Cefneithin () is a village and community in

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. ...

, Wales, in the Carmarthenshire coalfield area. It lies just off the A48 road, 7 miles north west of

Ammanford Ammanford ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population of 5,445, and the wider built up area had a population of 8,285. Ammanford is se ...

and 9 miles north of

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

. Its nearby community villages include Cross Hands, Drefach, Cwmmawr, Foelgastell and Gorslas. The Gwendraeth Fawr river flows nearby and its source is at Llyn Llech Owain, just north of the village. Cefneithin has a chapel (Tabernacl), a village hall (Y Neuadd), a primary school, and a secondary school. The latter, Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth, was re-opened in 2016 after an extensive renovation and an £18.4m investment; it has 1,000 pupils, of which 157 in sixth form, and resources for children with additional learning needs. Prior to 2016 when the school was called Ysgol Gyfun Maes Yr Yrfa, some of its famous pupils include Nigel Owens (international rugby referee),

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician **Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...

(MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr), TV presenter

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American Far-right politics, far-right radio host, radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas. ''The Alex Jones Show'' is the lo ...

and

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

rugby player

Dwayne Peel Dwayne John Peel (born 31 August 1981) is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013. Yo ...

. The local rugby club, Cefneithin RFC, was founded in 1922. Blaenhirwaun Colliery was situated just outside Cefneithin and was near the extremity of the coalfield. It produced high grade anthracite with an output of about 350 tons per day. 360 people were employed below ground and 80 on the surface. It was served by two vertical shafts sunk to the Green Vein. The No.1 shaft was 10 feet in diameter and 155 yards deep and was the upcast. It was equipped with a Walker Paddle fan which produced about 55,000 cubic feet of air per minute at a water gauge of 3.125 inches. The No. 2 shaft was 13 feet in diameter and 212 yards deep and was the downcast and winding shaft for men and materials. The former Colliery has been regenerated to become the Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park - a mix of broadleaved woodland and grassland which is home to a diverse collection of wildlife. The area includes footpaths, picnic facilities, information points and a track for mountain bikers and horseriders. The National Cycle Network passes by Cefneithin RFC's playing field, "Cae

Carwyn James Carwyn Rees James (2 November 1929 – 10 January 1983) was a Welsh rugby union player and coach. He won two Wales national rugby union team, Welsh international caps but is most famous for his coaching achievements with Llanelli RFC, Llanelli, t ...

," and cyclists can use this former railway line to reach the seaside locations of

and

Burry Port Burry Port () is a port town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the River Loughor, Loughor estuary (Moryd Llwchwr), to the west of Llanelli and south-east of Kidwelly. Its population was recorded at 5,680 in the 2001 census and 6,156 ...

Notable people

* Gareth Davies, WRU chairman, played cricket for Cefneithin and

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

2nds, & rugby for

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

* Robert Dickie (1964–2010), professional boxer *

, rugby player and coach * Barry John, rugby player *

Gwynoro Jones Gwynoro Glyndwr Jones (born 21 November 1942) is a Welsh politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament. He was a schools inspector for 18 years; he has also been a broadcaster, political commentator and journalist. As a politician, h ...

MP, played rugby for Cefneithin; became Member of Parliament at the age of 27 *Aneira Thomas, first baby born into NHS at 12:01am on Monday 5 July 1948 * Ronnie Williams (1939–1997), actor and comedian

References

{{reflist

External links

* https://www.francisfrith.com/cefneithin Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway Villages in Carmarthenshire