Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for CARMARTHEN

CARMARTHEN, a town, a parish, a subdistrict and a district in Carmarthenshire. The town stands on the Julian ways, the river Towy, and the South Wales railway. 9 miles NNE of the Towy's mouth, and 19¾, by railway NNW of Llanelly. The two lines of the Julian way met at it; the river Towy is navigable to it for sea-borne vessels, and makes it a sub-port to Llanelly; railways strike from it in four directions, the South Wales one southward and westward, the Carmarthen and Cardigan northwestward, and the Carmarthen and Llandilo eastward into connexion at Llandilo with the Central Wales system. It was known to the Romans as Maridunum; and, for a long time to the Welsh, as Caer-Fryddyn and Caer-Merlin. It figured as the capital of Wales till the removal of the princes to Dynevor in 877, and it retained the chancery and the exchequer of South Wales, from the annexation of the principality till the abolition of the Welsh jurisdiction. A Roman station stood at it; remains of a Roman camp are still visible in a field adjacent to it, called the Bulrack; traces of a Roman causeway, from this camp nearly parallel with Priory-street, have been discovered; and Roman bricks, coins, and other relics have been found. A castle of the Welsh princes succeeded the Roman station; occupied the brow of a hill, rising abruptly from the river; was extended and strengthened into a fortress almost impregnable; included a citadel, interior buildings, exterior towers and bastions, and a strong encompassing rampart on a ground plan nearly square; was taken in 1113 by Grnffydd ab Rhys, in 1140 by Owen Gwynedd, in 1215 by Llewelyn ap Jorwerth, in 1223 by the Normans under the Earl of Pembroke, in 1405 by Owen Glendower, and in the civil wars of the 17th century by the parliamentarians under Langhorne; was dismantled in 1648, and converted into a prison; and continued to be used as a prison till 1787, when a portion of it, left standing, was incorporated with the new county jail. The famous reputed magician Merlin was a native, and gave rise to the alternative name Caer-Merlin; and a spot 3 miles distant is alleged to have been the place of his entombment by the Lady of the Lake, and bears the name of Merlin's cave. Lewis Bayly, chaplain to James I., afterwards. Bishop of Bangor, Sir Thomas Picton, the hero of Waterloo, and Sir William Nott, the recent hero of the East, also were natives. Sir Richard Steele spent his later years partly in a house of the town which was converted into the Ivy Bush hotel, and partly in a house in the vicinity called Ty-Gwyn; and composed here his "Conscions Lovers" and other pieces. Spenser speaks of Carmarthen, in allusion to its old history, in the lines,-

To Maridunum, that is now by change
Of name Cayr Marrddin call'd, they took their way.

The town occupies irregular ground, sloping to the river; and commands extensive and beautiful views. It is about a mile long and half a mile broad. Several of the streets are very narrow; some have been partially widened; and the best contain many good houses. A lovely public walk, called the Parade, is at the upper end, overlooking a fine reach of the river. A grand view of the town itself, the picturesque vale of the Towy, and the ruins of Dynevor castle, is got from Grongar hill, celebrated in the descriptive poem of Dyer. The guild hall, in the middle of the town, is a large, handsome, pillared, modern building, with market place below, and a grand front staircase. The county jail is a substantial structure, on the plan of Howard, with a recent addition; and has capacity for 50 male and 16 female prisoners. A bridge of six spacious arches, with four auxiliaries, spans the river. A bronze statue of Sir William Nott, on a granite pedestal, is in front of the guildhall; and an obelisk to the memory of Sir Thomas Picton, in room of a monument by Nash, pulled down in 1846, is at the west end of the town. Barracks for about 1,500 men, erected since 1847, are 2 miles to the west. The lunatic asylum, for the counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan, and Pembroke, erected in 1863-4, after designs by D. Brandon, with accommodation for 260 patients, is also in the neighbourhood. The parish church is a large plain edifice, ancient and originally cruciform, but renovated and altered; has a lofty square tower; and contains a fine altar-tomb to Sir Rhys ap Thomas, who died in 1527, a monument to Bishop Farr, who was burnt in the market-place for his religion, and a monument to Sir William Nott. St. David's church is a recent Gothic structure, raised at a cost of £1,450. There are chapels for Independents, Baptists, Unitarians, Wesleyan Methodists, and Calvinistic Methodists. Vestiges exist, behind the guildhall, of an ancient church or chapel. A priory of black canons, founded before 1148, stood at some distance NE of the parish church; and part of an arched gateway of it, with some other remains, are still standing. A house of greyfriars, a cell to St. Augustine's monastery at Bristol, stood at the other end of the town, but has disappeared. The grammar school, founded in the 17th century, by Bishop Owen, has £20 from endowment, with three exhibitions. The collegiate institution, for training young men for the dissenting ministry, is supported by a fund in London. The training school for South Wales, founded in 1847, stands ½ a mile west of the town, and is a very handsome edifice, raised at a cost of £8,000. There are a literary and scientific institution, a theatre, an infirmary, alms-houses, and a workhouse. The yearly aggregate of endowed charities is £180.

The town has a head post office,‡ a railway station with telegraph, two banking offices, and three chief inns; publishes two weekly newspapers; and is the capital of the county, the seat of assizes at both circuits, and of quarter sessions in April and Oct. Markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday; and fairs on 15 and 16 April, 3 and 4 June, 10 July, 12 Aug., 9 Sept, 9 Oct., and 14 and 15 Nov. Some manufacture is carried on in flannel, malt, ropes, and leather; much business is done in connexion with numerous copper and tin works, and coal and lead mines, in the neighbourhood; and considerable traffic exists in the export of agricultural produce, and import of miscellaneous goods. Upwards of 50 vessels belong to the town; and vessels of about 300 tons come up to the quay. Steam communication is maintained with Tenby, Bristol, and Wexford. The town was chartered by Henry VIII.; is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors; and unites with Llanelly in sending a member to parliament. The borough limits include all the parish, together with the extra-parochial tract of Castle-Green. Electors of Carmarthen and Llanelly in 1868, 889. Direct taxes, £10,253. Pop. of Carmarthen in 1841, 9,526; in 1861, 9,993. Houses, 1,768. The town gives the title of Marquis to the Duke of Leeds.

The parish encircles the extra-parochial tract of Castle-Green, which is in the town, around the jail. Acres, including this, 5,155. Real property, £31,298. Pop., exclusive of Castle-Green, 9,798. Houses, 1,746. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of St. David's. Value, £176.* Patron, St. David's College, Lampeter. The vicarages of St. David's and Llanllwch are separate charges; and the former has an income of £190,* and is in the patronage of the vicar. The subdistrict includes also the parishes of Llangain and Abergwilly. Acres, 18,563. Pop., 12,583. Houses, 2,303. The district comprehends likewise the subdistrict of Llangendeirne, containing the parishes of Llangendeirne, Llanddarog, Llanarthney, Llangunnor, Llandefeilog, and St. Ishmaels; the subdistrict of St. Clears, containing the parishes of St. Clears, Llanstephan, Laugharne, Llansadurnen, Llandawke, Llandowror, Llanginning, Llangunnock, Llanfihangel-abercowin, and Llandilo-abercowin; and the subdistrict of Conwil, containing the parishes of Llanllawddog, Llanpumpsaint, Newchurch, Merthyr, Abernant, Treleach-ar-Bettws, Mydrim, and Llanwinio, and the parochial chapelry of Conwil-in-Elvet. Acres, 172,546. Poor-rates in 1866, £18,013. Pop. in 1861, 36,675. Houses, 7,451. Marriages in 1866, 292; births, 1,097,-of which 100 were illegitimate; deaths, 895,-of which 211 were at ages under 5 years, and 53 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 2,879; births, 11,793; deaths, 7,933. The places of worship in 1851 were 35 of the Church of England, with 8,844 sittings; 32 of Independents, with 7,389 s.; 17 of Baptists, with 3,511 s.; 2 of Unitarians, with 316 s.; 6 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1,489 s.; 29 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 5,828 s.; 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 100 s.; and 1 of Roman Catholics, with 120 s. The schools were 37 public day schools, with 2,528 scholars; 46 private day schools, with 1,136 s.; and 113 Sunday schools, with 11,973 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a subdistrict and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Carmarthen AP       St Peters CP/AP       Carmarthen SubD       Carmarthen RegD/PLU       Carmarthenshire AncC
Place names: CARMARTHEN     |     MARIDUNUM
Place: Carmarthen

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