St Clears ( ; cy, Sanclêr) on 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 ...

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 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 the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, is both a small town 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, t ...

. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,995. The community includes the small settlements of

Bancyfelin Bancyfelin is a village, west of Carmarthen, Wales. The English translation of the Welsh name is Hill of the Mill. There is no remnant of the mill today. Up until the 1980s when the A40 dual carriageway bypass opened, the village was plagued b ...

and Pwlltrap. It is bordered by the Carmarthenshire communities of,

Meidrim Meidrim is a community some west of Carmarthen and north of St Clears in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Meidrim (formerly also spelled 'Mydrim') and its twin village of Drefach are situated either side of the Afon Dewi Fawr at the point where this sm ...

Newchurch and Merthyr Newchurch and Merthyr is a community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales including the villages of Newchurch (Welsh: Eglwysnewydd) and Merthyr. The community population at the 2011 census was 676. The community is bordered by the communities of: ...

, Llangynog,

Laugharne Township Laugharne ( cy, Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The ancient borough of Laugharne Township ( cy, Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival ...

, Llanddowror,

Eglwyscummin Eglwyscummin ( cy, Eglwys Gymyn) is a community situated on the south-western boundary of Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales. It is made up of the three ward parishes of Ciffig, Eglwyscummin, and Marros, all surrounding the village of Red Roses, ...

, Llanboidy and Llangynin.

History

The Priory Church of St Mary Magdalene (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an 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 bishops. The pos ...

) is a grade II* listed building and was founded ; a

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began ...

priory of St Martin-des-Champs. It is considered to have the best surviving Norman stone carving in Carmarthenshire. The church was restored in 1853-55 and again in 1883–84. The

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

is from . The Norman castle was constructed in the 12th century. St Clears, a Marcher

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

, grew around it. The castle held out against

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

. The castle mound can still be seen. According to a plaque at the site, a quay on the river Tâf below the castle could accommodate ships up to 500 tons. Nearby, Trefenty House became the home of a branch of the Perrot family in the 16th century, and it was here that the amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

Sir William Lower and a neighbour, John Protheroe, set up one of Britain's first

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

s in 1609, which they used to study the craters of the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the on ...

. In 1842, St Clears was an epicentre of the " Rebecca Riots". At least one local toll gate was destroyed there. The building of the South Wales Railway in the 1850s was responsible for the decline of many of the small ports along the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Se ...

coast, and St Clears was no exception. The railway passed about two miles north of the castle, and new building at the north end of the High Street spread eastwards along Pentre Road, and then northwards to the station. Pentre Road is now the main commercial centre of St Clears and was formerly part of the

A40 road A4 most often refers to: *A4 paper, a paper size defined by the ISO 216 standard, measuring 210 × 297 mm A4 and variants may also refer to: Science and mathematics * British NVC community A4 (''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloide ...

until the bypass opened. The town's cattle market was important until its closure, but the town still has a large agricultural cooperative store. The town has also hosted an oil distribution centre and milk processing plant. Now, smaller industrial units provide the main local employment. Photographer and film-maker Stanley Phillips lived in St Clears and documented life in the town and the surrounding area (active 1910–1961). His work appeared in the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the ''Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

'', ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'', and ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'', as well as local newspapers. His films include ''The Last March of Mr. Jonah Rees at St Clears'' (1930), which is in the collection of the National Library of Wales. He worked closely with Colonel William Buckley (whose work is also in the National Library of Wales) and E.V. Williams, both keen filmmakers. The permanent exhibition of Phillips' photographs and film at the Mezzanine Gallery in St. Clears includes photographs of the aviator Amy Johnson, World War I flying ace Wing Commander Ira Jones, and racing drivers

Sir Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a ...

and J. G. Parry-Thomas, who both attempted world land speed records at nearby Pendine Sands.

Governance

St Clears is also an

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 ...

, electing councillors to

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 coun ...

and St Clears Town Council.

Railway

The original railway was constructed by the South Wales Railway. Although trains travel on the West Wales Line through St Clears, they have not stopped since 1964. After a local campaign to persuade the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

and

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's len ...

to reopen St Clears railway station, funding was secured to do so by 2024.

Amenities

The town has a large bilingual primary school, Ysgol Griffith Jones. There are a variety of local shops including two prize-winning traditional

butcher A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

s and two craft centres. There are several pubs. The surrounding countryside is mainly rolling grassland consisting of moderate-sized fields with well-kept hedges. The main agricultural enterprise is

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

ing, but

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

are very important as well. The soils are deep and productive and will grow good crops of

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

and cereals, and the climate allows fruit growing as well. Although most of the land is farmed commercially the area is a haven for wildlife. The highlight of the farming year is the St Clears YFC annual show which is held in May.

Sport

St Clears AFC

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club play in the

Pembrokeshire League The Pembrokeshire League (currently the ''Manderwood Pembrokeshire League'') is a football league in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, running from levels five to nine of the Welsh football league system. Teams promoted from Division One may enter th ...

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of St Clears and surrounding area
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Clears Towns in Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire electoral wards Communities in Carmarthenshire