In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Laugharne like this:
LAUGHARNE—pronounced Larne—a small town and a parish in the district and county of Carmarthen. The town stands at the influx of the rivulet Corran to the estnary of the Taf, 5 miles SSE of St. Clears r. station, and 12 SW of Carmarthen; was anciently called Abercorran; was afterwards called Tal Llacharn, then simply Llacharn; has a ruined Norman castle, which gave occasion to its change of name; was incorporated by charter of Sir Guido de Brian, about the year 1300; is governed by a portreeve, aldermen, and other officers; is a seat of petty sessions, a sub-port to Llanelly, and a cheap watering-place; consists chiefly of one long street, well-built and clean; and has a post-office‡ under St. ...
Clears, a town-hall, a church, four dissenting chapels, national and infant schools, and charities £94. The castle was built soon after the Norman conquest; was destroyed in 1215, by Llewelyn ap Gorwerth; was rebuilt by Sir Guido de Brian; was taken, in 1644, by General Laugharne; was taken again, in 1645, after three weeks' siege, by Cromwell; was then dismantled; presents now a massive appearance, quadrangular and ivy-clad, with round towers at the corners; and is now enclosed, a modern residence having been built on part of the ground. The church is early English and cruciform; and contains monuments of the Laugharnes, and one of Judge Powell. A weekly market is held on Friday; fairs are held on 6 May and 28 Sept.; and a small coasting trade is carried on. Ruins of Roche castle, respecting which history says nothing, are about a mile distant. Dean Tucker of Gloucester, who died in 1799, was a native. Pop. in 1851,1,481; in 1861,1,394. Houses, 322.—The parish comprises 8,883 acres of land, and 5,820 of water. Real property, £10,195. Pop. in 1851,2,011; in 1861,1,868. Houses, 424. The living is a vicarage, united with the rectory of Llansadwrnen, in the diocese of St. Davids. Value, £414.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Winton.
Laugharne through time
Laugharne is now part of Carmarthenshire district. Click here for graphs and data of how Carmarthenshire has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Laugharne itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Laugharne in Carmarthenshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4408
Date accessed: 20th April 2024
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