Cynwyl Elfed is a village and community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 located in the county of Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. As a community it contains the villages of Cynwyl Elfed, Blaenycoed

Blaenycoed

Blaenycoed, or Blaen-y-coed is a village situated between Carmarthen and Newcastle Emlyn in the West of Wales.-General information:The small village contains a chapel, a postbox, a phonebox and a few small farms...

 and Cwmduad. It is situated three miles from Abernant and had a population of 953 in 2001. There is a Premier Store situated inside the village.

The parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of St Cynwyl, originally founded in the 6th century, contains 14th-century elements and a barrel roof

Barrel roof

A barrel roof is a curved roof that, especially from below, is curved like a cut-away barrel. They have some advantages over dome roofs, especially being able to cover rectangular buildings., due to their uniform cross-section....

. The area around the village has yielded a significant number of Roman artefacts, including a statue of Diana

Diana (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...

.
Cynwyl Elfed has a well educated school.

Railway

The Gwili Railway (a heritage railway) owns currently 8 miles (in length) of the old line which once ran past the Welsh village and there is hope that the old station could be reconstructed as part of the heritage line.

Notable people

The poet and hymnist Howell Elvet Lewis

Howell Elvet Lewis

Howell Elvet Lewis CH known by his bardic name Elfed , independent minister, hymn-writer, and poet served as Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales from 1924 to 1928.-Early life:...

(known as Elfed) was born in the village in 1860. The house where he was born, 'Y Gangell', contains a small exhibition of his life.

External links

• Photos of Cynwyl Elfed and surrounds at Geograph.org.uk