Carmarthen (Welsh
Caerfyrddin) is a
communityA community is the lowest level of local government structure in Wales, corresponding to a civil parish in England.Until 1974, Wales was divided into civil parishes. These were abolished by section 20 of the Local Government Act 1972, and replaced by communities by section 27 of the same Act. The...
and the
county townA county town is the 'capital' of a county in Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of
CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
. It is sited on the River Towy and lays claim to being the oldest town in Wales. In 2001, the combined population of the town's three wards was 13,760.
Carmarthen has a number of surviving heritage attractions including the Roman amphitheatre and medieval
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
. The
Gwili RailwayThe Gwili Steam Railway operates a standard gauge preserved railway from Abergwili Junction in South Wales along a short section of the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway closed for passenger traffic in 1965 and lifted in 1973.The Gwili railway was launched in 1975 and by 1978 had saved 0.5...
, a section of the former railway line to
AberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. It is often colloquially known as Aber, and is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, has been re-opened as a heritage railway for tourists.
Carmarthen has a large proportion of
Welsh speakersWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
, with the county of
CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. Its three largest towns are Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford...
as a whole having the largest population of such by number (the largest Welsh-speaking population by proportion is in
GwyneddGwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although one of the biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
). Although Carmarthen is on navigable water the harbour no longer sees commercial use, in part due to the treacherous approaches. Carmarthen is location of the headquarters of
Dyfed-Powys PoliceDyfed-Powys Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and the county of Powys, in Wales. The territory it covers is the largest police area in England and Wales, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom...
, home to Trinity College Carmarthen - an associate higher education provider of the
University of WalesThe University of Wales is a confederal university founded in 1893. It has accredited institutions throughout Wales, ranging from nineteenth-century establishments like Aberystwyth and Bangor to post-1992 universities like Newport and institutes of higher education such as UWIC and Glyndŵr...
as well as the
West Wales General HospitalCarmarthenshire NHS Trust was an NHS Trust in Wales. The headquarters of the Trust was in the West Wales General Hospital, in Glangwili, Carmarthen....
.
Early history
When
BritanniaRoman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia...
was a
Roman provinceIn Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italian peninsula...
, Carmarthen was the
civitasIn the history of the Roman Empire, the Latin term civitas referred to the condition of Roman citizenship. It was also used to describe a type of settlement....
capital of the
DemetaeThe Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age Britain who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, and gave their name to the county of Dyfed.They are mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia, as being west of the Silures...
tribe, known as
Moridunum (meaning
sea fort). Carmarthen is possibly the oldest
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in Wales and was recorded by
PtolemyClaudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Greek ancestry. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer and a poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under the Roman Empire, and is believed to have been born in the town of...
and in the
Antonine ItineraryThe Antonine Itinerary is a register of the stations and distances along the various roads of the Roman empire, containing directions how to get from one Roman settlement to another...
. The Roman fort is believed to date from
AD75-77The 70s decade ran from January 1, 70, to December 31, 79. It was the eight decade in the Anno Domini/Common Era, if the nine-year period from 1 AD to 9 AD is considered as a "decade".-Events and trends:...
. A
coinA coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material and sometimes made of synthetic materials, usually in the shape of a disc, and most often issued by a government. Coins are used as a form of money in transactions of various kinds, from the everyday circulation coins to the...
hoardIn archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
of
Roman currencyThe Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
was found nearby in 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5089504.stm. Near the fort is one of seven surviving Roman amphitheatres in the United Kingdom and one of only two in
Roman Wales- Pre Roman Wales :Up to and during the Roman occupation of Britain, the native inhabitants of Iron Age Britain spoke Brythonic languages and were regarded as Britons...
(the other being at
Isca AugustaIsca Augusta was a Roman legionary fortress and settlement, the remains of which lie beneath parts of the present-day village of Caerleon on the northern outskirts of the city of Newport in South Wales.-Name:...
or Roman
CaerleonCaerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales.It is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress and an Iron Age hill fort...
). It was excavated in 1968. The arena itself is 46 by 27 meters; the circumference of the
caveaIn Roman times the cavea were the subterranean cells in which wild animals were confined before the combats in the Roman arena or amphitheatre....
seating area is 92 by 67 meters.
The strategic importance of Carmarthen was such that the
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
William fitz Baldwin built a
castleA castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. The term has a history of scholarly debate surrounding its exact meaning, but it is usually regarded as being distinct from the general terms fort or fortress, in that it describes a residence of a monarch or...
probably around 1094. The existing castle site is known to have been used since 1105. The castle was destroyed by
Llywelyn the GreatLlywelyn the Great , full name Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, was a Prince of Gwynedd in north Wales and eventually de facto ruler over most of Wales. He is occasionally called Llywelyn I of Wales...
in 1215. In 1223 the castle was rebuilt and permission was received to wall the town and crenellate (a
murageMurage was a medieval toll for the building or repair of town walls in England and Wales.This was granted by the king by letters patent for a limited term, but the walls were frequently not completed within the term, so that the grant was periodically renewed....
). Carmarthen was among the first medieval
walled townsA defensive wall is a fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
in Wales. In 1405 the town was taken and the castle was sacked by
Owain GlyndŵrOwain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower and also sometimes styled Owain IV of Wales by modern historians, was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welsh person to hold the title Prince of Wales...
. The famous
Black Book of CarmarthenThe Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
, written around 1250, is associated with the town's Priory of St John the Evangelist and Teulyddog.
During the
Black DeathThe Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged...
of 1347-49 the plague was brought to Carmarthen via the thriving river trade. The Black death 'destroy'd' and devastated villages such as
LlanllwchLlanllwch is a small hamlet in Wales approximately two miles west of Carmarthen.- History:The name Llanllwch derives from a lake or pool nearby, the site of which is now a tract of boggy land west of Llanllwch known as Llanllwch bog....
. Local historians place the plague pit, the site for mass burial of the dead, to be the graveyard that adjoins the 'Maes-yr-Ysgol' and 'Llys Model' housing at the rear of St Catherine Street.
Arthurian legend
According to some variants of the
Arthurian legendKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
Merlin was born in a cave outside Carmarthen, with many noting that Merlin may be an anglicised form of
Myrddin. Historians generally disagree with this interpretation of the name, preferring that
Myrddin is a corruption of the Roman name, but the story is popular. Many areas surrounding Carmarthen still allude to this, such as the nearby
Bryn Myrddin (Merlin's Hill).
Legend also had it that when a particular tree called '
Merlin's OakMerlin's Oak is a famous oak tree that once stood on the corner of Oak Lane and Priory Street in Carmarthen, Wales.- Merlin's prophecy :In local tradition, Carmarthen is said to be the birth place of the mythical magician Merlin, claiming that the origin of the name Carmarthen, or Caerfyrddin comes...
' fell it would be the downfall of the town as well. In order to stop this the tree was dug up when it died and pieces are now in the museum. The occasional flooding of the appropriately-named Water Street has been attributed to ongoing redevelopment of the area.
The
Black Book of CarmarthenThe Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written entirely or substantially in Welsh. Written in around 1250, the book's name comes from its association with the Priory of St. John the Evangelist and Teulyddog at Carmarthen, and is referred to as black due to...
includes poems with references to Myrddin (
Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin) and possibly to Arthur (
Pa ŵr yw'r Porthor?). The interpretation of these is difficult because the Arthur legend was already known by this time, and many details of the modern form of the legend had been described by
Geoffrey of MonmouthGeoffrey of Monmouth was a British clergyman and one of the major figures in the development of British history and the popularity of tales of King Arthur...
before the book was written. In addition some of the stories appear to have been moved into Wales at some point before their recording in the book.
Early modern
Following the Acts of Union Carmarthen became the judicial headquarters of the
Court of Great SessionsThe Court of Great Sessions in Wales was the main court for the prosecution of felonies and serious misdemeanours in Wales between the second Laws in Wales Act of 1542 and the court's abolition in 1830....
for south-west Wales.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the dominant business of Carmarthen town was still
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
and related trades including
woolenWoollen is the name of a yarn and cloth usually made from wool. Woollen yarn is known for being light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn...
manufacture. Carmarthen was made a
county corporateA county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Ireland and Wales.Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing counties...
by charter of
James IJames VI & I was King of Scots as James VI from 1567 to 1625, and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603 to 1625....
in 1604. The charter decreed that Carmarthen should be known as the 'Town of the County of Carmarthen' and should have two
sheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
s. This was reduced to one sheriff in 1835, and the (now largely ceremonial) post continues to this day.
Both the Priory and the Friary were abandoned during the dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII, the land being return to monarchy. Likewise the chapels of St Catherine and St Barbara were lost, the church of St Peter's being the main religious establishment to survive this era.
During the
Marian persecutionsThe Marian Persecution refers to the persecution of religious reformers, Protestants, and other dissenters for their beliefs during the reign of Mary I of England. The perceived excesses of this period, were recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs...
of the 1550s
Bishop FerrarRobert Ferrar was a Bishop of St David's in Wales.He was prior of the monastery of St. Oswald's, embraced the English Reformation, and was made Bishop of St. David's by Edward VI...
of St David's was burnt at the stake in the market square - now Nott Square. A Protestant martyr, his life and death are recorded in John Foxe's famous book of martyrs.
18th century to present
In the mid 18th century the
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
and
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
trades became much more important although Carmarthen town never developed
ironworksAn ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
on the scale of
DowlaisDowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 6646.Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, roughly 5,000 people, the works...
or
Merthyr TydfilMerthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 13th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It was formerly in the historic county of...
. Carmarthen town hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1867, 1911 and 1974 although, at least in the case of the 1974 Eisteddfod, the Maes was at
AbergwiliAbergwili is a village in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, lying near to the junction of River Towy and River Gwili.- Bishop's Palace :It is known for its Bishop's Palace, home to the Bishop of St David's since 1542, when Bishop William Barlow transferred his palace from St David's to Abergwili,...
.
The Boy's
Grammar schoolA grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally schools teaching classical languages but more recently academically-oriented types of secondary school.The original purpose of...
was founded in 1587 on the site that is now occupied by the old hospital in Priory Street. This school moved in the 1840s to Priory Row before relocatiing to Richmond Terrace. It was here at the turn of the century that a local travelling circus was given permission to bury one of their elephants after it fell sick and died:the elephant's final resting place is under what was the school rugby pitch.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
prisoner of war camps were situated in Johnstown (where the Davies Estate now stands) and at Glangwilli - the POW huts being utilised as part of the hospital at its inception.
Governance
Carmarthen is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
France
LesnevenLesneven is a commune in Finistère department in Bretagne in north-western France.It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.-History:...
,
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, France
Italy
Santa MarinellaSanta Marinella is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about 60 km northwest of Rome.It includes the beach resort of Santa Severa , and a medieval castle....
, Italy
Spain As Pontes, Galicia, Spain
Picton's monument
The original monument , erected in 1828 stood at the west end of the town, and was erected in memory of the gallant Sir
Thomas PictonLieutenant General Sir Thomas Picton GCB was a British Army officer from Wales who fought in a number of campaigns for Britain, and rose to the rank of lieutenant general...
, who died in the
Battle of WaterlooIn the Battle of Waterloo forces of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher...
. It was about 75 foot high, and was intended to echo
Trajan's columnTrajan's Column is a monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum...
in Rome. The pillar stands on a square pedestal, with a small door on the east side, which fronts the town, where the monument was ascended by a flight of steps. Over the door, in large characters, was the name, 'PICTON'; and above this is a
reliefA relief is a sculptured artwork where a modelled form is raised, or, in a sunken-relief, lowered, from a plane from which the main elements of the composition project . Reliefs are common throughout the world, for example on the walls of monumental buildings. The frieze in the classical Corinthian...
showing part of the field of battle, with the hero falling from his horse, from the mortal wound which he received. Over this, in large letters, is inscribed 'WATERLOO. On the west end is represented the
Battle of Badajoz (1812)In the Battle of Badajoz an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington, besieged Badajoz, Spain and forced the surrender of the French garrison...
, Picton scaling the walls with a few men, and attacked by the besieged. Above this is the word 'BADAJOS'. On the south side of the pedestal is the following inscription:—
- Sir THOMAS PICTON,
- Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of the
- Bath,
- Of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword,
- and of other foreign Orders;
- Lieutenant-General in the British Army, and
- Member of Parliament for the Borough of
- Pembroke,
- Born at Poyston, in Pembrokeshire, in August,
- 1758;
- Died at Waterloo on the 18th of June, 1815,
- Gloriously fighting for his country and the
- liberties of Europe.
- Having honourably fulfilled, on behalf of the
- public, various duties in various climates:
- And having achieved the highest military renown
- in the Spanish Peninsula,
- He thrice received the unanimous thanks of
- Parliament,
- And a Monument erected by the British nation
- in St. Paul's Cathedral
- Commemorates his death and services,
- His grateful countrymen, to perpetuate past and
- incite to future exertions,
- Have raised this column, under the auspices of
- his Majesty, King George the Fourth,
- To the memory of a hero and a Welshman.
- The plan and design of this Monument was given
- by our countryman, John Nash, Esq. F.R.S.
- Architect to the King.
- The ornaments were executed by
- E.H. Bailey, Esq. R.A.
- And the whole was erected by Mr. Daniel
- Mainwaring, of the town of Carmarthen,
- In the year 1826 and 1827.
On the north side was the translation of the above in Welsh; and on the top of the pedestal, on each side of the square, were trophies. The top of the column was also square, and on each side were imitative cannons. The statue of the hero surmounts the whole, wrapped in a cloak, and supported by a baluster, round which are emblems of spears.
However, within a few years this monument had fallen into a dilapidated state. The bas-reliefs which had been sculpted by
Edward Hodges BailyEdward Hodges Baily RA FRS - was an English sculptor who was born in Bristol.-Life:...
were 'unable to withstand Carmarthen's inclement weather', as Joyce and Victor Lodwick put it (see 'The Story of Carmarthen' p.391). Although the sculptor made replacements, they were never put up, and the entire monument was taken down in 1846. The replacement sculptures lay neglected and forgotten in Johnstown until the 1970s, when they were rescued and transferred to the Museum.
The monument as it appears today was designed by the architect Frances Fowler and the foundation stone was laid in 1847. This monument, too, has had its troubles. In 1984, the top section was declared to be unsafe and was taken down, and in 1988 the whole monument was rebuilt stone by stone on new stronger foundations.
The monument still stands on its commanding position at the top of Picton. Despite Picton's military prowess there was another side to his character. In his day he was known as a merchant of
slavesThe Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...
and slaveowner. He was also known as a cruel torturer and the word 'Pictoning' derives from him.
General Nott Statue in Nott Square
A statue of
General NottSir William Nott GCB , was a British military leader in British India.- Early life :Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales, the second son of Charles Nott, a Herefordshire farmer, who in 1794 became an innkeeper at Carmarthen in Wales...
was erected in Nott Square in 1851. According to the PMSA "the bronze statue was cast from cannon captured at the battle of Maharajpur. Queen Victoria gave 200 guineas to the memorial fund. The statue occupies the site of the market cross which was dismantled when the market was resited and Nott Square created in 1846."
Sport
Speedway-In racing:*Oval track, an alternative name for a dedicated track, distinct from a road circuit or street circuit*Cycle speedway, a form of bicycle racing*Motorcycle speedway, a form of motorcycle sport-Other uses:...
racing was staged in the early 2000s at a track built on the Showgrounds on the western outskirts of the town. The team raced in the Conference League.
More notably, the town has its own
football (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
team:
Carmarthen Town F.C.Carmarthen Town Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire, who play in the Welsh Premier League...
and two
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
teams -
Carmarthen QuinsCarmarthen Quins Rugby Football Club are one of two Welsh rugby union clubs based in Carmarthen in West Wales, the other being Carmarthen Athletic. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division league after their promotion to the Premiership in the 2008/2009 season...
and
Carmarthen AthleticCarmarthen Athletic Rugby Football Club are one of two Welsh rugby union clubs based in Carmarthen in West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Llanelli Scarlets.- Overview :...
.
The town also boasts two
golf courseA golf course consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
s.
Transport
Carmarthen railway stationCarmarthen railway station is situated south of the River Towy on the edge of the town of Carmarthen. It is located on the West Wales Line and is managed by Arriva Trains Wales, who operate most of the passenger trains serving it...
is on the
West Wales LineThe West Wales Line is a railway line from Swansea through Carmarthenshire to Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It has three branches, to Fishguard, Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock....
. Carmarthen town is served by rail links through to
CardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. According to recent estimates, the...
via
SwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
to the east and Fishguard Harbour,
Milford HavenMilford Haven is a town in Pembrokeshire, Wales on the north side of the inlet of the same name...
,
TenbyTenby is a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay....
,
Pembroke-United Kingdom:*Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, a town in West Wales*Pembroke Dock, a nearby town*Pembrokeshire, a county-Canada:*Pembroke, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia*Pembroke, Nova Scotia*Pembroke, Ontario-Republic of Ireland:...
and
Pembroke DockPembroke Dock is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, lying north of Pembroke on the River Cleddau. It is the third largest town in Pembrokeshire.- History :...
to the west. Carmarthen town is served by direct inter city trains to London during the summer.
There is also a
Park and RidePark and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and others wishing to travel into city centres to leave their personal vehicles in a car park and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
service running daily from Monday to Saturday from 7.00 to 19.00 every 15 minutes from Nantyci to the west of Carmarthen town.
A number of major roads converge on Carmarthen town. These are the
A40The A40 is a major trunk road connecting London to Fishguard, Wales. It is 256 miles long.It is one of the few remaining of the "old" trunk routes not to have been superseded by a direct motorway link, though some parts, such as the southern section from London to Oxford are now better served by...
,
A48The A48 is a major trunk road in Great Britain. It runs from the A40 at Highnam west of Gloucester to the A40 at Carmarthen. Before the construction of the M4 motorway and the first Severn Bridge in the mid 1960s it was the principal route into South Wales. For most of its journey through Wales,...
,
A484The A484 road is an A road in Wales connecting Swansea with Cardigan.The road begins at Cadle in Swansea and heads westwards as a southern bypass to Loughor. It continues over the Loughor bridge into Bynea, Carmarthenshire. It continues through the centre of Llanelli and traverses near the south...
and
A485The A485 is and A road linking Tanerdy near Carmarthen to Llanfarian near Aberystwyth in Wales.Settlements along the route include:*Tanerdy*Peniel*Rhydargaeau*Pontarsais*Alltwalis*Gwyddgrug*New Inn*Gwndwn*Llanllwni*Abergiar*Llanbydder*Pencarreg...
roads
Pont King Morgan
For over a century, the station at Carmarthen town has been isolated from the town on the other side of the River Towy (Tywi) and pedestrians and cyclists had to brave the main road bridge some 200 m to the east. This situation has now been rectified by the construction of a striking new cable stay bridge linking the Station direct with the foot of Blue Street at a cost of £2.8 million.
The bridge is of interesting design being supported by cables hung from two masts. The deck snakes its way across the river in a sinuous curve. Construction started in January 2005 and completion was expected in May 2005, but the theft of panels at a late stage caused a delay until June. The bridge is named after the King Morgan brothers, chemists who did so much for Carmarthen town. One possibly unsuspected problem is caused by the strong westerly winds which blow uninterrupted up the broad plain of the Towy and make it difficult for cyclists to remain upright. Assuming cyclists have managed to ride across, they are still expected to dismount to traverse the ramp at the northern (town) end.
Town Regeneration and Redevelopment
The former cattle mart in the heart of the town is undergoing regeneration. The development will include a new multi-screen cinema,
DebenhamsDebenhams plc is a Britishretailer operating under a department store format in the UK and franchise stores in other countries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.- History :...
department store, market hall, restaurants and a multi-storey car park. The new market hall opened on the 8th of April 2009.
Notable people
- Nicky Stevens
Nicky Stevens is a singer, famous as a member of pop group Brotherhood of Man.- Early career :Nicky Stevens began singing at an early age was classically trained. At 15 she toured the Continent as a singer performing in night clubs. Following this she went on to tour South Africa as well as clubs...
, member of pop group Brotherhood of ManBrotherhood of Man are a British pop group who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with "Save Your Kisses for Me".The group was created by songwriter and record producer Tony Hiller in 1969 and scored a worldwide hit with "United We Stand" the following year. By 1974 the line-up had changed to...
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- The architect John Nash
John Nash was an Anglo-Welsh architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Early life:Born in Lambeth, London, as the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with architect Sir Robert Taylor, but his own career was initially unsuccessful and short-lived...
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- The screenwriter and director Daniel Mulloy
Daniel Mulloy is a British screenwriter and film director.Born in Brixton, London, Mulloy moved to Carmarthen, Wales, as a teenager. He studied painting at Slade School of Fine Art, University College London and in Hunter College New York under Robert Morris. Mulloy's first short film, Dance...
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- The drummer John Weathers
John Patrick 'Pugwash' Weathers is a drummer, best known for playing with the innovative progressive rock band Gentle Giant.-Early Life:...
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- The musician Nik Turner
Nik Turner is a British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner plays saxophones, flute, sings and is a composer...
- The snooker pro Matthew Stevens
Matthew Stevens is a Welsh professional snooker player. Turning professional in 1994, Stevens has won two of the game's most prestigious events, the Benson and Hedges Masters in 2000 and the UK Snooker Championship in 2003. He has also been the runner-up in the World Snooker Championship on two...
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- Adult entertainment actress Sophie Dee
__notoc__Sophie Dee is a British pornographic actress. She entered the adult film industry in 2005 at the age of around 20, and has since appeared in over 200 movies.-Biography:...
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- The Perrier Best Newcomer-nominated comedian Rhod Gilbert
Rhod Gilbert is a Welsh comedian who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008, he was nominated for the main if.comedy ....
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- Wales Rugby captain, Stephen Jones
Stephen Michael Jones is a Welsh rugby union footballer who plays at for Llanelli Scarlets and Wales. He has also played at on various occasions. Jones is currently 10th in the international all-time List of leading Rugby union Test point scorers.-Llanelli RFC:Jones joined Llanelli RFC in 1996,...
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- Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1989 to 1996, Professor Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams
Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams, QC, DL , was a Barrister and the first full-time Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, 1989–1996....
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- The writer Byron Rogers
Byron Rogers is a Welsh journalist, essayist and biographer. In August, 2007 the University of Edinburgh awarded him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the best biography published in the previous year, for The Man Who Went Into the West: The Life of RS Thomas...
- The archaeozoologist Dorothea Bate
Dorothea Minola Alice Bate FGS , also known as Dorothy Bate, was a British palaeontologist, a pioneer of archaeozoology...
- The ex Wales & Aston Villa Defender Mark Delaney
This article is about the footballer , not the boxerMark Anthony Delaney is a former Wales international footballer who played for Carmarthen Town, Cardiff City and Aston Villa as a right back....
- Fflur Dafydd
Fflur Dafydd is an award winning novelist, singer-songwriter and musician. Whilst predominantly publishing in Welsh, she also writes in English. She records in Welsh, and her work is regularly played on Radio Cymru.-Early life:...
, writer and musician
External links