Cenarth is a
villageA village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city. Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York City and the Saifi Village in...
,
parishIn England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and in some places the lowest tier of local government, below districts and counties. A civil parish can alternatively be known as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council; and in a limited number of...
and
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...
in
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...
,
West WalesWest Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics. Other definitions include Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, but exclude...
.
Location
It is situated on the banks of the
River TeifiThe River Teifi is a river in Ceredigion, Wales, flowing into the sea below Cardigan town. The catchment of the river is estimated to be 1,008 square kilometres yielding an average flow at Glan Teifi of 31.026 m³/s. The maximum recorded flow was 269.7 m³/s on December 17 1965...
, 10 km east of
CardiganCardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire...
and 4 km west of
Newcastle EmlynNewcastle Emlyn is a town, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in west Wales , lying on the River Teifi.Adpar is part of the town that lies on the Ceredigion side of the River Teifi...
.
History & Amenities
The ancient
parishA parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Church of Sweden, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches...
extended 5 km south of the river, and included the town of Newcastle Emlyn. In 1934, it annexed the adjoining parish of
East CilrhedynCilrhedyn is a hamlet and parish in the counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated in the hill country to the south of the Teifi valley. The Afon Cych divides it into two unequal parts: West Cilrhedyn, Pembrokeshire and East Cilrhedyn, Carmarthenshire. The parish church...
, and the enlarged parish corresponds with the modern community, which had a
populationIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings. Individuals within a population share a factor may be reduced by statistical means, but such a generalization may be too vague to imply anything...
of 1,022 in the
United Kingdom Census 2001A nationwide census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census....
. With the community of
Newcastle EmlynNewcastle Emlyn is a town, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in west Wales , lying on the River Teifi.Adpar is part of the town that lies on the Ceredigion side of the River Teifi...
, it makes up the Carmarthenshire electoral ward of Cenarth, which had a population of 1,995 in 2001, with 60%
Welsh languageWelsh 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....
speakers.
The River Teifi at this point emerges from a deep
ravineA ravine is a very small valley—almost like a canyon but narrower—which is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order...
over a ledge that produces a spectacular set of
waterfallA waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation :Typically, a river flows over a large step in the rocks that may have been formed by a fault line. As it increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks...
s when the river is in full spate and this attracts many visitors throughout the year.
Other visitor attractions are a seventeenth century
flour millA gristmill or grist mill is a building in which grain is ground into flour, or the grinding mechanism itself. In many countries these are referred to as corn mills or flour mills.- Early history :...
and
coracleThe coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
museum.
The
parish churchA parish church, in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
is dedicated to the local
SaintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
, St. Llawddog. Although the present building is relatively modern, is on an important ancient site, and was the "Bishop house" of the
cantrefA Cantref was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law.Land in medieval Wales was divided into cantrefi, which were themselves divided into smaller cymydau . The name "cantref" is derived from "Cant" and "tref"...
of
EmlynEmlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales. It subsequently became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the northern part of Dyfed bordering on the River Teifi...
.
The ancient parish (less Newcastle Emlyn) had an area of 2558
HectareA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
s. Its
censusThe United Kingdom has taken a census of its population every ten years since 1801, with the exception of 1941 . In addition to providing a wealth of interesting information about aspects of the make-up of the country, the results of the census plays an important part in the calculation of resource...
populations were: 672 (1801): 897 (1851): 638 (1901). The percentage of Welsh speakers was 98 (1891): 96 (1931).
The enlarged parish (post-1934) had an area of 4896 Ha. Its census populations were: 1098 (1951): 1066 (1961): 926 (1971): 971 (1981). The percentage of Welsh speakers was 92 (1951): 91 (1961): 82 (1971): 69 (1981).
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