Caio (or Caeo) is a village in the county of

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, south-west

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, sited near to the Dolaucothi Gold Mines.

Location

It is located between

Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...

and

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

, north-east of the A482 that connects these two towns. Caio lies at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Afon Annell and the Nant Frena. It forms part of the parish of Cynwyl Gaeo. In former times it gave its name to Cayo Hundred.

History

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, consecrated to Saint Cynwyl, now stands at the centre of the village, near the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

that linked the Roman forts at

(''Alabum'') and Llanio ( Bremia), and the Roman gold mines at Dolaucothi. The Roman road remained in use until the late 18th century, mainly as a cattle-road or Drover's road. The Dolaucothi Estate long held by the Johnes family is now a tourist attraction owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. A pounding-stone long known as ''Carreg Pumsaint'' and a possible

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

are located nearby. The oldest record of a chapel in the village is the Tynewydd

Calvinistic Methodists Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

chapel which was built around 1774. The old Ysgol Gynradd Caio stands next to the church, and was built in 1869. It taught primarily through the medium of Welsh, but closed in 2012.

Notable people

Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan of Caeo ( 1341–1401) was a wealthy Carmarthenshire landowner who was executed in Llandovery by Henry IV of England in punishment for his support of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh rebellion. Until recently Llewelyn was littl ...

(ca.1341 – 1401), a Caio landowner, executed by Henry IV for his allegiance to

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (28 May 135420 September 1415), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr (Glyn Dŵr, , anglicised as Owen Glendower) was a Welsh people, Welsh leader, soldier and military commander in the Wales in the late Middle Ages, late Middle ...

. * Dafydd Jones (1711–1777), hymnist, known as ''Dafydd Jones o Gaeo'' was born in the area. * Joshua Thomas (1719–1797), a Welsh writer and

Particular Baptist Reformed Baptists, also called Particular Baptists, or Calvinist Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation belief teached by John Calvin). The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century ...

minister * Brothers John Dafydd (1727–1783) and Morgan Dafydd (m. 1762), hymnist, are connected to the village. * James Hills-Johnes (1833–1919), recipeent of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

is buried here. * John Strand-Jones (1877–1958), Wales

rugby union football Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international, later clergyman, was born in Caio,

Amenities

Other amenities include Caio Post Office (closed in the 1990s) and a public house, the Brunant Arms. At the turn of the 20th century there were several public houses, the "Brunant Arms", the "Sexton's Arms", which was run out of someone's front room, and the "King's Head Inn". In 1966

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

produced the documentary ''"A Village Called Caio"'' about rural life in rural West Wales. They paid a retrospective visit in 2008, to see how the village had changed.

References

External links