Carmarthenshire Sir Gaerfyrddin (Welsh) | |
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 Guildhall Square andCarmarthen Guildhall | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto: | |
 Carmarthenshire shown withinWales | |
| Coordinates:51°51′22″N4°18′38″W / 51.85611°N 4.31056°W /51.85611; -4.31056 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | Wales |
| Preserved county | Dyfed |
| Incorporated | 1 April 1996 |
| Administrative HQ | County Hall, Carmarthen |
| Government | |
| • Type | Principal council |
| • Body | Carmarthenshire County Council |
| • Control | Plaid Cymru |
| • MPs | 2 MPs |
| • MSs | 3 MSs
|
| Area | |
• Total | 920 sq mi (2,370 km2) |
| • Rank | 3rd |
| Population (2024)[2] | |
• Total | 190,800 |
| • Rank | 4th |
| • Density | 210/sq mi (80/km2) |
| Welsh language(2021) | |
| • Speakers | 39.9% |
| • Rank | 4th |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-CMN |
| GSS code | W06000010 |
| Website | www |
Carmarthenshire (/kərˈmɑːrðənʃər,-ʃɪər/;[4]Welsh:Sir Gaerfyrddin[siːrgɑːɨrˈvərðɪn] or informallySir Gâr) is acounty in thesouth-west ofWales. The three largest towns areLlanelli,Carmarthen andAmmanford. Carmarthen is thecounty town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to theNational Botanic Garden of Wales.
Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The county town was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Kingdom ofDeheubarth in theHigh Middle Ages. After invasion by theNormans in the 12th and 13th centuries it wassubjugated, along with other parts of Wales, byEdward I of England. There was further unrest in the early 15th century, when the Welsh rebelled underOwain Glyndŵr, and during theEnglish Civil War.
Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which was once heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county, the woollen industry was very important in the 18th century. The economy depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. West Wales was identified in 2014 as the worst-performing region in theUnited Kingdom along with theSouth Wales Valleys with the decline in its industrial base, and the low profitability of the livestock sector.[5]
Carmarthenshire, as a tourist destination, offers a wide range of outdoor activities. Much of the coast is fairly flat; it includes theMillennium Coastal Park, which extends for 10 miles (16 km) to the west of Llanelli; theNational Wetlands Centre; a championship golf course; and the harbours of Burry Port andPembrey. The sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine are further west. Carmarthenshire has a number of medieval castles,hillforts andstanding stones. TheDylan Thomas Boathouse is atLaugharne.
Stone tools found inCoygan Cave, nearLaugharne indicate the presence ofhominins, probablyneanderthals, at least 40,000 years ago,[6] though, as in the rest of theBritish Isles, continuous habitation bymodern humans is not known before the end of theYounger Dryas, around 11,500 yearsBP.[7]Before theRomans arrived in Britain, the land now forming the county of Carmarthenshire was part of the kingdom of theDemetae who gave their name to the county ofDyfed; it contained one of their chief settlements,Moridunum, now known asCarmarthen.[8] The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one atCaerwent to control the southeast of the country, and one at Carmarthen to control the southwest. The fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is aRoman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales.[9]
Carmarthenshire has its early roots in the region formerly known asYstrad Tywi ('Vale of [the river] Tywi') and part of the Kingdom ofDeheubarth during the High Middle Ages, with thecourt atDinefwr. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales. Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times.[9] Following theConquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by theStatute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire.[10]Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of this new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there, and holding theCourt of Great Sessions in Wales in the town.[8]
The Normans transformed Carmarthen into an international trading port, the onlystaple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead and tin. In the late medieval period the county's fortunes varied, as good and bad harvests occurred, increased taxes were levied by England, there were episodes ofplague, and recruitment for wars removed the young men. Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France.[9]
In 1405,Owain Glyndŵr capturedCarmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood. However, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance toKing Henry V.[8] During theEnglish Civil War,Parliamentary forces under Colonel Roland Laugharne besieged and captured Carmarthen Castle but later abandoned the cause, and joined theRoyalists. In 1648, Carmarthen Castle was recaptured by the Parliamentarians, andOliver Cromwell ordered it to be slighted.[8]
The first industrial canal in Wales was built in 1768 to convey coal from the Gwendraeth Valley to the coast, and the following year, the earliest tramroad bridge was on the tramroad built alongside the canal.[9] During theNapoleonic Wars (1799–1815) there was increased demand for coal, iron and agricultural goods, and the county prospered. The landscape changed as much woodland was cleared to make way for more food production, and mills, power stations, mines and factories sprang up betweenLlanelli andPembrey.[9] Carmarthenshire was at the centre of theRebecca Riots around 1840, when local farmers and agricultural workers dressed as women and rebelled against higher taxes and tolls.[11]
The county is bounded to the north byCeredigion, to the east byPowys (historic countyBrecknockshire),Neath Port Talbot (historic countyGlamorgan) andSwansea (also Glamorgan), to the south by theBristol Channel and to the west byPembrokeshire. Much of the county is upland and hilly. TheBlack Mountain range dominates the east of the county, with the lower foothills of theCambrian Mountains to the north across the valley of theRiver Towy. The south coast contains many fishing villages and sandy beaches. The highest point (county top) is the minor summit ofFan Foel, height 781 metres (2,562 ft), which is a subsidiary top of the higher mountain ofFan Brycheiniog, height 802.5 metres (2,633 ft) (the higher summit, as its name suggests, is actually across the border in Brecknockshire/Powys). Carmarthenshire is the largest historic county by area in Wales.[12]
The county is drained by several important rivers which flow southwards into theBristol Channel, especially the River Towy, and its several tributaries, such as theRiver Cothi.[12] The Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales.[13] Other rivers include theLoughor (which forms the eastern boundary withGlamorgan), theRiver Gwendraeth and theRiver Taf. TheRiver Teifi forms much of the border between Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, and there are a number of towns in the Teifi Valley which have communities living on either side of the river and hence in different counties. Carmarthenshire has a long coastline which is deeply cut by the estuaries of the Loughor in the east and the Gwendraeth, Tywi and Taf, which enter the sea on the east side ofCarmarthen Bay.[12] The coastline includes notable beaches such asPendine Sands andCefn Sidan sands, and large areas of foreshore are uncovered at low tide along the Loughor and Towy estuaries.[14]
The principal towns in the county areAmmanford,Burry Port,Carmarthen,Kidwelly,Llanelli,Llandeilo,Newcastle Emlyn,Llandovery,St Clears, andWhitland. The principal industries are agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. Although Llanelli is by far the largest town in the county, the county town remains Carmarthen, mainly due to its central location.[12]
Carmarthenshire is predominantly an agricultural county, with only the southeastern area having any significant amount of industry. The best agricultural land is in the broad Tywi Valley, especially its lower reaches.[15] With its fertile land and agricultural produce, Carmarthenshire is known as the "Garden of Wales".[16] The lowest bridge over the river is at Carmarthen, and the Towi Estuary cuts the southwesterly part of the county, includingLlansteffan and Laugharne, off from the more urban southeastern region. This area is also bypassed by the main communication routes into Pembrokeshire.[15] A passenger ferry service used to connectFerryside with Llansteffan until the early part of the twentieth century.[17]
Agriculture and forestry are the main sources of income over most of the county of Carmarthenshire. On improved pastures, dairying is important and in the past, the presence of the railway enabled milk to be transported to the urban areas of England.[14] The creamery atWhitland is now closed but milk processing still takes place at Newcastle Emlyn wheremozzarella cheese is made.[18] On upland pastures and marginal land, livestock rearing of cattle and sheep is the main agricultural activity.[15] The estuaries of the Loughor and Towy provide pickings for thecockle industry.[14]
Llanelli, Ammanford and the upper parts of the Gwendraeth Valley are situated on theSouth Wales Coalfield. The opencast mining activities in this region have now ceased but the old mining settlements with terraced housing remain, often centred on theirnonconformist chapels.Kidwelly had atin-plating industry in the eighteenth century, with Llanelli following not long after, so that by the end of the nineteenth century, Llanelli was the world-centre of the industry. There is little trace of these industrial activities today. Llanelli andBurry Port served at one time for the export ofcoal, but trade declined, as it did from the ports of Kidwelly and Carmarthen as their estuaries silted up. Country towns in the more agricultural part of the county still hold regular markets where livestock is traded.[15]
In the north of the county, in and around the Teifi Valley, there was a thriving woollen industry in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here water-power provided the energy to drive the looms and other machinery at themills. The village ofDre-fach Felindre at one time contained twenty-four mills and was known as the "Huddersfield of Wales". The demand for woollen cloth declined in the twentieth century and so did the industry.[19]
In 2014, West Wales was identified as the worst-performing region in the United Kingdom along with the South Wales Valleys. Thegross value added economic indicator showed a figure of £14,763 per head in these regions, as compared with a GVA of £22,986 forCardiff and theVale of Glamorgan.[20] The Welsh Assembly Government is aware of this, and helped by government initiatives and local actions, opportunities for farmers to diversify have emerged. These include farm tourism, rural crafts, specialist food shops, farmers' markets and added-value food products.[21]
In 2015, in an attempt to boost the local economy, Carmarthenshire County Council produced a fifteen-year plan that highlighted six projects which it hoped would create five thousand new jobs. The sectors involved would be in the "creative industries, tourism, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, energy and environment, and financial and professional services".[22]
Under theLocal Government Act 1888, Carmarthenshire became anadministrative county with acounty council taking over functions from theQuarter Sessions. Under theLocal Government Act 1972,[23] the administrative county of Carmarthenshire was abolished on 1 April 1974 and the area of Carmarthenshire became three districts within the new county ofDyfed :Carmarthen,Dinefwr andLlanelli. Until 1974, Carmarthenshire had been governed locally bycivil parishes; these in large part equated toecclesiastical parishes, most of which still exist as part of the Church in Wales.[24] Under theLocal Government (Wales) Act 1994,[25] Dyfed was abolished on 1 April 1996 and Carmarthenshire was re-established as a county.[26][27] The three districts united to form aunitary authority which had the same boundaries as the traditional county of Carmarthenshire. In 2003, theClynderwen community council area was transferred to the administrative county ofPembrokeshire.[28]
As of 2024, the council leader is Darren Price ofPlaid Cymru.[29]The county covers threeSenedd constituencies, with itsMembers of the Senedd since2021 being:[30]
In theUK Parliament, the county covers twoUK Parliament constituencies in Wales, with itsMembers of Parliament since2024 being:[31]
Prior to theIndustrial Revolution, Carmarthen andWrexham were the two most populous towns in Wales.[32][15] In 1931, the county's population was 171,445 and in 1951, 164,800. At the census in 2011, Carmarthenshire had a population of 183,777. Population levels have thus dipped and then increased again over the course of eighty years. The population density in Carmarthenshire is 0.8 persons per hectare compared to 1.5 per hectare in Wales as a whole.[33]
Carmarthenshire was the most populous of the five historic counties of Wales to remain majority Welsh-speaking throughout the 20th century. According to the1911 Census, 84.9 per cent of the county's population were Welsh-speaking (compared with 43.5 per cent in all of Wales), with 20.5 per cent of Carmarthenshire's overall population being monolingual Welsh-speakers.[34]
In 1931, 82.3 per cent could speak Welsh and in 1951, 75.2 per cent.[35] By the2001 census, 50.3 per cent of people living in Carmarthenshire could speak Welsh, with 39 per cent being able to read and write the language as well.[36]
The 2011 census showed a further decline, with 43.9 per cent speaking Welsh, making it a minority language in the county for the first time.[37] However, the 2011 census also showed that 3,000 more people could understand spoken Welsh than in 2001 and that 60% of 5-14-year-olds could speak Welsh (a 5% increase since 2001).[38] A decade later, the 2021 census, showed further decrease, to 39.9% Welsh speakers—the largest percentage drop in all of Wales.[39]
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With its strategic location and history, the county is rich in archaeological remains such as forts, earthworks and standing stones.Carn Goch is one of the most impressiveIron Age forts and stands on a hilltop near Llandeilo.[40] TheBronze Age is represented by chambered cairns andstanding stones onMynydd Llangyndeyrn, nearLlangyndeyrn.[41] Castles that can be easily accessed includeCarreg Cennen,Dinefwr,Kidwelly,Laugharne,Llansteffan andNewcastle Emlyn Castle. There are the ruinous remains ofTalley Abbey, and the coastal village ofLaugharne is for ever associated withDylan Thomas. Stately homes in the county includeAberglasney House and Gardens,Golden Grove andNewton House.[42]
There are plenty of opportunities in the county for hiking, observing wildlife and admiring the scenery. These includeBrechfa Forest, thePembrey Country Park, theMillennium Coastal Park at Llanelli, theWWT Llanelli Wetlands Centre and theCarmel National Nature Reserve. There are large stretches of golden sands and theWales Coast Path now provides a continuous walking route around the whole of Wales.[42]
TheNational Botanic Garden of Wales displays plants from Wales and from all around the world, and theCarmarthenshire County Museum, theNational Wool Museum, theParc Howard Museum, thePendine Museum of Speed and theWest Wales Museum of Childhood all provide opportunities to delve into the past.Dylan Thomas Boathouse where the author wrote many of his works can be visited, as can the Roman-workedDolaucothi Gold Mines.[42]
Activities available in the county include rambling, cycling, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, horse riding, caving, abseiling and coasteering.[9]Carmarthen Town A.F.C. plays in theCymru Premier. They won theWelsh Football League Cup in the 1995–96 season, and since then have won theWelsh Cup once and theWelsh League Cup twice.[43]Llanelli Town A.F.C. play in theWelsh Football League Division Two. The club won the Welsh premier league and Loosemores challenge cup in 2008 and won the Welsh Cup in 2011, but after experiencing financial difficulties, were wound up and reformed under the present title in 2013.[44]Scarlets is the regional professionalrugby union team that plays in thePro14, they play their home matches at their ground,Parc y Scarlets. Honours include winning the 2003/04 and 2016/17 Pro12.Llanelli RFC is a semi-professionalrugby union team that play in theWelsh Premier Division, also playing home matches atParc y Scarlets. Among many honours, they have beenWRU Challenge Cup winners on fourteen occasions and frequently taken part in theHeineken Cup.[45]West Wales Raiders, based in Llanelli, represent the county inRugby league.
Some sporting venues utilise disused industrial sites.Ffos Las racecourse was built on the site of anopen cast coal mine after mining operations ceased. Opened in 2009, it was the first racecourse built in the United Kingdom for eighty years and has regular race-days.[46]Machynys is a championship golf course opened in 2005 and built as part of theLlanelli Waterside regeneration plan.[47]Pembrey Circuit is a motor racing circuit near Pembrey village, considered the home of Welsh motorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks. It was opened in 1989 on a former airfield, is popular for testing and has hosted many events including theBritish Touring Car Championship twice.[48] The 2018Tour of Britain cycling race started at Pembrey on 2 September 2018.[49]
Carmarthenshire is served by the main line railway services operated byTransport for Wales Rail andGreat Western Railway which linkLondon Paddington,Manchester Piccadilly,Cardiff Central andSwansea to southwest Wales. The main hub isCarmarthen railway station where some services from the east terminate. The line continues westwards with several branches which servePembroke Dock,Milford Haven andFishguard Harbour (for the ferry toRosslare Europort and connecting trains toDublin Connolly).[50] TheHeart of Wales Line takes a scenic route through mid-Wales and linksLlanelli withCraven Arms, from where passengers can travel on theWelsh Marches Line toShrewsbury.[51]
Two heritage railways, theGwili Railway and theTeifi Valley Railway, use the track of theCarmarthen and Cardigan Railway that at one time ran from Carmarthen to Newcastle Emlyn, but did not reachCardigan.[52]
TheA40,A48,A484 andA485 converge on Carmarthen. TheM4 route that linksSouth Wales withLondon, terminates at junction 49, thePont Abraham services, to continue northwest as thedual carriageway A48, and to finish with its junction with the A40 in Carmarthen.
Llanelli is linked to M4 junction 48 by theA4138. The A40 links Carmarthen toLlandeilo,Llandovery andBrecon to the east, and withSt Clears,Whitland andHaverfordwest to the west. The A484 links Llanelli with Carmarthen by a coastal route and continues northwards toCardigan, and via theA486 andA487 toAberystwyth, and the A485 links Carmarthen toLampeter.[53]
Bus services run between the main towns within the county and are operated byFirst Cymru under their "Western Welsh" or "Cymru Clipper" livery.[54] Bus services from Carmarthenshire are also run to Cardiff. A bus service known as "fflecsi Bwcabus" (formerly just "Bwcabus") operates in the north of the county, offering customised transport to rural dwellers.[55]
Carmarthenshire has rich, fertile farmland and a productive coast with estuaries providing a range of foods that motivate many home cooks and chefs.[56][57][58]
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