1965.Buses
Local bus services are operated by several companies, including First Cymru and Morris Travel; routes connect the town with Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Llandeilo and Llanelli.[54]
There is a
Sport
The town has two
The town's
The town has two golf courses, a leisure centre with an eight-lane, 25-metre swimming pool (where the Carmarthen district swimming club is based), a synthetic athletics track and an outdoor velodrome it also has an athletics team, Carmarthen Harriers. A cycle track opened in about 1900 and remains in use. Motorcycle speedway racing was staged in the early 2000s at a track built on the western outskirts of the town; the team raced in the Conference League.
Picton Barracks
Picton Barracks is a
British Army
- 224 (Pembroke Yeomanry) Transport Squadron, 157th (Welsh) Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps (Army Reserve)[57][58]
- Detached (Carmarthen) Platoon, 160 Theatre Support Company, 103rd Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (Army Reserve)[59]
Royal Air Force
- 621 (Carmarthen) Squadron, Air Training Corps, No. 3 Welsh Wing[60]
Notable people
- Joe Allen (born 1990), Wales and Swansea City FC midfielder
- archaeo-zoologist
- Charles Brigstocke (1876–1951), civil servant
- Dale Buggins (1961–1981), motorcycle stunt rider
- Fflur Dafydd (born 1978), writer and musician
- Barry Davies (born 1981), Ospreys full-back
- Gareth Davies (born 1990), Scarlets scrum-half
- Mark Delaney (born 1976), former Wales and Aston Villa football defender
- Mark Drakeford (born 1954), Welsh politician, former leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister of Wales
- Wynne Evans (born 1972), opera singer, broadcaster and actor
- Emma Finucane (born 2002), cyclist
- Rhod Gilbert (born 1968), television host and comedian
- Rhodri Gomer-Davies (born 1983) rugby union Scarlets centre
- Gorky's Zygotic Mynci (formed 1991), folk/rock band
- Geraint Griffiths (born 1949), singer, songwriter and actor
- Elis James (born 1980), comedian
- Charles William Jones (1836–1908), Welsh politician and magistrate
- Stephen Jones (born 1977), Wales rugby captain
- Helen Lederer (born 1954), actress and comedian
- Manon Lloyd (born 1996), cyclist, Global Cycling Network (GCN) presenter
- Kate McGill (born 1990), singer/songwriter
- Daniel Mulloy (born 1977), screenwriter and director
- John Nash (1752–1835), architect living in Carmarthen from 1784
- Daniel Newton(born 1989), Scarlets Centre full back
- William Norton (1862–1898), Wales international rugby union player
- Joshua T. Owen (1822-1887), American military officer and politician
- Ken Owens (born 1987), rugby union Scarlets Centre hooker
- Adam Price (born 1968) Welsh politician, current leader of Plaid Cymru
- Rhys Priestland (born 1987), rugby union Scarlets fullback
- Iwan Rheon (born 1985), actor (famous for role in Game of Thrones) and singer/songwriter
- Byron Rogers (born 1942), journalist, historian and biographer
- Matthew Stevens (born 1977), snooker pro
- European Song Contestwinner
- Terence Thomas, Baron Thomas of Macclesfield (1937–2018), Labour Party (UK) politician and banker
- Nik Turner (1940–2022), jazz musician
- Tudur Aled (c. 1465–1525), poet buried in Carmarthen's Franciscan graveyard
- Philip Vaughan (died 1824), ironmaster and inventor of the ball bearing
- Mary Wynne Warner (1932–1998), mathematician
- John Weathers (born 1947), rock drummer
- Barry Williams (born 1974), British and Irish Lions rugby union hooker
- Ifan Williams (1889–1957), violinist, conductor, and music educator
- Scott Williams, Scarlets Centre and Wales rugby union player
- Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
Twin towns
- Lesneven, Brittany, France
- Santa Marinella, Italy
- As Pontes, Galicia, Spain
References
- ^ Carmarthen North, South and West wards 2011 http://ukcensusdata.com/carmarthenshirew06000010#sthash.KIAkXPeF.Zq1LWHU4.dpbs
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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- ^ "KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ City Population site. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^ "Roman treasure discovered on farm". BBC News. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
- ^ Nennius (attrib.). Theodor Mommsen (ed.). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830. (in Latin) Hosted at Latin Wikisource.
- ^ Veprauskas, Michael. [www.vortigernstudies.org.uk/artgue/mikecaer.htm "The Problem of Caer Guorthigirn" at Vortigern Studies]. 1998.
- ^ "Carmarthen Roman dig is filled in after key findings". BBC News. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Heather James, "The Geography of the Cult of St David" in St David of Wales: Cult, Church and Nation, p. 68. Boydell Press, 2007. Accessed 26 March 2013.
- ^ Arthur Wade-Evans, Welsh Medieval Law, s:Page:Welsh Medieval Law.djvu/365 p. 263.
- ^ Philip Ziegler, The Black Death, Penguin, 1969, p. 199.
- ^ "Site details: Carmarthen".
- ^ "St John's Priory (275700)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
- ^ "Site details: Carmarthen – Monastic Wales – A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". Monastic Wales. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Site details: Carmarthen – Monastic Wales – A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". Monastic Wales. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "TheGreyFriarsOfCarmarthen < Historian < Thayersfarm". Carmarthenshirehistorian.org. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "People: Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond – Monastic Wales – A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". Monastic Wales. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Remnants of Carmarthen Friary – article from – Monastic Wales – A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". Monastic Wales. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ Manning, Jo (20 September 2008). "Merlin Myths and Links with Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ Merlin’s Town, Carmarthen Town Council. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- ISBN 9780720003260. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "9/11 inspires trip to 'Merlin's Oak'". walesonline.co.uk. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
- ^ Jones, Evan David (1959). "GRUFFUDD ap NICOLAS (fl. 1425–1456), an esquire and a leading figure in the local administration of the principality of South Wales in the middle of the 15th century". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ISBN 1-85109-440-7
- ^ Carmarthenshire Archives Service: Mus.156a
- ^ a b Davies, William Llewelyn (1959). "SPURRELL family, of Carmarthen, printers". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales.
- ^ Williams, David (1939). John Frost: A study in Chartism. Cardiff: University of Wales Press Board. pp. 100, 104, 107.
- ^ The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol. III, London (1847) Charles Knight, p. 1011.
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- ^ "These towns have been named as the best places to live in Wales". Wales Online. 10 March 2017.
- ^ Jones 1968, p. 129.
- ^ "Carmarthen Town Council". Carmarthen Town Council. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ "Climate Normals 1981–2010". Met Office. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ "St Peter's and its History". netministries.org. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, p. 158.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, pp. 156–57.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, p. 164.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, pp. 152–54.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, p. 154.
- ^ Lodwick 1994, pp. 154–56.
- ^ "Discover Castle House". Discovering Carmarthenshire. Carmarthenshire County Council. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ "Towy Bridge (that part in Carmarthen Community), Llangunnor". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- ^ "Pont King Morgan". Lunemillenniumbridge.info. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ "Pont King Morgan, Carmarthen". SteelConstruction.org. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ Robert Harries and Alex Seabrook (9 June 2020). "Monuments to brutal slave owner Thomas Picton in Carmarthen and Cardiff 'should be removed'". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Public Monument and Sculpture Association on General Nott Statue from National Recording Project
- ^ "Carmarthen's £74m retail centre opens". BBC News. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "UK | Wales | South West Wales | Revamp of the town cattle mart starts". BBC News. 20 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ^ "Timetables". Transport for Wales. May 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
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- ^ "Park and Ride". Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
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Further reading
- Jones, David J.V. (1968). "The Carmarthen Riots of 1831" (PDF). Welsh History Review. 4 (2). Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- Lodwick, Joyce and Victor (1994). The Story of Carmarthen (third (updated) ed.). Carmarthen: St Peter's Press. ISBN 0-9517962-0-8.
External links
- Carmarthen travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Carmarthenshire County Council
- Listed buildings
- Historical information and links on GENUKI