Llansteffan, is a village and a

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 ...

situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire,

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 ...

, lying on the estuary of the

River Tywi The River Towy ( cy, Afon Tywi, ) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi on the lower sl ...

, south of Carmarthen.

Description

The community includes

Llanybri Llanybri is a rural farming village situated near the estuary of the River Tywi in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The parish of Llansteffan consists of two distinct villages with separate churches: Llansteffan by the estuary and Llanybri inland on the ...

and is bordered by the communities of: Laugharne Township; Llangynog; Llangain; St Ishmael; and

Pembrey and Burry Port Town Pembrey and Burry Port Town (Welsh: ''Pen-bre a Phorth Tywyn'') is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales including the town of Burry Port and the village of Pembrey. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 8,547. The comm ...

. The population of the community was 941 in 2011 which includes the Llansteffan village population of 424. Llansteffan means "

Llan Llan may be: * Llan (placename), a Celtic morpheme, or element, common in British placenames ** A short form for any placename . * Llan, Powys, a Welsh village near Llanbrynmair * Llan the Sorcerer La Lunatica Lacuna Lady Bullseye Lady De ...

of Saint Stephen", but honours a 6th-century Welsh associate of

Saint Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his ...

rather than the more widely known protomartyr. The parish of Llansteffan consists of two distinct villages with separate churches: Llansteffan by the estuary and Llanybri inland on the hilltop. St Ystyffan's church is a grade II* listed building. Between the castle and village sits

Plas Llanstephan Plas Llanstephan is a mansion in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is set well back from the public road among pasture fields and is reached by a private driveway from the village of Llansteffan. Both the hall and the stable block are grad ...

Lord Kylsant Owen Cosby Philipps, 1st Baron Kylsant (25 March 1863 – 5 June 1937) was a British businessman and politician, jailed in 1931 for producing a document with intent to deceive. Background Philipps was the third of five sons of the Reverend Sir J ...

's former residence, which is also a grade II* listed building The village was connected to Ferryside, on the opposite bank of the Towy estuary, by a ferry until the 1950s. It saved visitors a 16 mile road trip. In 2018, a ferry service resumed using an amphibious boat to negotiate Llansteffan beach, rather than the 1950s jetty.

Castle

Llansteffan Castle Llansteffan Castle ( cy, Castell Llansteffan) is a privately owned castle in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, Wales, overlooking the River Tywi estuary in Carmarthen Bay. Iron Age The castle sits on a much older Iron Age promontory fort, prov ...

, built by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

in the 12th century and granted to the Marmion family, stands above the village on a promontory commanding the estuary passage. Located between the ferry crossing-points of the Tywi and Tâf rivers, Llansteffan was an important staging post on the coastal route from

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

via

Kidwelly 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 ...

to Pembroke.

Governance

At the local level, Llansteffan is governed by Llansteffan & Llanybri Community Council comprising up to 10 community councillors. Until 2022 a county

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 ...

of Llansteffan existed. This ward stretched north from Llansteffan to include Llangynog and Llangain, with a total population of 2,006. From the

2022 local elections This local electoral calendar for 2022 lists the subnational elections held in 2022. Referendums, Recall election, recall and retention elections, and national By-election, by-elections (special elections) are also included. January *9 January: ...

Llansteffan was merged with the St Clears ward to become 'St Clears and Llansteffan', represented by two county councillors.

Notable people

*The poet

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

had strong family links to Llansteffan. The triangle formed by Llangynog, Llangain and Llansteffan constitutes as Thomas once put it, his "breeding-box valley". His mother's family, the Williamses, lived within this triangle in farms such as Waunfwlchan, Llwyngwyn, Maesgwyn and Penycoed. His mother's half-sister, Anne, lived in Rose Cottage in the village. *The artist

Osi Rhys Osmond Osi Rhys Osmond (born Donald Malcolm Osmond; 28 June 1942 – 6 March 2015) was a Welsh painter and an occasional television and radio presenter. Biography Osmond was born in Bristol to Welsh parents from Wattsville, Sirhowy, Caerphilly, where ...

, lived in Llansteffan for 30 years until his death. * Lieutenant Tomos Stephens, an

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

soldier who was taken prisoner during

Operation Bulbasket Operation Bulbasket was an operation by 'B' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service (SAS), behind the German lines in German occupied France, between June and August 1944. The operation was located to the east of Poitiers in the Vienne department of ...

in World War II, then beaten to death by a German officer.

References

External links