Llanfynydd is a village, parish and

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 499. It lies some 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the county town,

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...

. Bordering it are the communities of

Llansawel Llansawel is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, about ten miles north of Llandeilo. It covers an area of . The community is bordered by the communities of: Pencarreg; Cynwyl Gaeo; Talley; Llanfynydd; Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn ...

Talley Talley ( cy, Talyllychau, historically cy, Tal y Llychau, label=none) is a community and small village in Carmarthenshire, Wales.The population taken at the 2011 census was 494. The community is bordered by the communities of: Llansawel; Cy ...

Manordeilo and Salem Manordeilo and Salem ( cy, Maenordeilo a Salem) is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,754. The community is bordered by the communities of: Talley; Llansadwrn; Llangadog; Dyffryn Cennen; ...

Llangathen Llangathen () is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 507. The parish church of St Cathen is a Grade II* listed building and houses the tomb of Anthony Rudd, an Elizabethan Bishop of St Davi ...

Llanegwad Llanegwad () is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,473. Llanegwad is built up mainly of small farms and detached homes. The community is bordered by the communities of: Llanfihangel Rhos ...

and

Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn is a sparsely populated community of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 468. The community is bordered by the communities of: Llanybydder; Llansawel; Llanfynydd; Llan ...

, all in Carmarthenshire.

Heritage

The Church in Wales parish church is a Grade II* listed building dedicated to St Egwad, a 7th-century bishop in Wales. The tower, probably the earliest part, dates from about 1400. The north aisle was added in the 16th century. The building was restored in 1861, when further windows were added. The only indication of a previous church further up the valley is in the name of a farm: Bryn-Yr-Eglwys ("Hill of the Church"). In 1844 Llanfynydd was a parish of 11,000 acres and 1,358 inhabitants in Cathinog Hundred. By 1929 the population was down to 581.

Worship

Parish registers exist from 1692. The parish also has several chapels.

Education

D. Jones, a local clergyman, established a day school in Llanfynydd in 1738, for 20 children. The number of pupils at the school had fallen to 11 by September 2013, with a deficit of £50,000, and Carmarthenshire Council warned that the school would close if numbers fell below 10. However, in December 2014 the BBC reported that the school, though it had no pupils, could not be closed until Carmarthenshire County Council had held a consultation and a vote on the issue.

Public protest

In July 2004, in protest over plans to erect a

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used Wind power, to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundre ...

nearby, the residents of Llanfynydd renamed their village ''Llanhyfryddawellehynafolybarcudprindanfygythiadtrienusyllafnauole'' ("lovely silent church, ancient place of the rare kite under wretched threat from misplaced blades") for the space of one week.BBC News website (Jan. 30, 2007)
" Long Winded Village Name Protest"
Retrieved on July 19, 2004. The name was chosen to reflect villagers' concern that the wind farm would threaten three endangered species of bird – the (

red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

, the

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

, and the

skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

) – and to generate publicity for their cause by being longer than the previously longest place name in the UK: that of

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, or Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (), is a large village and local government community on the island of Anglesey, Wales, on the Menai Strait next to the Britannia Bridge and across the strait from Bangor. Both shortened (Llanfa ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. The protest went ahead despite assurances from the local council and from the Spanish-owned developers Gamesa Energy UK (part of

Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A., formerly Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica S.A. () and Grupo Auxiliar Metalúrgico S.A., is a Spanish-German wind engineering company based in Zamudio, Biscay, Spain. In Spain, the company has two other main ...

) that the single

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

planned was intended merely as a test to see how suitable the area might be for wind turbines in the future.

Notable people

Thomas Rees, Congregational minister and historian of nonconformity, was born at Pen Pontbren, Llanfynydd, on 13 December 1815. He was twice elected to chair the

Union of Welsh Independents The Union of Welsh Independents ( cy, Undeb yr Annibynwyr Cymraeg) is a Reformed congregationalist denomination in Wales. History Welsh congregational churches or Independents stand in the Puritan tradition. The first congregational congregati ...

References

External links

Church websiteHistorical information on GENUKIPhotographs of Llanfynydd and surrounding area on GeographA Vision of Britain through Time - Llanfynydd
* {{authority control Communities in Carmarthenshire Villages in Carmarthenshire