Llanegwad’s Churches

Gower Peninsular

The castle occupies a position on a wooded headland overlooking Oxwich Bay on the Gower Peninsular.

Although it may occupy the site of an earlier fortification, this is a castle in name only as it is a grand Tudor manor house built in courtyard style.

A product of the peaceful 16th century, Oxwich was built by Sir Rice Mansel to provide sumptuous accommodation. He gave it a mock military gateway complete with family coat of arms. Sir Rice’s work was confined to the southern block and was completed between the 1520s and 30s.

On Mansel’s death his son, Sir Edward Mansel succeeded to the property and between 1560-80 created the much grander style multi-storied range which contained an impressive hall and elegant long gallery – a fashionable Elizabethan feature.

The 6 storey south-east tower which still survives probably accommodated the family and servants.

After the Mansel’s moved out in the 1630s the castle fell into disrepair and the south range was used as a farmhouse.

Location:

A4118 Gower road Swansea – Port Eynon in Oxwich village

Further Information:

Telephone: 01792 390359

Admission charge

No dogs

In the care of Cadw: Telephone 029 20 500200

                    GOODWICK / WDIG From: Old Scandinavian gothr = good and vik = bay.

                    GOODIG / GWDIG Possibly from Old Scandinavian gothr = good

                    and vik = port (see Goodwick).

                    HAVERFORDWEST

                   Probably from Old English hæfr = he-goat or buck and ford

                   – the ‘West’ was added about 1400 to distinguish it from Hereford.

                    JOHNSTON

                   From Villa Johannis then John’s tun (Old English) = John’s farm or settlement

                    KIDWELLY From a personal name Cadwal plus the suffix –i = the land of Cadwal.

                   The more popular explanation locally is the alternative cyd = united or together

                   and gwely = river bed – the joining of two rivers.

                   The Gwendraeth Fawr and the Gwendraeth Fach meet and flow into one.

                    LANDEILO From llan = church of St. Teilo.

                    LLANELLI From llan = church of St. Elli.

                    MACHYNLLETH

                    From ma = plain or low-lying land and the personal name Cynllaith,

                    which means ‘kind, gentle’ as an adjective and ‘slaughter,

                    destruction’ as a noun.

                    MANORBIER

                            From early record Mansio Pyrri – maenor,

                            an ancient land division, and St. Pyr (a 6th century saint).

                    MARGAM The Abbey was founded 1147.

                    From the 7th century Prince Morgan of Gwent,

                      who also gave his name to Glamorgan (glan = shore and Morgan = name).

                      Morgan may derive from môr = sea and geni = to be born or the bright one.

               MARSHFIELD From Old English mersc = marsh and feld = open area.

               OGMORE Possibly from og = cave and môr = sea.

               OXWICH From Old English oxa = ox and wic = working farm.

               PEMBREY From pen = top and bre = hill.

               PENRHOS From pen = head or end and rhos = moorland.

               PICTON

                    Probably from Old English pic = pointed instrument (peak or summit)

                    and tun = farm or settlement.

               PONTARDULAIS

                    From pont = bridge; ar = over and Dulais, (river) du = black and glais = stream.

               RHOSSILI From rhos = moor of Sulien.

               ROCH From Old French roche = rock.

               RUABON / RHIWABON From rhiw = hill and the personal name Mabon.

               SAINT CLEARS / SANCLER From sanctus (Latin) = saint and the personal name Clarus.

               SAINT DAVIDS / TYDDEWI Monastery founded by St. David who was born during the 5th century

               SAINT DOGMAELS The abbey dates from c. 1115.

                    From St. Dogmael a 5th – 6th century Welsh monk.

               SHREWSBURY / PENGWERN

                    Probably from the Old English burg = fort in the scrob = brushwood

                    and from the Welsh pen = the end of the gwern = swamp.

               SKOKHOLM ISLAND

                     Probably from Old Scandinavian stokkr = log or narrow river or straight sound.

               SKOMER ISLAND From Old Scandinavian skálm = short sword and ey = island.

               SPITTAL Belonged to St David’s

                    From Middle English spitel = house of the sick or deceased a corruption of hospital.

               STACKPOLE

                    From Old Scandinavian stakkr = haystack and pollr = pool became the pool near Stack rock.

               SWANSEA / ABERTAWE

                    From Sweynesse Old Norse personal name Sveinn and saer = sea and ey = island,

                    Sveinn’s island. Abertawe = Aber = mouth of the Tawe (probably dark river).

               TENBY / DINBYCH-Y-PYSGOD From din = fort; bych (bach) = small; y = the and pysgod = fish.

               TYWYN  From tywyn = sand-dune or sandy shore.

Museum of Speed, Pendine

Explore the history of Pendine’s ‘Sands of Speed’ in a dramatic new building, overlooking the beach.

See the beautifully restored car ‘Babs’ in the summer and other record breaking and fast vehicles at other times.

Opening Dates

Easter Holidays

Spring Bank Holiday

 – 30th September throughout the week

End of Easter Holidays

 – Spring Bank Holiday

1st – 31st October

Friday – Monday

Closed 1st November until Easter Holiday

Opening Times

10.00 – 1.00, 1.30 – 5.00

The Carmarthen Branch

Llandeilo – Abergwili Line

Overview

The 13½-mile Carmarthen branch from Llandeilo was opened by the Llanelly Railway & Dock Co on 14 November1864 (for goods). The first passenger service started on 1 June 1865.

The line was always single throughout – with passing loops – and had block posts at Carmarthen Valley Junction, Golden Grove, Llanarthney, Nantgaredig and Abergwili Junction. Llandilo Bridge was also a block post, although two trains could not cross there. This provision was due to the station being located next to the cattle market held fortnightly on Mondays, as on these days, a special train arrived from Llandeilo at 1.50pm and departed to Llanelli at 4.30pm.

Nantgaredig Station pictured in May 1958

From its opening in 1864, the line was operated by the train staff system and by 1871, at which time the branch was in the hands of the LNWR, it was controlled by absolute block telegraph and this system was replaced by electric train staff in 1896 and electric token in 1938.

A bridge was built over the River Gwili west of Abergwili station. There were six viaducts and one 83 yard tunnel, the latter situated between Nantgaredig and Abergwili.

Between Carmarthen Valley Junction and Abergwili Junction there were six stations:

Llandilo Bridge

This was a block post but had no crossing loop.

Passengers and freight.

Closed on 9 September 1963.

Golden Grove

Crossing loop.

Passengers and freight.

Closed on 9 September 1963.

Drysllwyn

Passengers only until 13 October 1902 when freight traffic commenced. It became an unstaffed halt during the Second World War and staff were reinstated at the end of hostilities. It became unstaffed at certain times of the day from 4 June 1956.

Closed on 9 September 1963.

Llanarthney

Crossing loop.

Passenger and freight. Became an unstaffed halt from 4 January 1954.

Closed completely on 1 June 1959.

Nantgaredig

Crossing loop.

Passenger and freight.

Closed on 9 September 1963.

Whitemill

Closed by Llanelly Railway Co. on 1 November 1870.

Abergwili

Passenger and freight.

Partially unstaffed from 4 June 1956.

Closed 9 September 1963.

The stations on the line and distances from Llandeilo Station were:

There were two platforms at Golden Grove, Llanarthney and Nantgaredig to allow trains to pass but the loop and second platform at Llanarthney was taken out of use in February 1938. The83 yard tunnel between Nantgaredig and Abergwili was the only significant engineering construction along the route. [The tunnel disappeared along with what remained of the Abergwili section of the line when the A40 Llandeilo to Carmarthen trunk road was upgraded in 1999/2001 between Whitemill and Abergwilli.]

The branch joined the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line at Abergwili Junction, which was ½ a mile beyond Abergwili station. At the time of opening, the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line was broad gauge (7′ 0¼”) so the standard gauge (4′ 8½”) Llanelly Railway added a third rail from Abergwili Junction. This mixed gauge line provided the 2-mile connection to Carmarthen station.

The building of the Carmarthen branch (and the line from Pontardulais to Swansea) was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861 (Llanelly Railway (New Lines) Act).

Both the lines were set up as financially independent of each other and the Llanelly Railway company itself. This led to difficulties because the whole network could not operate as one. The Swansea line went into receivership in 1867 and the Carmarthen line in 1871. A new act on 16 June 1871 severed their connection with the parent company and the Swansea & Carmarthen Railway Co now owned the lines. For the most part the shareholders were the same.

The London & North Western Railway had been pressing for this change and took the opportunity to take over the Carmarthen and Swansea lines in 1871. This completed their main plan, which was for access from the north to the south Wales ports.

The GWR’s broad gauge was changed throughout south Wales in 1872. After that the LNWR gained running powers from Abergwili junction into Carmarthen for passenger trains only, which facilitated through trains to the north. Later this included holiday traffic on summer Saturdays from Manchester and Liverpool although these did not stop at Nantgaredig or any other station on the line. There was even a train from Pembroke Dock to Llandudno that used the line at one time.

Although the line ran through a sparsely populated area it did offer an alternative to the main line through Llanelli. There was one occasion (in about 1910) when the seawall near Ferryside collapsed in a storm and mainline trains from Fishguard used the line.

In 1948 the railways were nationalised and the Carmarthen branch became part of the British Railways (London Midland Region). A typical journey at that time (which changed little) was

The line transferred to the Western region in the 1950s and the sight of pannier tank locomotives became common. However the line was never a great economic success. It was included in Dr. Richard Beeching’s report in 1963 and approved for closure by the government. When it closed on 9 September 1963 it was said that it was losing £21,000 a year. Llanarthney station had closed earlier on 1 June 1959.

Llangunnor – Parish

The Parish of Llangunnor is located close to the County town of Carmarthen. It extends almost to Llanddarog in the east and from Cwmffrwd in the south to Capel Dewi in the north. The river Twyi forms part of the parish boundary and the communities include the villages and hamlets of Llangunnor, Pensarn, Login, Pibwrlwyd, Tregynnwr and Nantycaws.

The Independents built Capel Philadelphia in 1809 and this was the first Chapel in the parish. It was renovated in 1841 and the present building dates from 1931.

Llangunnor

A ‘Llan’ or church surrounded by an enclosure was established by Dewi Sant  (Saint David) at the place where he preached and today’s church is to be found on Llangunnor Hill. The church has several notables including David Charles (a non-conformist hymn writer) and Sir Lewis Morris (a solicitor and Town Clerk of Carmarthen who built ‘Ty Penbryn’ also known as Mount Pleasant). The house was demolished in the 1990s to make way for modern development. Notoriety is also represented in that the parents of Donald Maclean of the Burgess & Maclean Russian spy scandal of the 1950s are also buried here.

Login
The origin of the name is not certain but it is believed to relate to a feature in the landscape. It may have derived from the old Welsh word ‘Halogyn’ (a stream or dirty pool). Long ago the place was also known as Logindwr.

Around 1868 a National School, along with a house for the schoolmaster was built here. Under the management of the vicar and open to Government inspection, both children and adults were accepted as pupils.

Nantycaws

The name can be traced back to the old Welsh word ‘cawsen’ (a paved ford across a stream). Schools were held in various farmhouses in the area in the 17th and 18th centuries as there were no purpose-built education establishments. Eventually, in the 19th century, a schoolroom was built at Tir-y-Pound, for the furtherance of the education of local children.

In the 21st century the village is a commuter base for south west Wales, with many new housing developments in evidence.

Waste management came to the area with the development of a large civic amenity centre for product recovery, recycling and compost manufacturing.

Pensarn

The name means ‘the head of the causeway’. It is thought the Romans built a road through Pensarn when they marched their legions through Carmarthen on their way to Caernarvon in North Wales. Two sections of cobbled tracks are still visible. The one between Babell Chapel and Ty Penbryn is known as Roman Road but the other is less discernable and leads towards Abercyfor Isaf. The County town of Carmarthen, across the River Tywi from Pensarn, was an important Roman base in West Wales.

The Methodists had meeting places in Bola-haul, and at Pibwrlwyd. In 1870 they built Babell Methodist Chapel at Pensarn and later the same year enlarged it. The Chapel was rebuilt in 1905.

Today the village of Pensarn has almost disappeared under either road improvement schemes or commercial developments such as retail parks, supermarkets and other business outlets, but to mark the village’s existence the Community Council has placed a plaque under Pont Pensarn.

Pibwrlwyd
Originally called Cwrt Pibwr and situated on the bank of the River Pibwr this large residence was an important house in West Wales.

Over time various owners of the house attained civic and influential positions in local society and were able to influence events both locally and further afield. Through their position in society they were able to contribute to the non-conformist cause and develop the provision of education in Carmarthenshire.

Pibwrlwyd declined and eventually became a farmhouse but many of its original features remain.

Coleg Sir Gār are the present owners and within its grounds is one of the college campuses.

Tregynnwr
A farm known as Newcwmlast once occupied the site of present-day Tregynnwr. Legend has it that during the Civil War Oliver Cromwell and his troops camped there during their siege of Carmarthen in 1640.

A Brief History of the Welsh Language

Modern Welsh is a descendant of Celtic, one branch of the Indo-European family of languages, and thus ultimately derives from a common Proto-Indo-European language used by the nomadic tribes of Europe and Western Asia about 5,000 years ago. The Celts were at the height of their powers in the 4th century BC, occupying most of central and eastern Europe as well as Gaul (modern France); from Gaul they spread south-west into Spain and north-west into the British Isles, displacing or exterminating the native peoples. In time the Celtic language separated into two related forms, Continental Celtic in mainland Europe and Insular Celtic in the British Isles. For centuries Continental Celtic co-existed with Latin in the Roman Empire, but it ultimately fell victim to the Romance languages, such as French and Spanish, which were derived from Latin; its final demise came when the Germanic-speaking Goths, Ostrogoths and Visigoths from northern Europe succeeded the Romans as the masters of western Europe. Insular Celtic alone survived.

Insular Celtic itself falls into two branches: Brythonic (from Brython ‘Briton’) and Goidelic (from Goidel ‘Irishman’). This simple division situation is often made to appear more complicated than it really is as Brythonic is also called British by some scholars and Old Welsh by others. Similarly, Goidelic is called Gaelic (from Gael the modern form of Goidel) in some sources and in Ireland is now generally called Irish.

In the 5th century the Irish colonists invaded western Scotland and the Isle of Man, displacing the native, probably non-Indo-European, Pictish language with their own; this subsequently developed into Scottish Gaelic, which still thrives, and the now-extinct Manx language. To this day Irish and Scottish Gaelic, particularly in the written form, remain very close.

England and Wales were occupied by the Romans from AD 70 to AD 410 and the British tongue was therefore strongly influenced by Latin. It was displaced in England by a distantly related Indo-European language, Anglo-Saxon, from about AD 450, following Anglo-Saxon colonization from northern Europe, but still survives in Wales as Welsh. (Ironically it was an Anglo-Saxon word walas meaning ‘foreigners’ which gave the name both to that country and its language.) A British-speaking pocket also remained in the county of Cornwall in the far south-west of England until 1800. It was from Cornwall in the 6th and 7th centuries that refugees from Anglo-Saxon pressure sailed across the channel to what was to become Brittany, taking with them their language which still survives under the name of Breton. Thus it is that the only Celtic language now found on the continent of Europe is Insular rather than Continental Celtic.

(This brief history of Insular Celtic is of necessity somewhat simplified: the Celts were a mobile tribal people and it is known that there were Brythonic as well as Goidelic speakers in Ireland at an early date; likewise Goidelic raiders colonized areas of Wales during the centuries after AD 400 and that language was certainly used at times by some of the ruling classes there. Some scholars also recognise another division into ‘P-Celtic’ and ‘Q-Celtic’ based on probable pronunciation – thus cenn in Ireland, ben in Scotland and pen in Wales, each meaning “head, summit”, are in fact the same word.)

In England, Anglo-Saxon, initially influenced by Celtic and Latin, and, later, by the closely related Norse or Old Scandinavian spoken by Vikings, who arrived England in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, grew into Old English. The inroads made by the Vikings into the coastal areas of Wales can, incidentally, be traced in place-names such as Swansea and Skomer. Following William the Conqueror’s invasion from Normandy in 1066, Old English in its turn incorporated many Norman-French words and became Middle English. In 1267, Norman French was still the language of Henry III’s court, but the majority of the English inhabitants of the Welsh Marches would have spoken Middle English.

Common Placenames

Welsh placenames can reveal much about a town, village, area or mountain.

Many placenames are based on local physical or geographic features, such as rivers, hills, bridges, woodlands and so on. Aber, for example, means ‘mouth of’, so Abersoch means ‘The mouth of the River Soch’.

Here are a few examples of Welsh you will encounter during your visit:

aber confluence, river mouth

afon river

bach, fach small

ban, fan peak, crest

blaen head, end, .source

bryn hill

bwlch pass

caer, gaer fort, stronghold

carreg stone, rock

castell castle

cefn ridge

clawdd hedge, ditch, dyke

coch, goch red

craig, graig rock

crib crest, summit, ridge

cwm valley, cirque

cymer meeting of rivers

dinas fort, city

du, ddu black

dyffryn valley

eglwys church

ffin boundary

glyn glen

gwaun, waen moor, mountain pasture

hendre winter dwelling, permanent home

heol road

llan church, enclosure

llwyn grove, bush

llyn lake

llys hall, court

maen stone

mawr, fawr great, big

merthyr martyr

moel, foel bare hill

mynydd, fynydd mountain

pant hollow, valley

pen head, top, end

pentre village, homestead

plas hall, mansion

pont, bont bridge

sarn causeway, old road

tre, tref hamlet, home, town

uchaf upper, higher, highest

ystrad valley floor

The Language and the People

The Welsh are on the whole a friendly nation but insular.

As a visitor you should have no problems as all but the die-hards speak English if addressed in that language. If you want to try out the language for yourself, lessons on pronunciation are essential as you are unlikely to be understood otherwise.

The Welsh language is spoken by fewer than a quarter of the population and the written word is understood by less. The language differs in the north and south of the country and is not the easiest to learn, or the most practical, but a minority of the population wish to impose it on the rest through a Welsh language policy that has come under much criticism.

The use of the language outside of Wales is virtually nil, the cost of printing everything from Road Signs to Water Bills in two languages is ludicrous beyond belief. It is a classic case of Political Correctness gone mad – but that is not unusual in Wales!

Whilst the necessity to preserve Welsh culture cannot be denied, the language could be kept alive for those that want it in other ways and the resultant money saved spent on far more deserving projects. The wealth of the country would be that much greater. The cost to the economy is hard to identify as official figures are rarely – if ever published. It has been said that if the true cost were made public there would be a public outcry.

bore da good morning

dydd da good day

prynhawn da good afternoon

noswaith dda good evening

nos da <style=”font-style:normal”>good night</style=”font-style:normal”>

sut mae? how are you?

hwyl cheers

diolch thanks

diolch yn fawr iawn thanks very much

croeso welcome

croeso i Gymru welcome to Wales

da good

da iawn very good

iechyd da! good health!

Around Carmarthenshire

St Clears

St Clears, situated at the tidal limit of the tributaries of the river Taf and 14 miles west from the county town of Carmarthen, is a small town in an agricultural area. There are some small shops and the ruins of a Norman Castle.

The Census of 2001 gave the population as about 2,800 with 69% speaking Welsh.

The community is supported by a variety of services which include a doctor’s surgery, chemists, butchers, bakers, restaurants, veterinary practices, hotel/B&B accommodation, primary/junior school, post office and banks.

Villages in the vicinity include Backe, Bancyfelin and Pwll Trap.

Other information

St Clears was, in recent times, a shipbuilding center and has earlier associations with the Rebecca Riots and a visit by Lord Nelson.

The Priory Church of St. Mary Magdalene (Christian – Methodist) is the church of St. Clears. It is an active church and fund-raising events ensure that the church and graveyard are well maintained.

St Mary’s is one of a group of four churches served by the same incumbent, the others being St. Teilo’s (Llanddowror); St. Michael’s (Llanfihangel Abercywyn) and St. Gynin’s (Llangynin). The present structure is not the original but is the oldest place of worship in the town and is thought to be one of the oldest churches in Wales. The founding of St Mary’s is likely to date to the late 11th or early 12th century. There is no evidence that a church or settlement existed on the present site of St Clears before the Norman invasion.

The Priory

St Clears Priory was never a large establishment, a Prior and two monks are the maximum recorded. Along with other priories it was dissolved in 1414. Its property, income and the right of appointing its vicar were granted in 1446 to All Souls College, Oxford. This right survived until 1920 when the Church in Wales became responsible for the appointment of the vicar. All Souls College continue to make a token annual grant to the St Clears church, originally for repair of the chancel.

The priory buildings adjoined the church on its south side and extended into the enclosure long known as “Parc Priordy” [Priory Field]. In the 17th century there were above ground remains and a recent geophysical survey has identified buried foundations.

Picture Gallery – 25

Carmarthen Station Looking East

Before 1938. Carmarthen once had a busy local railway industry. The so-called down-sizing by Dr. Beeching in the mid 20th century sounded the death knell for Carmarthen’s railway.

This photograph is interesting because it was taken before the County Hall was built on Goal Hill (far left of picture).

Carmarthen Goal was built on the site of Carmarthen Castle by Architect John Nash between 1789 and 1792 and was demolished in 1938 to make way for the new County Hall which was completed in 1948.

With the closure of the branch line from Carmarthen via Abergwili Junction to Llandeilo the line which once crossed the River Towy on the bridge (seen below) north of Carmarthen station which led to the branch line running along the north bank of the River Towy from Carmarthen to Llandeilo via Abergwilli Junction, Nantgaredig, and Dryslwyn. The bridge is no longer in existence. 

The Bridge which carried the Branch line over the River Towy

Another bridge, a white painted Bascule bridge {built 1933 by the Great Western Railway) spanned the river at Johnstown and carried the railway over the Towy. It was designed by Ralph Freeman, a top engineer, and constructed by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company of Darlington.

There are five fixed spans and a roller lift Xvideos span carried on 14 iron cylinders braced with lattice girders ornamented with cast-iron moulded capitals.

The lifting span is a balanced cantilever carried on steel plate bearing girders supported on two sets of cylinders. The span was operated by gearing carried on trestles on cantilevers on either side of the bridge

The bridge  was last used in the late 1950s by Major Terence Fisher-Hoch of The Plas, Llansteffan, when he sailed his yacht Pisces of Towy upstream to Carmarthen.

The bridge has been listed by Cadw and funds are being sought for its restoration. (Carmarthen Journal, January 8 2003)

Prior to the Beeching cuts there was a branch line running along the north bank of the River Towy from Carmarthen to Llandeilo via Abergwilli Junction, Nantgaredig, and Dryslwyn. When line was axed the only rail access to Carmarthen was along the coast from Swansea