Llanfyrnach () is a village and

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 ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

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 ...

. The village is in the electoral ward 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 ...

Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains, on the old Tenby to Cardigan ...

. The village of Crymych and the hamlets of

Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...

, Glandwr and the eastern part of

Pentre Galar Pentre Galar (or Pentregalar, Pentre-Galar) is a small settlement in the Preseli Mountains south of the village of Crymych, north Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the A478 Cardigan to Tenby road. The western part of the settlement lies in the parish of ...

are in Llanfyrnach parish. Llanfyrnach means the church of St Brynach''. Llanfyrnach village is in a remote upland area on the headwaters of the

River Tâf The River Taf ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in West Wales. It rises in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, and continues through Carmarthenshire to Laugharne. It is one of the three rivers to enter the sea on the east side of Carmarthen Bay. The oth ...

, about from Cardigan.

History

The parish of Llanfyrnach was in the ancient

Cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

of Cemais. There is a small

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

close to the church. Llanfyrnach (as ''Llanvurnach'') appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. Much of the parish was unenclosed moorland until the start of the 19th century. Population doubled as numerous small farms were established following

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

from the 16th century onwards. Llanfyrnach mine, adit - geograph

There was an important

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine on the north side of the village until the end of the 19th century. Mining occurred on a small scale for the sake of the low but significant concentration of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

in the ores, perhaps from as early as the 16th century. As a result of high demand for lead in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, the mine was greatly extended in the 1840s, and had reached 520 m below the surface by the time of its closure in 1890. The

Whitland & Taf Vale Railway The Whitland & Cardigan Railway was a long branch line in West Wales. It was built in two stages, at first as the Whitland and Taf Vale Railway from the South Wales Main Line at Whitland to the quarries at Glogue. It opened in 1873, at first onl ...

reached the village in 1873, and the village became a transport depot for the surrounding hill country; lead and agricultural produce were shipped out, and heavy supplies, notably

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

, were brought in. Although the railway closed in 1963, the village is still a transport hub with Mansel Davies, the road haulage company, based in the village since 1900; the firm was the subject of an S4C documentary in 2017. The Celtic Blue Rock festival was held at Trefawr Farm in the village, but lost its licence in 2010.

St Brynach's Church

The present church is mid-Victorian, but there has been a Christian community in the village since at least the 6th century when Saint

Brynach Saint Brynach was a 6th-century Welsh saint. He is traditionally associated with Pembrokeshire, where several churches are dedicated to him. Life A 12th-century account of Brynach's life states that sometime in the early 6th century, Brynach tr ...

is believed to have come to the area. The parish includes a number of other settlements, particularly the village of

and the hamlets of Glandwr and

. In 1872 the parish covered .

Demographics

The village remains small, with much of the workforce employed in transportation. The population of the parish was 542 (1801), 933 (1851), 954 (1901), 844 (1951) and 837 (1981). The area remains largely

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 ...

-speaking; the proportion of Welsh speakers was 100% in 1891, 97% in 1931 and 82% in 1971.

Notable people

The

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

poet

Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) Thomas Evan Nicholas (6 October 1879 – 19 April 1971), who used the bardic name Niclas y Glais ( en, 'Nicholas of Glais'), was a Welsh language poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society. Early life Nicholas was b ...

was born in Llanfyrnach in 1878.

References

External links