Llangadog () is a village 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 ...

located in

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, which also includes the villages of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

and

Capel Gwynfe Gwynfe () or Capel Gwynfe is a small village inside the portion of Brecon Beacons National Park that is in Carmarthenshire, a county of southwestern Wales. This village is situated between Trichrug and the western slopes of the Black Mountain, ...

. A notable local landscape feature is

Y Garn Goch Y Garn Goch is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the east of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The name means the 'red cairn'. It lies near the village of Bethlehem, three miles southwest of Llangadog and four miles east of Llandeilo on the so ...

with two

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

hill forts.The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008. Llangadog was the administrative centre of the

commote A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

of Perfedd and had a castle, destroyed in 1204. Although the borough declined in the Middle Ages, Llangadog retained its market, which was frequented by drovers into the 19th century. Llangadog Creamery - geograph

The

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Heart of Wales Line The Heart of Wales line ( cy, Llinell Calon Cymru) is a railway line running from Craven Arms in Shropshire to Llanelli in southwest Wales. It serves a number of rural centres, including the nineteenth-century spa towns Llandrindod Wells, Llanga ...

provides regular train services via

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...

. The station had a siding for accessing the Co-op Wholesale Society

creamery A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream re ...

, allowing milk trains to access the site. After railway access was ceased in the late 1970s, the creamery continued to operate until 2005, when it closed with the loss of 200 jobs. The site has since been redeveloped as a pet food factory.

St Cadog's Church

South side of St Cadog Parish Church, Llangadog - geograph

The

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...

parish church of

Saint Cadoc Saint Cadoc or Cadog ( lat-med, Cadocus; also Modern Welsh: Cattwg; born or before) was a 5th–6th-century Abbot of Llancarfan, near Cowbridge in Glamorgan, Wales, a monastery famous from the era of the British church as a centre of learnin ...

(from whom the name of the village derives) is of medieval origin and was extensively restored in 1889. The tower is fourteenth century.

Governance

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

with the same name exists. This ward stretches beyond the confines of Llangadog community. The total ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,929. The community is bordered by the communities of:

Myddfai Myddfai () is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is situated south of Llandovery in the Brecon Beacons, and has a population of 415, decreasing to 398 at the 2011 census. The village is a popular tourist destination on ...

; Llanddeusant;

Quarter Bach Quarter Bach ( cy, Cwarter Bach) is a community located in the east of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Description It is at the foot of the Black Mountain, in the far east of the county. The main settlement here is Upper Brynamman, though it also inclu ...

;

Dyffryn Cennen Dyffryn Cennen is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 1,176. The community is bordered by the communities of: Manordeilo and Salem; Llangadog; Cwmamman; Llandybie; Llanfihan ...

;

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; ...

; and

Llansadwrn Llansadwrn (; ; ) is a small village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located in the countryside above the valley of the River Tywi, about halfway between Llandovery (Welsh: Llanymddyfri) to the north-east, and Llandeilo to the ...

, all being in Carmarthenshire.

Welsh language

According to the 2011 Census, 58.1% of the community's residents aged three and above can speak Welsh, with 86.3% of 3-15 year olds being able to speak the language. According to the latest

Estyn Estyn is the education and training inspectorate for Wales. Its name comes from the Welsh language verb ''estyn'' meaning "to reach (out), stretch or extend". Its function is to provide an independent inspection and advice service on quality ...

inspection report of the local primary school, Ysgol Gynradd Llangadog, over half of the pupils came from Welsh-speaking households.

References

External links

Llangadog, Capel Gwynfe and Bethlehem community websitewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llangadog and surrounding area
Communities in Carmarthenshire Villages in Carmarthenshire {{Carmarthenshire-geo-stub