Llanelli ("

St Elli Saint Elli was a 6th-century Welsh saint, or possibly two saints. Llanelli in Carmarthenshire and Llanelly in Monmouthshire (formerly in Breconshire) are both named after Elli. There are traditions about a male saint Elli and a female saint Elli ...

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

"; ) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the

preserved county The preserved counties of Wales are the eight current areas used in Wales for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. They are based on the counties created by the Local Government Act 1972 and used for local government and othe ...

of Dyfed,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It is located on the Loughor

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

north-west of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town had a population of 25,168 in 2011, estimated in 2019 at 26,225. The local authority was

Llanelli Borough Council The Borough of Llanelli was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts f ...

when the county of Dyfed existed, but it has been under

Carmarthenshire County Council Carmarthenshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin) is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The counc ...

since 1996.

Name

Spelling

The anglicised spelling “Llanelly” was used until 1966, when it was changed to Llanelli after a local public campaign. It remains in the name of a local historic building,

Llanelly House Llanelly House (also spelled Llanelli House) is one of the most notable historic properties in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales—an excellent example of an early-18th-century Georgian town house. It had been described as "the most outstanding d ...

. It should not be confused with the village and parish of

Llanelly Llanelly ( cy, Llanelli) is the name of a parish and coterminous community in the principal area of Monmouthshire, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, south-east Wales. It roughly covers the area of the Clydach Gorge. The popula ...

, in south-east Wales near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

. Llanelly in Victoria, Australia was named after this town of Llanelli, using the spelling current at that time.

History

The beginnings of Llanelli can be found on the lands of present-day Parc Howard. An Iron Age hill fort once stood which was called ''Bryn-Caerau'' (hill of the forts). Evidence suggests there were five hill forts from Old Road to the Dimpath. During the Roman conquest of Wales it is unknown whether the area of Llanelli was part of the

Silures The Silures ( , ) were a powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices; to the east by the Dobunn ...

tribe or the Demetae tribe. There is evidence of a Roman camp near St Elli shopping centre but it is unknown when it was built, and it was completely abandoned shortly after construction either due to the Romans thinking the area was completely worthless or due to a raid by either rebellious local Britons or an Irish raid. During the post-Roman period, the area of Llanelli would be under the

Cydweli Kidwelly ( cy, Cydweli) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, inc ...

cantref in the Ystrad Tywi ruled by local warlords. There is also evidence of Irish settlement, as there is a hidden

Ogham Stone Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...

near the coastal path of Pwll. During the early medieval period, it is said a saint named Elli, or Ellyw, who in legend is the son or daughter of King Brychan, established a church on the banks of the

Afon Lliedi The River Lliedi ( cy, Afon Lliedi) has its source near Mynydd Sylen Llanelli and Llannon in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The river fills the Cwm-Lliedi Reservoirs and meets the sea at the Loughor Estuary (Welsh-Moryd Llwchwr) at the former Carmarthe ...

. The original church would have been a wooden or partly stone, thatched structure. According to early Welsh transcripts, the church of Carnwyllion, i.e. the mother church of the cwmwd, was at Llanelli. The current St Elli's Church dates from the 14th century although extensive restorations were completed in 1911. According to the

Red Book of Hergest The ''Red Book of Hergest'' ( cy, Llyfr Coch Hergest, Oxford, Jesus College, MS 111) is a large vellum manuscript written shortly after 1382, which ranks as one of the most important medieval manuscripts written in the Welsh language. It preser ...

during the Norman invasion of Wales Rhys Ieuanc and his uncle Maelgwn ap Rhys took the allegiance of all the Welsh of the Kingdom of Dyfed apart from one region. Cemais would not pay allegiance and thus Rhys Ieuanc and his uncle, Maelgwn ap Rhys, attacked and pillaged the area moving on to attack the castles at Narbeth and Maenclochog. At this time Rhys Ieuanc moved against Cedweli and Carnwyllion with his forces besieging and burning Carnwyllion Castle in 1215. Llanelli was industrialised in the early 19th century as the global centre for tinplate production. Lying near the Western fringe of the South Wales Coal Field, Llanelli played an important role in industry, with coal exported through three small docks along with the copper and tin produced within the town itself. Although Llanelli is not located within the South Wales valleys, coal from the Gwendraeth and the Loughor Valleys was transported to Llanelli for export. The Stepney Family and other prominent families (including the Raby family, Howard family and Cowell family), played an important role in the development of the town. Aside from industry, Llanelli is also renowned for its pottery, which has a unique cockerel hand-painted on each item. A collection of this pottery can bee seen at the Llanelli Museum in Parc Howard. Llanelli people are sometimes nicknamed "Turks", for uncertain reasons. One theory is that many Turkish sailors once called at the port on their voyages. Several communities nearby may be included colloquially in Llanelli.

Culture and language

National Eisteddfod

Llanelli hosted the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

six times between 1895 and 2014.

Welsh language

In the mid-20th century, Llanelli was the world's largest town in which more than half the inhabitants spoke a Celtic language. It is ranked as the seventh largest urban area in Wales. According to the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

returns, 23.7 per cent of Llanelli town residents habitually spoke

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. However, the area around Llanelli is a Welsh stronghold, in which 56 per cent do so in communities such as

Llwynhendy Llwynhendy sometimes spelt Llwyn-Hendy is a village near the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin), Wales with a population of the 'Llwynhendy ward' which includes Llwynhendy, Cefncaeau, parts of Cwmcarnhywel, parts of Bryn and Pe ...

and

Burry Port Burry Port ( cy, Porth Tywyn) is a port town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the Loughor estuary (Moryd Llwchwr), to the west of Llanelli and south-east of Kidwelly. Its population was recorded at 5,680 in the 2001 census and 6,156 i ...

. During the 1950s, Trefor and

Eileen Beasley Eileen Beasley (4 April 1921 – 12 August 2012) was a Welsh teacher who, along with her husband Trefor, conducted a campaign of civil disobedience in the 1950s against the Rural District Council of Llanelli in a demand for council rate bills ...

campaigned to get Llanelli Rural Council to distribute tax papers in Welsh by refusing to pay taxes until their demand was met. The council reacted by sending in the bailiffs and selling their furniture to recover the money owed. The Beasleys' neighbours bought the furniture and returned it to them. The council finally reversed its policy in the 1960s, giving Welsh equal status with English.

Economy

In 1991 Llanelli was a distinct

travel to work area A travel to work area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a ...

, but a 2001-based revision has merged it into a wider one of Swansea Bay.

Manufacture

Several firms, including

Tata Steel Europe Tata Steel Europe Ltd. (formerly Corus Group plc) was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over the ...

tinplate at

Trostre Pemberton is an area situated east of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is part of the Llanelli Rural (Welsh-Llanelli Wledig) community bordering Llanelli and the villages of Cwmcarnhywel, Dafen, Cefncaeau and the outskirts of Llanelli tow ...

and

Dyfed Steels Dyfed Steels is a steel company based in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to ...

, are based in the Llanelli area and service the automotive industry. The

Technium Technium are a group of buildings in Wales that are part of the property portfolios of local authorities. They have attracted an increasing number of companies as tenants. Technium was originally an innovation programme by the Welsh Government. ...

Performance Engineering Centre was developed at Llanelli Gate as a business incubator for businesses in the automotive, motor sport and aerospace sectors. The traditional industries of Llanelli have gradually declined in recent decades. Local government has responded by seeking to attract tourism with developments such as the

Machynys Machynys, or Machynys Peninsula is a coastal area just to the south of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. In the nineteenth century an industrial community lived here working at the brickworks and tinplate works that occupied the site. When the ...

Golf Course, retail parks at Trostre and Pemberton, and the

Millennium Coastal Park The Millennium Coastal Park was originally a project undertaken by Llanelli Borough Council to transform a 12 miles stretch of industrial wasteland on the south Carmarthenshire coast into green parkland. The project was then taken over by Carmart ...

. The core shopping area has now moved largely from the town centre to the Trostre/Pemberton area.

Brewing

The longstanding Felinfoel Brewery continues in Felinfoel, just outside the town. Rev. James Buckley was an ordained

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister, born in

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in 1770, who after moving to Llanelli towards the end of the 18th century became involved in establishing a small

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

. After the death of the owner, Buckley gained possession of the brewery and changed its name to Buckley's. In 1998, the brewery was bought by

Brains Brewery Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd.) is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. The company controls more than 250 pubs in South Wales (particularly in Cardiff), Mid Wales and the West Country. Th ...

, which transferred production to its facility in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. However, Brains continues to produce ''The Reverend James'', a

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

named in Buckley's memory. Since then the Llanelli brewery has been partly demolished.

Leisure and tourism

In the past decade, the longstanding emphasis on heavy industry has shifted towards the tertiary sector employment in leisure and tourism. Ongoing developments include the new Llanelli Scarlets rugby stadium, the Old Castle Works leisure village (see below) and a National Hunt racecourse at

Ffos Las Ffos Las is a rural area between the villages of Carway and Trimsaran, north of the town of Llanelli in the River Gwendraeth, Gwendraeth Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The Ffos Las area is named after a farm which had existed at the site befor ...

near

Trimsaran Trimsaran is a community and former mining village which lies on the B4308 between Llanelli and Kidwelly, in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire. Trimsaran is six miles (10 km) from Llanelli, and from Carmarthen. It is close to Burry Port ...

Machynys Ponds Machynys Ponds (Welsh: Pyllau Machynys) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthenshire, Wales, designated in 1993 for its botany, botanical features. SSSI Machynys Ponds SSSI is located approximately to the south-east of Llan ...

, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

notable for its

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...

population, lies a mile to the south.

Religion

Nonconformism

Grade II* listed Tabernacle Chapel, Llanelli (geograph 3055142)

From the early 19th to late 20th centuries, Llanelli was a major centre of Welsh

nonconformism Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

. At the end of the Second World War there were 22 chapels in the town of Llanelli, and their history was chronicled in a volume by the BBC journalist Huw Edwards. Many of the chapels have now closed and others are in sharp decline, with only two or three likely to survive as functioning chapels in the 2020s. The most well known of Llanelli's chapels is probably Capel Als, where

David Rees David or Dai Rees may refer to: Entertainment * David Rees (author) (1936–1993), British children's author * Dave Rees (born 1969), American drummer for SNFU and Wheat Chiefs * David Rees (cartoonist) (born 1972), American cartoonist and televis ...

was a minister for many years in the 19th century. Llanelli had seven other Independent (Congregationalist) chapels, namely Tabernacle, Lloyd Street,

Siloah Siloah is a settlement in Jamaica whose existence dates to between the mid 1700s and the early 1800s. It has a population of 2,653 as of 2009. Siloah's economy revolves around the tourist attraction Appleton Sugar Estate, established in 1749, wh ...

, Soar, Ebenezer, Dock Chapel, and Park Church (the only chapel where services were conducted in English). The Tabernacle Chapel built in 1872–1873 by John Humphreys of Morriston overlooks the Town Hall. There is a prominent four-pillared Corinthian arcade at the entrance. The building was

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in December 1992. It is used as a venue by the Llanelli Choral Society. Other listed chapels include Bethel Baptist Chapel in Copperworks Road, Park Congregational Chapel, Zion Baptist Chapel at Island Place, and Hall Street Methodist Church. Situated on Waunlanyrafon, across the road from the police station, is the local Catholic Church, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church.

Church in Wales

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

has a medieval tower. The body of the church was rebuilt by

G. F. Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of Wat ...

in 1905–1906. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. Several other churches in the town are also listed buildings, but made redundant by the Church in Wales and now in private ownership. They include

All Saints' All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...

and St Alban's.

Sport

Rugby union

The town's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

teams – the Scarlets competing in the Pro14, and Llanelli RFC in the

Principality Premiership The Welsh Premier Division, () known for sponsorship reasons as the Indigo Group Premiership, (''Uwch Gynghrair grŵp indigo'') is a rugby union league in Wales first implemented by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for the 1990–91 season. Compe ...

– play at '' Parc y Scarlets'', which opened in November 2008 in Pemberton. Previously they had played at Stradey Park, home to Llanelli RFC for over 130 years and one site used for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was principally hosted by Wales, and was won by Australia. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's professi ...

, hosting the

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...

game on 10 October. Stradey Park is being redeveloped. The Welsh folk song "

Sosban Fach Sosban Fach (Welsh for "little saucepan") is a traditional Welsh folk song. It is one of the best-known and most often sung songs in the Welsh language. The song is based on a verse written by Mynyddog in 1873 as part of his song ''Rheolau yr Ae ...

" (Little Saucepan) is mostly associated with Llanelli RFC. Many rugby clubs have notable scalps collected from touring international sides, but on 31 October 1972, Llanelli claimed perhaps the greatest by beating the New Zealand All Blacks. The Scarlets side emerged 9–3 winners at Stradey Park. There is a strong junior rugby core, including club sides such as Felinfoel, New Dock Stars,

Llangennech Llangennech (()) is a village and community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of . It is governed by Llangennech Community Council and Carmarthenshire County Council. Llangennech is also the name of the count ...

and the Llanelli Wanderers. In 2005, Coedcae School won the Inter-Schools Cup of Wales with an 8–5 victory over Brynteg Comprehensive.

Rugby league

Llanelli's

West Wales Raiders The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in RFL League 1, League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022. The club was founded in 2015 as an ama ...

play in the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

's League 1 competition. The club is based at

Stebonheath Park Stebonheath Park (''Welsh: Parc Stebonheath'') is a multi-use stadium in Llanelli, West Wales with a capacity of 3,700. It is primarily used as a football ground and is the home of Llanelli Town A.F.C. It was also used for athletics and Llanel ...

Association football

is the home of

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

Llanelli A.F.C. Llanelli Town Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Llanelli) are a semi-professional Welsh football club that plays in the Cymru South. The original club was wound up on 22 April 2013 at the High Court in London following a ...

, which plays in the

Cymru South The Cymru South is a regional football league in Wales, covering the southern half of the country. It has clubs with semi-professional status and together with the Cymru North, it forms the second tier of the Welsh football league system. The fi ...

. The town has many active local teams and tournaments such as the 2018 Challenge Cup, where West End United beat Trostre Sports AFC.

Bowls

Llanelli hosts the annual Llanelli Open Bowls Tournaments, the oldest and most prestigious of which, the Roberts-Rolfe Open Singles event, has been run since 1926 and has a first prize of £600. The contests are held from July to September in Parc Howard.

Golf

The Llanelli area has two

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s: the Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club which hosted the

Wales Ladies Championship of Europe The WPGA Championship of Europe was a women's professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour. The tournament was first played in 1979 in France, the first WPGA event held outside the United Kingdom. It was revived 1996 at Gleneagles i ...

from 2005 until 2008, and Glyn Abbey Golf Club, which was named Welsh Golf Club of the Year 2009.

Snooker

Llanelli is the birthplace and home of Terry Griffiths OBE, snooker world champion in 1979 and runner up in 1988. Now a coach and snooker commentator, he runs The Terry Griffiths Matchroom in the town centre.

Media

Llanelli is home to

Tinopolis The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television annually for more than 200 UK and foreign broadcasters. History Llanelli, Wales, b ...

, one of Britain's largest independent media producers. It has subsidiaries that produce over 2,500 hours of broadcast television, including

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

programmes such as '' Question Time'' for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and Welsh-language television programs such as ''

Wedi 7 () is a nightly Welsh language television magazine programme, formerly broadcast by S4C. Produced by Tinopolis, it was the half-hour sister programme to a full-hour (). Description The Welsh-language television programme was first broadcast ...

'' for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

. Coverage of local affairs appears in two papers, the ''

Llanelli Star The ''Llanelli Star'' is a Welsh regional newspaper covering the areas of Llanelli and Carmarthen in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is published on a weekly basis in a tabloid form. The newspaper is published by Trinity Mirror, the ...

'' founded in 1909 and Llanelli Herald launched in 2015. Online coverage is found on ''

Llanelli Online ''Llanelli Online'' is a Wales, Welsh hyperlocal online newspaper covering the areas of Llanelli in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It publishes daily content which covers news, sport, business and community. It began in November 2016. '' ...

''. The main county-wide radio station is

Radio Carmarthenshire Radio Carmarthenshire is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Carmarthenshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 97.1 and 97.5 FM from studios near the St Hilary transmitter in the Vale of Glamorga ...

. Other radio stations covering the area are The Wave,

Greatest Hits Radio South Wales Greatest Hits Radio South Wales (formerly Swansea Sound) is Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, East Carmarthenshire a ...

Easy Radio Easy Radio is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and East Carmarthenshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 102.1 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transm ...

, Radio BGM, which serves the Prince Philip Hospital and the local community online, and regional station

Heart South Wales Heart South Wales is an regional radio station that broadcasts to South and West Wales from studios in Cardiff Bay. The station is owned and operated by Global Radio and forms part of the expanded Heart radio network of stations. Background ...

Local attractions

Some local attractions include: *The

Millennium Coastal Path The Millennium Coastal Path is a pedestrian walkway and cycleway along the south coast of Carmarthenshire, providing a link between Llanelli and Pembrey Country Park. The cycleway forms a section of both the Celtic Trail cycle route (part of ...

along of coastline from Loughor to

Pembrey Pembrey (Welsh: ''Pen-bre'') is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay, with a population of about 2,154 in 2011. The electoral ward having a population of 4,301. It is in the ...

offers views of the Gower Peninsula and the opportunity of traffic-free cycling. *WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre, about east of Llanelli, near

and

Bynea Bynea ( )G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 23. ( cy, Bynie) is a village close to the River Loughor (Welsh-Afon Llwchwr) in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin), Wales (Cymru). It also forms an Bynea ...

, is one of ten

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

s managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. *

is an example of an early 18th-century

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

town house. Located directly opposite the

, it is currently in a poor state of repair, but the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

recently bought it with an eye to

civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

and public use. It was built for Thomas Stepney, the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Carmarthenshire, in 1714.

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

, the early leader of the

Methodist movement Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, stayed there several times. It also featured in the first series of the

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

show, ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

''.Llanelli House
*

Parc Howard Museum Parc Howard Museum & Art Gallery is a museum in a 19th-century Italianate country house, situated in of parkland, north of the town centre of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The park is registered on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks an ...

is set in the grounds of Parc Howard. The museum houses a collection of Llanelly Pottery (so spelt), an art collection and material on the history of the town.

Leisure

The Ffwrnes Theatre opened in late 2012, replacing the Theatr Elli, which was part of the Llanelli Entertainment Centre. A multi-screen cinema opened in October 2012. Much is being spent on regenerating the central shopping district. Llanelli holds festivals,

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

s and events throughout the year. They include: *Welsh International Open, a competition of the World Bowls Tour (February) *Into the Future Festival — educational event about the environment and technology, organised by the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

(August) *Llanelli Big Day Out — pop and live music event (August) *Llanelli Beer Festival — official CAMRA event (August) *Llanelli Christmas Carnival (November) *Llanelli Ramblers Festival of Walks, an annual walking festival, late Spring Bank Holiday weekend (May) *Llanelli Pride (first Saturday in August)

Transport

Llanelli is linked with the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

via the A4138 and with

via the Loughor Bridge on the

A484 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European isla ...

. It is served by regular bus services between

and Carmarthen and a National Express service to London. Services from

Llanelli railway station railway station is the railway station serving the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located on the West Wales line and the Heart of Wales line west of by rail. The station and the majority of trains calling are operated by T ...

on the Great Western Crescent south of the town centre connect with

Fishguard Harbour Goodwick (; cy, Wdig) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Fishguard and Goodwick form a community that wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists of Dyffryn, Stop-an ...

and

along the West Wales Line. It is the terminus of the Heart of Wales Line for Craven Arms and

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. There are daily

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

services with Paddington railway station, London Paddington and regular services with Cardiff Central railway station, Cardiff Central and Manchester Piccadilly railway station, Manchester Piccadilly. The district is also served by stations at Bynea railway station, Bynea, Llangennech railway station, Llangennech, Pembrey & Burry Port railway station, Pembrey & Burry Port and Kidwelly railway station, Kidwelly. Llanelli is connected to the National Cycle Network from the north on NCR 43, and along the coast from the east and west on NCR 4. These routes link with a cycle path to the town centre. The nearest passenger airport is Cardiff Airport, away, although Pembrey Airport, Pembrey, , provides air charter services.

Education

Primary and secondary

The first

-medium primary school, Ysgol Dewi Sant (Llanelli), Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant, was founded in Llanelli in 1947. The English-medium secondary schools are St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School, St John Lloyd, Bryngwyn Comprehensive School, Bryngwyn and Coedcae School, Coedcae; the only Welsh medium secondary school is Ysgol y Strade. St Michael's School, Llanelli, St Michael's School is a Public school (UK)#England, Wales and Northern Ireland, private school for ages 3–18. Ysgol Heol Goffa is a special school for pupils with disabilities.

Further and higher education

Coleg Sir Gâr (Carmarthenshire College), with its main campus at Graig near Pwll, provides a college education for most of the town's further education students and some vocational undergraduate degrees through the University of Wales. There are sixth form colleges at Ysgol Gyfun y Strade (Welsh medium) and St Michael's (English medium). Prince Philip Hospital has a postgraduate centre for medical training run by Cardiff University's School of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.

Government

Llanelli is in the Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency), Llanelli parliamentary constituency, currently represented by the Labour Party (UK), Labour party member Nia Griffith

(MP), and by the Senedd constituency of Labour's Lee Waters Member of the Senedd, MS. Llanelli is run on a Community (Wales), community level by Llanelli Town Council and Llanelli Rural Council (depending on the area of town) and

at local government level. Llanelli Rural Council addresses some part of the town, but mainly the Llanelli Rural community. Llanelli's politics has been Labour-dominated for decades. Its geographical location has led to a sense of exceptionalism in relation to the rest of Carmarthenshire, which is dominated by Plaid Cymru. In reaction to this, there have been calls to reinstate the local government district of Llanelli either as a county or as the City of Llanelli. The community of Llanelli is bordered by those of Llanelli Rural, Llanrhidian Higher and Llanrhidian Lower, the last two being in the City and County of Swansea. Llanelli Borough Council, based at Llanelli Town Hall, was the area local authority until

became the unitary authority in 1996.

Twinning

Llanelli is town twinning, twinned with Agen, France.

Town areas

*Bigyn *Glanymôr *Llanerch *

*Morfa, Llanelli, Morfa *Tyisha *New Dock *Sandy, Carmarthenshire, Sandy *Stradey

Towns and villages near Llanelli

Current developments

Llanelli Waterside

Llanelli Waterside, a joint venture between

and the Welsh Assembly Government, aims to transform the waterfront into a business, leisure and residential community. There are two seafront housing developments under construction. Pentre Nicklaus Village, located on the Machynys, Machynys Peninsula has been criticised for being above the price range for local people. Pentre Doc Y Gogledd (North Dock Village) in the historic North Dock, Llanelli, North Dock area is nearing completion by the firm of David McLean.

Notable people

:''See :People from Llanelli'' Notable Llanelli people with a Wikipedia page in alphabetical order by section:

Art, media and entertainment

*Juliet Ace (born 1938), playwright and dramatist *Simon Armstrong (living), film, television and stage actor *David Brazell (1875–1959), opera singer and early recording artist *Ronald Cass (1923–2006), film writer and composer *Eleanor Daniels (1886–1994), stage and silent film actress *Huw Edwards (journalist), Huw Edwards (born 1961), BBC News chief presenter *Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958) conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker *Peter Anthony Freeman (living), author and storyteller *Jessica Garlick (born 1981), Eurovision Song Contest 2002 UK entrant and ''Pop Idol'' finalist *Gareth Hughes (1894–1965), silent film actor, born in Halfway/Pemberton *Julie Gore (born 1958), singer, songwriter, TV presenter and darts player *James Dickson Innes (1887–1914), artist *Deke Leonard (1944–2017), rock musician, author, raconteur and TV panellist *Elizabeth Morgan (actress), Elizabeth Morgan (born 1930), actress and writer *Terry Morris (artist and photographer), Terry Morris (born 1965), artist and photographer *Natasha O'Keeffe (born 1986), television actress *John Owen-Jones (born 1971), actor *Christopher Rees (born 1973), singer, songwriter and musician *Rachel Roberts (actress), Rachel Roberts (1927–1980), actress *Dorothy Squires (1915–1998), singer and second wife of actor Roger Moore *Donald Swann (1923–1994), of the Flanders and Swann duo *Huw Thomas (1927–2009), ITV News, ITN newscaster *Imogen Thomas (born 1982), ''Big Brother'' contestant and glamour model *Jeffrey Thomas (actor), Jeffrey Thomas (born 1945), acting star of ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and ''Spartacus: Gods of the Arena''

Government and politics

*Robert Buckland (born 1968), Conservative Lord Chancellor *Michael Howard (born 1941), Conservative Party leader (2003–2005) *Lord Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones, Elwyn Jones (1909–1989), Labour Lord Chancellor *Sir Tom O'Brien (trade unionist), Tom O'Brien (1900–1970), Labour MP and trade unionist *Rod Richards (1947–2019), Conservative MP and leader in the National Assembly for Wales *David Thomas (educationalist), David Thomas (1880–1967), Labour organizer and trade unionist

Sports

Rugby Union

*Phil Bennett (born 1948), Wales national rugby union team, Wales and British and Irish Lions, British Lions *Jonathan Davies (rugby player born 1962), Jonathan Davies (born 1962), Wales in rugby league and rugby union *Ieuan Evans (born 1964), Wales and British Lions *Ray Gravell (1951–2007), Wales and British Lions, actor and broadcaster. *Carwyn James (1929–1983), Wales, coach of Llanelli and British Lions *Gareth Jenkins (born 1951), Wales, coach of Llanelli, Scarlets, Llanelli Scarlets and Wales *Barry John (born 1945), Cardiff, Wales and British Lions *Dwayne Peel (born 1981), Wales and British Lions *Derek Quinnell (born 1949), Wales and British Lions

Darts

*Jonny Clayton (born 1974), professional

Association football

*Wyndham Evans (born 1951), player, manager and commentator *Emyr Huws (born 1993), Wales national football team, Wales and Ipswich Town F.C. *Matt Jones (footballer, born 1980), Matthew Jones (born 1980), Wales and premier league footballer and manager *Kyle Letheren (born 1987), Plymouth Argyle F.C. goalkeeper *Byron Stevenson (1956–2007), Wales

Other sports

*Jeff Evans (umpire), Jeff Evans (born 1954), cricket umpire *Dai Greene (born 1986), 400m hurdler, world champion and IAAF gold medalist * Terry Griffiths (born 1947), world snooker champion (1979) *Neil Haddock (born 1964), boxer, British superfeatherweight champion *Evan Hoyt (born 1995), professional tennis *Edward Laverack (born 1994), professional cyclist *Flex Lewis (born 1983), bodybuilder *Melbourne Tierney (born 1924), rugby league *Eirian Williams (born 1955), snooker referee

Other categories

*Leslie Griffiths (born 1942), Methodist Church of Great Britain, Methodist minister and life peer *William Lloyd (British Naval officer), William Lloyd (1725–1796), Royal Navy admiral *Gwladys Yvonne McKeon (1897–1979), Llanelli-born Australian marine biologist *Sir John Meurig Thomas (1932–2020), chemist and science historian *Brian Trubshaw (1924–2001), pilot of first flight of British Concorde *Phil Prosser CBE, British army brigadier, Commander of 101 Logistics Brigade in charge of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out

References

External links

Llanelli Rural CouncilLlanelli Town CouncilLlanelli Town GuidePhotos of Llanelli and surrounding areaLlanelli Community Heritage - Promoting Llanelli's rich heritage
{{Authority control Llanelli, Towns in Carmarthenshire Communities in Carmarthenshire Populated coastal places in Wales Ports and harbours of Wales

Name

Spelling

History

Culture and language

National Eisteddfod

Welsh language

Economy

Manufacture

Brewing

Leisure and tourism

Religion

Nonconformism

Church in Wales

Sport

Rugby union

Rugby league

Association football

Bowls

Golf

Snooker

Media

Local attractions

Leisure

Transport

Education

Primary and secondary

Further and higher education

Government

Twinning

Town areas

Towns and villages near Llanelli

Current developments

Llanelli Waterside

Notable people

Art, media and entertainment

Government and politics

Sports

Rugby Union

Darts

Association football

Other sports

Other categories

See also

References

Further reading

External links