; ) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

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. ...

and the

preserved county Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

, Wales. It is on the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the

River Loughor The River Loughor () () is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns ar ...

and is the largest town in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Carmarthenshire. The town is north-west of

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and south-east of

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

. At the 2021 census the community had a population of 25,366, and the built up area had a population of 42,155. The local authority was

Llanelli Borough Council The Borough of Llanelli was one of six local government districts of the county of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. History The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of four former districts f ...

when the county of Dyfed existed, and it has been under

Carmarthenshire County Council Carmarthenshire County Council ( or ''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 co ...

since 1996.

Name

Spelling

The anglicised spelling “Llanelly” was used until 1966, when it was changed to Llanelli after a local public campaign. It remains in the name of a local historic building,

Llanelly House Llanelly House (also spelled Llanelli House) is one of the most notable historic properties in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales—an excellent example of an early-18th-century Georgian architecture, Georgian town house. It had been described as ...

, and this is sometimes confused with the village and parish of

Llanelly Llanelly () is a village, Community (Wales), community, and parish in the county of Monmouthshire, South East Wales. It formerly existed in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community and ward at the 2011 United Kin ...

, in south-east Wales near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

. Llanelly in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia was named after this town of Llanelli, using the spelling current at that time.

History

The beginnings of Llanelli can be found on the lands of present-day Parc Howard. An Iron Age hill fort once stood which was called ''Bryn-Caerau'' (hill of the forts). Evidence suggests there were five hill forts from Old Road to the Dimpath. During the Roman conquest of Wales it is unknown whether the area of Llanelli was part of the

Silures The Silures ( , ) were a powerful and warlike tribe or tribal confederation of ancient Britain, occupying what is now south east Wales and perhaps some adjoining areas. They were bordered to the north by the Ordovices; to the east by the Do ...

tribe or the

Demetae The Demetae were a Celtic people of Iron Age and Roman period, who inhabited modern Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales. The tribe also gave their name to the medieval Kingdom of Dyfed, the modern area and county of Dyfed and ...

tribe. There is evidence of a Roman camp near St Elli shopping centre. It is unknown when it was built, and it was completely abandoned shortly after construction either due to the Romans thinking the area was completely worthless or due to a raid by either rebellious local Britons or an Irish raid. During the post-Roman period, the area of Llanelli may have been heavily populated with Pagans as there's evidence of a pagan worship temple under the Saint Elli church, it may have had frequent raids from

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans ...

and

in order to Christianise the area to which it would eventually fall into Dyfed. During the early medieval period, it is said a saint named Elli, or Ellyw, who in legend is the son or daughter of King

Brychan Brychan ap Anlach of Brycheiniog was a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, alternatively Breconshire) in Mid Wales. Name variations Brychan had Irish ancestry and came from Ireland to Wales, therefore his original name ...

established a church on the banks of the

Afon Lliedi The River Lliedi () has its source near Mynydd Sylen Llanelli and Llannon in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The river fills the Cwm-Lliedi Reservoirs and meets the sea at the Loughor Estuary (Welsh-Moryd Llwchwr) at the former Carmarthenshire Dock (Po ...

. The original church would have been a wooden or partly stone, thatched structure. According to early Welsh transcripts, the church of Carnwyllion, i.e. the mother church of the cwmwd, was at Llanelli. The current St Elli's Church dates from the 14th century although extensive restorations were completed in 1911. According to the

Red Book of Hergest Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secon ...

during the

Norman invasion of Wales The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright. Initially (1067–1081), the invasion of Wales was not undertaken with the fer ...

Rhys Ieuanc and his uncle Maelgwn ap Rhys took the allegiance of all the Welsh of the

Kingdom of Dyfed The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The royal line was founded by Irish ...

apart from one region. Cemais would not pay allegiance and thus Rhys Ieuanc and his uncle, Maelgwn ap Rhys, attacked and pillaged the area moving on to attack the castles at Narberth and Maenclochog. At this time Rhys Ieuanc moved against Cedweli and Carnwyllion with his forces besieging and burning Carnwyllion Castle in 1215. Llanelli was industrialised in the early 19th century as the global centre for

tinplate Tinplate consists of sheet metal, sheets of steel coated with a thin layer of tin to impede rust, rusting. Before the advent of cheap mild steel, the backing metal (known as "") was wrought iron. While once more widely used, the primary use of tinp ...

production. Lying near the Western fringe of the South Wales Coal Field, Llanelli played an important role in industry, with coal exported through three small docks along with the copper and tin produced within the town itself. Although Llanelli is not located within the South Wales valleys, coal from the Gwendraeth and the Loughor Valleys was transported to Llanelli for export. The Stepney Family and other prominent families (including the Raby family, Howard family and Cowell family), played an important role in the development of the town. Aside from industry, Llanelli is also renowned for its pottery, which has a unique cockerel hand-painted on each item. A collection of this pottery can bee seen at the Llanelli Museum in Parc Howard. Llanelli people are sometimes nicknamed "Turks". There are several theories on this nickname: Llanelli allowed the docking of a Turkish ship when Swansea dockers were on strike in the 1920s, Llanelli tinplate workers wrapped their heads like turbans to deal with sweat, or it is a reference to the 4th Battalion of the

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the am ...

fighting against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in the

Middle Eastern theatre of World War I The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw action between 30 October 1914 and 30 October 1918. The combatants were, on one side, the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers; and on the other side, the British Em ...

. The built up area, as defined by the

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; ) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible fo ...

, extends beyond the Llanelli community to include parts of the neighbouring Llanelli Rural community. In 2024 it was announced that the town would be seeking city status.

Culture and language

National Eisteddfod

Llanelli hosted the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

six times between 1895 and 2014.

Welsh language

In the mid-20th century, Llanelli was the world's largest town in which more than half the inhabitants spoke a

Celtic language The Celtic languages ( ) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, descended from the hypothetical Proto-Celtic language. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, following Paul-Yves ...

. It is ranked as the seventh largest urban area in Wales. According to the

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

returns, 23.7 per cent of Llanelli town residents habitually spoke Welsh. However, the area around Llanelli is a Welsh stronghold, in which 56 per cent do so in communities such as

Llwynhendy Llwynhendy (sometimes spelled Llwyn-Hendy), is a village and ward near the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The ward, which includes the village, as well as Cefncaeau, parts of Cwmcarnhywel and parts of Bryn and Penceilogi, had a popu ...

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 ...

. During the 1950s, Trefor and Eileen Beasley campaigned to get Llanelli Rural Council to distribute tax papers in Welsh by refusing to pay taxes until their demand was met. The council reacted by sending in the bailiffs and selling their furniture to recover the money owed. The Beasleys' neighbours bought the furniture and returned it to them. The council finally reversed its policy in the 1960s, giving Welsh equal status with English.

Economy

In 1991 Llanelli was a distinct

travel to work area A travel to work area (TTWA) is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a ...

, but a 2001-based revision has merged it into a wider one of

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay () is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The sh ...

Manufacture

Several firms, including

Tata Steel Europe Tata Steel Europe Ltd. (formerly Corus Group plc) was a steelmaking company headquartered in London, England, with its main operations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company was created in 2007, when Tata Group took over the Br ...

at Trostre and Dyfed Steels, are based in the Llanelli area and service the automotive industry. The

Technium Technium are a group of buildings in Wales that are part of the property portfolios of local authorities. They have attracted an increasing number of companies as tenants. Technium was originally an innovation programme by the Welsh Government. ...

Performance Engineering Centre was developed at Llanelli Gate as a business incubator for businesses in the automotive, motor sport and aerospace sectors. The traditional industries of Llanelli have gradually declined in recent decades. Local government has responded by seeking to attract tourism with developments such as the

Machynys Machynys, or Machynys Peninsula is a coastal area just to the south of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. In the nineteenth century an industrial community lived here working at the brickworks and tinplate works that occupied the site. When the ...

Golf Course, retail parks at Trostre and Pemberton, and the Millennium Coastal Park. The core shopping area has now moved largely from the town centre to the Trostre/Pemberton area.

Brewing

The longstanding

Felinfoel Brewery Felinfoel Brewery is a brewery based in the village of Felinfoel near Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The existing brewery building dates from 1878 (according to a date plaque on its south facade), constructed by local innkeeper (and iron and ...

is in

Felinfoel Felinfoel (pronounced ) is a small village and electoral ward on the River Lliedi on the northern border of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, West Wales, with a population of about 2,000. The Felinfoel Brewery, home of Double Dragon Ale, is the old ...

, just outside the town. James Buckley was an ordained

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister, born in

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

, Lancashire in 1770, who after moving to Llanelli towards the end of the 18th century became involved in establishing a small

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

. After the death of the owner, Buckley gained possession of the brewery and changed its name to Buckley's. In 1998, the brewery was bought by

Brains Brewery Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd.) is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. At its peak, the company controlled more than 250 pubs in South Wales (particularly in Cardiff), Mid Wales and the ...

, which transferred production to its facility in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Brains produces ''The Reverend James'', a bitter named after Buckley. Since then the Llanelli brewery has been partly demolished.

Leisure and tourism

Developments include the Llanelli Scarlets rugby stadium, the Old Castle Works leisure village (see below) and a National Hunt

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

Ffos Las Ffos Las is a rural area between the villages of Carway and Trimsaran, north of the town of Llanelli in the Gwendraeth Valley in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The Ffos Las area is named after a farm which had existed at the site before mining operat ...

near

Trimsaran Trimsaran is a community and former mining village which lies on the B4308 between Llanelli and Kidwelly, in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Trimsaran is six miles (10 km) from Llanelli, and from Carmarthen. It is close to Burry Port harbour, P ...

Machynys Ponds Machynys Ponds () is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthenshire, Wales, designated in 1993 for its botany, botanical features. SSSI Machynys Ponds SSSI is located approximately to the south-east of Llanelli and immediately ...

, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

notable for its

dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of dragonflies are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threat ...

population, lies a mile to the south.

Religion

Church in Wales

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 ...

St Elli Saint Elli was a 6th-century Welsh saint, or possibly two saints. Llanelli in Carmarthenshire and Llanelly in Monmouthshire are both named after Elli. There are traditions about a male saint Elli and a female saint Elli, and there are depiction ...

has a medieval tower. The body of the church was rebuilt by G. F. Bodley in 1905–1906. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. Several other churches in the town are also listed buildings, but made redundant by the Church in Wales and now in private ownership. They include All Saints' and St Alban's.

Nonconformism

From the early 19th to late 20th centuries, Llanelli was a major centre of Welsh

nonconformism Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

. At the end of the Second World War there were 22 chapels in the town. The history of the chapels has been chronicled in a book by the former BBC journalist

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards ( , ; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh news presenter. He was the lead presenter of ''BBC News at Ten'', the late evening news programme of BBC Television, from 2003 to 2023. He resigned from the BBC in 2024, during a police investi ...

. Edwards noted that many of the chapels had closed and others were in sharp decline, he suggested that if the decline continued, only two or three were likely to survive as functioning chapels in the 2020s. The most well known of Llanelli's chapels is probably Capel Als, where David Rees was a minister for many years in the 19th century. Llanelli had seven other Independent (Congregationalist) chapels, namely Tabernacle, Lloyd Street, Siloah now closed, Soar now closed, Ebenezer, Dock Chapel, and Park Church (the only chapel where services were conducted in English). The Tabernacle Chapel built in 1872–1873 by John Humphreys of

Morriston Morriston (; ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in the Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to ...

overlooks the Town Hall. There is a prominent four-pillared Corinthian arcade at the entrance. The building was

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in December 1992. It is used as a venue by the Llanelli Choral Society. Other listed chapels include Bethel Baptist Chapel in Copperworks Road, Park Congregational Chapel, Zion Baptist Chapel at Island Place, and Hall Street Methodist Church. Situated on Waunlanyrafon, across the road from the police station, is the Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church. Llanelli has an Islamic centre on Station Road and

Baptist churches Baptists are a denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches generally subscribe to the doctrines of so ...

spread throughout the town and surrounding areas.

Sport

Rugby union

The town's

rugby union 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 ...

teams – the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

, who compete in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

, and

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pemberton. The club song is " ...

in the Welsh Premiership – play at ''

Parc y Scarlets ''Parc y Scarlets'' (, meaning: ''Scarlets Park'') is a rugby union stadium in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, that opened in November 2008 as the new home of the Scarlets and Llanelli RFC. The ground replaced Stradey Park, the home of Llanelli's ru ...

'', which opened in November 2008 in Pemberton. Previously they had played at

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of ...

, home to Llanelli RFC for over 130 years and one venue used for the

1999 Rugby World Cup The 1999 Rugby World Cup () was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship. It was the first Rugby World Cup to be held in the sport's History of rugby union#The professional era, professional era. Four a ...

, hosting the match between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

on 10 October 1999. The Welsh folk song "

Sosban Fach Sosban Fach ( Welsh for "little saucepan") is a traditional Welsh folk song. It is one of the best-known and most often sung songs in the Welsh language. The song is based on a verse written by Mynyddog in 1873 as part of his song ''Rheolau yr ...

" (Little Saucepan) is mostly associated with Llanelli RFC. Many rugby clubs have notable scalps collected from touring international sides but Llanelli has in its rugby history one of the greatest scalps ever. On 31 October 1972, in one of the most famous results in rugby union history, Llanelli beat the New Zealand national team 9–3 in front of around 20,000 spectators. Llanelli centre

Roy Bergiers Roy Thomas Edmond Bergiers (born 11 November 1950) is a Welsh former rugby union player. Born in Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), comm ...

scored the only try of the game, charging down a clearance by All Black scrum-half Lin Colling after a penalty from

Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken ...

rebounded back into play off the crossbar. There is a strong junior rugby core, including club sides such as

, New Dock Stars,

Llangennech Llangennech (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of . It is governed by Llangennech Community Council and Carmarthenshire County Council. Llangennech is also t ...

and the Llanelli Wanderers. In 2005, Coedcae School won the Inter-Schools Cup of Wales with an 8–5 victory over Brynteg Comprehensive.

Rugby league

Llanelli's

West Wales Raiders The West Wales Raiders were a semi-professional rugby league club based in Llanelli, Wales. They competed in RFL League 1, League 1, the third tier of the British rugby league system, from 2018 until 2022. The club was founded in 2015 as an ama ...

play in

RFL League 1 The Rugby Football League's League One (known as the Betfred League One) is the third-highest division of rugby league in Britain. It is also the lowest level of professional rugby league in Britain. Introduced in 2003 as National League 2 i ...

, the third tier of rugby league in England and Wales. The club is based at

Stebonheath Park Stebonheath Park (''Welsh language, Welsh: Parc Stebonheath'') is a multi-use stadium in Llanelli, West Wales with a capacity of 3,700. It is primarily used as a Association football, football ground and is the home of Llanelli Town A.F.C. It wa ...

Association football

is the home of

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

Llanelli A.F.C. Llanelli Town Association Football Club are a semi-professional Welsh football club that plays in the . The original club was wound up on 22 April 2013 at the High Court in London following a petition presented by HM Revenue and Customs. The ...

, which plays in the

Cymru Premier The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was found ...

, the top tier of Welsh football. The town has many active local teams and tournaments such as the 2018 Challenge Cup, where West End United beat Trostre Sports AFC.

Bowls

Llanelli hosts the annual Llanelli Open Bowls Tournaments, the oldest and most prestigious of which, the Roberts-Rolfe Open Singles event, has been run since 1926 and has a first prize of £600. The contests are held from July to September in Parc Howard.

Golf

The Llanelli area has two

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

s: the Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club which hosted the

Wales Ladies Championship of Europe The WPGA Championship of Europe was a women's professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour. The tournament was first played in 1979 in France, the first WPGA event held outside the United Kingdom. It was revived 1996 at Gleneagles Hot ...

from 2005 until 2008, and Glyn Abbey Golf Club, which was named Welsh Golf Club of the Year 2009.

Snooker

Llanelli is the birthplace and home of

Terry Griffiths Terence Martin Griffiths (16October 19471December 2024) was a Welsh professional snooker player, coach and pundit. After winning several amateur titles, including the Welsh Amateur Championship (snooker), Welsh Amateur Championship in 1975 an ...

OBE (1947–2024), snooker world champion in 1979 and runner-up in 1988. Later a coach and snooker commentator, he ran the Terry Griffiths Matchroom in the town centre.

Media

Llanelli is home to

Tinopolis The Tinopolis Group is an international TV production and distribution group with businesses based in the UK and US. It produces over 4,500 hours of television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving ...

, one of Britain's largest independent media producers. It has subsidiaries that produce over 2,500 hours of broadcast television, including

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

programmes such as '' Question Time'' for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

Welsh-language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). ...

television programs such as ''

Wedi 7 is a nightly Welsh language television magazine programme, formerly broadcast by S4C. Produced by Tinopolis, it was the half-hour sister programme to a full-hour . Description The Welsh-language television programme was first broadcast on 7 Ja ...

'' for

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

. Coverage of local affairs appears in two papers, the ''

Llanelli Star The ''Llanelli Star'' is a Welsh regional newspaper covering the areas of Llanelli and Carmarthen in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is published on a weekly basis in a tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid form. The newspaper is publish ...

'' founded in 1909 and Llanelli Herald launched in 2015. Online coverage is found on ''

Llanelli Online ''Llanelli Online'' is a Wales, Welsh hyperlocal online newspaper covering the areas of Llanelli in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It publishes daily content which covers news, sport, business and community. It began in November 2016. ' ...

''. The main county-wide radio station is Radio Carmarthenshire. Other radio stations covering the area are Hits Radio South Wales, its sister station Greatest Hits Radio South Wales, Swansea Bay Radio, Radio BGM, which serves the Prince Philip Hospital and the local community online, and Heart South Wales.

Local attractions

Some local attractions include: *The Millennium Coastal Path along of coastline from

Loughor Loughor (; ) is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor (). The town has a community (Wales), community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by ...

Pembrey Pembrey (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Pen-bre'') is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay, with a population of about 2,154 in 2011. The electoral ward having a population of 4,3 ...

offers views of the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

and the opportunity of traffic-free cycling. *WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre, about east of Llanelli, near

and

Bynea Bynea ( ;G.M. Miller, ''BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names'' (Oxford UP, 1971), p. 23. ; sometimes ) is a village close to the River Loughor () in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It also forms an Bynea (electoral ward), electoral ward for the ...

, is one of ten

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s managed by the

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

. *

is an example of an early 18th-century Georgian

town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residen ...

. Located directly opposite the

, having been in a poor state of repair, was bought by the

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

and restored. It was built for Thomas Stepney, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmarthenshire, in 1714.

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, the early leader of the

Methodist movement Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christian tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significa ...

, stayed there several times. It also featured in the first series of the

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

show, '' Restoration''.Llanelli House
*

Parc Howard Museum Parc Howard Museum & Art Gallery is a museum in a 19th-century Italianate architecture, Italianate country house, situated in of parkland, north of the town centre of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The park is registered ...

is set in the grounds of Parc Howard. The museum houses a collection of Llanelly Pottery (so spelt), an art collection and material on the history of the town.

Leisure

The Ffwrnes Theatre opened in late 2012, replacing the Theatr Elli, which was part of the Llanelli Entertainment Centre. A multi-screen cinema opened in October 2012. Much is being spent on regenerating the central shopping district. Llanelli holds festivals,

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

s and events throughout the year. They include: *Into the Future Festival — educational event about the environment and technology, organised by the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

(August) *Llanelli Big Day Out — pop and live music event (August) *Llanelli

Beer Festival A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales. Asia China *Qingdao International Beer Fes ...

— official

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

event (August)

Transport

The

Llanelli railway station railway station is the railway station serving the town of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is located on the West Wales line and the Heart of Wales line from the zero point at , measured via Stroud. The station and the majority of train ...

is on the Great Western Crescent south of the town centre. Llanelli is connected to the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

from the north on NCR 43, and along the coast from the east and west on

NCR 4 Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route. Route The total length of the path is 443.6 miles and takes an ...

. These routes link with a cycle path to the town centre. The nearest passenger airport is

Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport () is an airport in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan. It is the only airport offering commercial passenger services and cargo services in Wales. The airport is owned by the Welsh Government, operating it at arm's length as a commercia ...

, away, and

, , provides air charter services.

Education

Primary and secondary

The first Welsh-medium

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

, Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant, was founded in Llanelli in 1947. The English-medium

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s are St John Lloyd, Bryngwyn and Coedcae; the only Welsh medium secondary school is

Ysgol y Strade Ysgol Gyfun y Strade () (often known as ''Y Strade'') is a Welsh-medium education, Welsh-medium Comprehensive school (England and Wales), comprehensive school and sixth form in the town of Llanelli, Wales. It opened in September 1977 as a mixed ge ...

. St Michael's School is a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

for ages 3–18. Ysgol Heol Goffa is a

special school Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual d ...

for pupils with disabilities.

Further and higher education

Coleg Sir Gâr (Carmarthenshire College), with its main campus at Graig near Pwll, provides a college education for most of the town's further education students and some vocational undergraduate degrees through the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

. There are

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

colleges at Ysgol Gyfun y Strade (Welsh medium) and St Michael's (English medium). Prince Philip Hospital has a postgraduate centre for medical training run by

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

's School of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Llanelli, at

(town) and

level:

Llanelli Town Council Llanelli Town Council () is the community council that governs the majority of wards in Llanelli town. The Council is run by a group or groups who command the support of the majority of the elected representatives. The current leader is Welsh La ...

(Cyngor Tref Llanelli) and

(Cyngor Sir Gâr). The town council is based at the Old Vicarage on Town Hall Square. Carmarthenshire County Council also has offices in the town, at Ty Elwyn on Town Hall Square, and a customer service centre at 36 Stepney Street. Some of the built up area extends into the neighbouring community of

Llanelli Rural Llanelli Rural () is a community in the southeast of Carmarthenshire, Wales. Description Despite its name, Llanelli Rural covers large parts of the Llanelli urban area, including Bynea, Llwynhendy, Cefncaeau, Pemberton, Bryn, Cwmcarnhywel ...

, which has a separate community council. The community of Llanelli is bordered by those of Llanelli Rural,

Llanrhidian Higher Llanrhidian Higher is a community in Swansea, Wales. The community has its own elected community council. The area covered by the community council includes the villages of Penclawdd, Crofty, Llanmorlais, Blue Anchor and Wernffrwd. The population ...

and

Llanrhidian Lower Llanrhidian Lower is a Community (Wales), community in the Gower peninsula forming the west of Swansea, south Wales. The community has its own elected community council. The population was 512 as of the 2011 UK census. The area covered by the com ...

, the last two being across the Loughor Estuary in the

City and County of Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. The town forms part of the Llanelli parliamentary constituency, currently represented by

Nia Griffith Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and ...

MP of the Labour Party. The Llanelli Senedd constituency is represented by Labour's

Lee Waters Lee Waters (born 12 February 1976) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Deputy Minister for Climate Change from 2021 to 2024. He has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Llanelli since 2016. Early life Waters gre ...

MS.

Administrative history

Llanelli was an

ancient parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, which covered the town and surrounding rural areas. The parish was subdivided into five

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

: Berwick, Glyn, Hêngoed, Westfa and a Llanelli hamlet, also known as the borough hamlet, covering the town itself. The borough hamlet was administered as a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

by the 17th century, run by a corporation led by a

portreeve A portreeve (, sometimes spelt Port-reeve) or port warden is the title of a historical official in England and Wales possessing authority (political, administrative, or fiscal) over a town. The details of the office have fluctuated and evolved co ...

. A government survey of boroughs in 1835 found that the borough corporation had no official

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

and very few powers. The borough was therefore left unreformed when the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

reformed most ancient boroughs across the country into

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

s. In order to provide more modern forms of local government, the borough hamlet was made a local board district in 1850, run by an elected local board. The board was given the property of the old borough corporation, which then ceased to function. Local board districts were converted into urban districts under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

. The 1894 Act also directed that

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es could no longer straddle district boundaries, and so the part of Llanelli parish outside the urban district was made a separate parish called Llanelli Rural.

Llanelli Town Hall Llanelli Town Hall () is a municipal building in Church Street, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Llanelli Borough Council and now serves as a Register office (United Kingdom), register office, ...

was completed in 1896 to serve as the urban district council's headquarters. Llanelly Urban District was upgraded to a municipal borough in 1913. The official spelling of the borough's name was Llanelly until 1966 when it was changed to Llanelli. The municipal borough of Llanelli was abolished in 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

. A community called Llanelli was created covering the area of the former borough, with its community council taking the name Llanelli Town Council. District-level functions passed to the new

, which covered surrounding rural areas and nearby towns as well as Llanelli itself. Carmarthenshire County Council was abolished as part of the same reforms, with county-level functions passing to the new

Dyfed County Council Dyfed County Council () was the county council of the county of Dyfed in south west Wales. It operated between 1974 and 1996. The county council was based at County Hall, Carmarthen. History Dyfed County Council was created on 1 April 1974 und ...

. The borough of Llanelli and county of Dyfed were both abolished in 1996 and their councils' functions passed to a re-established Carmarthenshire County Council.

Twinning

Llanelli is twinned with

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

, France.

Town areas

* Bigyn * Glanymôr *

Llannerch Llannerch (sometimes spelled Llanerch) was a commote in the cantref of Dyffryn Clwyd which later became the Marcher Lordship of Ruthin. Situated in an area south of Ruthin the commote covered an area of which included the parishes of Llanfai ...

* Morfa *

Tyisha Tyisha is an electoral ward for Llanelli Town Council and Carmarthenshire County Council in Llanelli, Wales. Description The ward is bounded to the south by the Swansea to Carmarthen railway, to the east by Ann Street and stretches west to the Sel ...

New Dock New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

Sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sandy (surname), a list of people * Sandy (Iranian music band), Iranian singer, comp ...

Stradey Stradey () is an area of the town of Llanelli in the county of Carmarthenshire in Wales, home to Stradey Park, where the Llanelli RFC and Llanelli Scarlets rugby teams were formerly based. Stradey is also home to the town's only Welsh language ...

Notable people

:''See :People from Llanelli'' Notable Llanelli people with a Wikipedia page in alphabetical order by section:

Art, media and entertainment

* Juliet Ace (born 1938), playwright and dramatist *

Simon Armstrong Simon Armstrong is a Welsh actor from Llanelli, best known for his portrayal of Qhorin Halfhand in ''Game of Thrones''. Career Armstrong portrayed Qhorin Halfhand in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012). He also had recurring roles in t ...

(living), film, television and stage actor * David Brazell (1875–1959), opera singer and early recording artist * Ronald Cass (1923–2006), film writer and composer * Eleanor Daniels (1886–1994), stage and silent film actress *

(born 1961),

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

chief presenter *

Cerith Wyn Evans Cerith Wyn Evans (born 1958 in Llanelli) is a Welsh conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker. In 2018 he won the £30,000 Hepworth Prize for Sculpture. Early life and education The son of Sulwyn and Myfanwy Evans, Evans was born in Llanelli. ...

(born 1958) conceptual artist, sculptor and film-maker * Peter Anthony Freeman (living), author and storyteller *

Jessica Garlick Jessica Julie Anne Garlick (born 1981) is a Welsh pop singer. Garlick made her first steps into show business when she was 16. At that age, she won the Welsh final of BBC One's talent show ''Star for a Night (UK TV series), Star for a Night''. ...

(born 1981),

Eurovision Song Contest 2002 The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song Everybody (Tanel Padar and Dave Benton song), "Everybody" by Tanel Pada ...

UK entrant and ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and pa ...

'' finalist * Gareth Hughes (1894–1965), silent film actor, born in Halfway/Pemberton * Julie Gore (born 1958), singer, songwriter, TV presenter and darts player *

James Dickson Innes James Dickson Innes (27 February 1887 – 22 August 1914) was a Welsh painter, mainly of mountain landscapes but occasionally of figure subjects. He worked in both oils and watercolours. Style Of his style, art historian David Fraser Jenkins w ...

(1887–1914), artist *

Deke Leonard Roger Arnold "Deke" Leonard (18 December 1944 – 31 January 2017) was a Welsh rock musician, best known as a member of the progressive rock band Man, which he joined and left several times, and for fronting his own rock and roll band Iceberg ...

(1944–2017), rock musician, author, raconteur and TV panellist * Elizabeth Morgan (born 1930), actress and writer * Terry Morris (born 1965), artist and photographer *

Natasha O'Keeffe Natasha Dervill O'Keeffe (born 1 December 1986) is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Abbey in the E4 (TV channel), E4 series ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits'' (2012–2013), Fedora in the ITV (TV channel), ITV series ''Jekyll and ...

(born 1986), television actress *

John Owen-Jones John Owen-Jones (born 5 May 1971) is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's ''Les Misérables'' and The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Ph ...

(born 1971), actor * Christopher Rees (born 1973), singer, songwriter and musician * Rachel Roberts (1927–1980), actress *

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

(1915–1998), singer and second wife of actor

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film series, playing the ...

Donald Swann Donald Ibrahim Swann (30 September 1923 – 23 March 1994) was a British composer, musician, singer and entertainer. He was one half of Flanders and Swann, writing and performing Novelty song, comic songs with Michael Flanders. Early life Dona ...

(1923–1994), of the

Flanders and Swann Flanders and Swann were a British comedy duo and musicians. Michael Flanders (1922–1975) was a lyricist, actor, and singer. He collaborated with Donald Swann (1923–1994), a composer and pianist, in writing and performing comedy music, comic ...

duo *

Huw Thomas Hywel Gruffydd Edward "Huw" Thomas (14 September 1927 – 12 March 2009) was a Welsh broadcaster, barrister and Liberal Party politician. Family and education Huw Thomas was born in Pen-bre, near Llanelli, and was a fluent Welsh speaker.Liberal ...

(1927–2009),

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

newscaster * Imogen Thomas (born 1982), ''Big Brother'' contestant and glamour model * Jeffrey Thomas (born 1945), acting star of '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' and '' Spartacus: Gods of the Arena''

Public service

Robert Buckland Sir Robert James Buckland (born 22 September 1968) is a British politician who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2019 to 2021, and as Secretary of State for Wales from July to October 2022. A member of the Conse ...

(born 1968), Conservative Lord Chancellor *

Leslie Griffiths Leslie John Griffiths, Baron Griffiths of Burry Port FLSW (born 15 February 1942) is a British Methodist minister, politician and life peer who served as President of the Methodist Conference from 1994 to 1995. A member of the Labour Party, ...

(born 1942), Methodist minister and

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who was Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposi ...

(born 1941), Conservative Party leader (2003–2005) *

Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones Frederick Elwyn Elwyn-Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones, (24 October 1909 – 4 December 1989), commonly known as Elwyn Jones, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician. Background and education Elwyn Jones was born in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, and ...

(1909–1989), Labour Lord Chancellor * William Lloyd (1725–1796), Royal Navy admiral * Gwladys Yvonne McKeon (1897–1979), Llanelli-born Australian marine biologist *Sir Tom O'Brien (1900–1970), Labour MP and trade unionist *

Rod Richards Roderick Richards (12 March 1947 – 13 July 2019) was a British politician who was leader of the Welsh Conservatives from 1996 to 1999, and a Welsh Assembly member (AM) for the North Wales region from 1999 until 2003. Prior to this, Ri ...

(1947–2019), Conservative MP and leader in the National Assembly for Wales *

Sir John Stepney, 8th Baronet Sir John Stepney, 8th Baronet (19 September 1743 – 3 October 1811), of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1767 to 1788. He was born the first son of Sir Thomas Stepney, 7th Bt., of Llanelly ...

(1743–1811), a Welsh MP from 1767 to 1788. * David Thomas (1880–1967), Labour organizer and trade unionist *Sir

John Meurig Thomas Sir John Meurig Thomas (15 December 193213 November 2020), also known as JMT, was a Welsh scientist, educator, university administrator, and historian of science primarily known for his work on heterogeneous catalysis, solid-state chemistry, ...

(1932–2020), chemist and science historian *

Brian Trubshaw Ernest Brian Trubshaw, CBE, MVO (29 January 1924 – 24 March 2001) was a leading test pilot, and the first British pilot to fly Concorde, in April 1969. Biography Brian Trubshaw was born in Liverpool in 1924 although he grew up in Llane ...

(1924–2001), pilot of first flight of British

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

* Phil Prosser (living), British army brigadier, Commander of 101 Logistics Brigade in charge of COVID-19 vaccine roll-out

Sports

Rugby Union

(1948–2022),

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 ...

and British Lions * Jonathan Davies (born 1962), Wales in rugby league and rugby union *

Ieuan Evans Ieuan Cennydd Evans (born 21 March 1964) is a former rugby union player who played on the wing for Wales and the British and Irish Lions. He is the fourth highest try scorer for Wales behind Shane Williams, George North and Gareth Thomas an ...

(born 1964), Wales and British Lions *

Ray Gravell Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union Centre (rugby union), centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 cap (sport), caps for Wales national r ...

(1951–2007), Wales and British Lions, actor and broadcaster. *

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 ...

(1929–1983), Wales, coach of Llanelli and British Lions *

Gareth Jenkins Gareth John James Jenkins (born 11 September 1951) is a Welsh former rugby union player and coach. Born in Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, he played for Llanelli RFC for 17 years from his debut in September 1969. He was appointed coach of the club ...

(born 1951), Wales, coach of Llanelli, Llanelli Scarlets and Wales * Barry John (born 1945), Cardiff, Wales and British Lions *

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 ...

(born 1981), Wales and British Lions * Derek Quinnell (born 1949), Wales and British Lions

Association football

Wyndham Evans Wyndham Edgar Evans (born 19 March 1951) is a Welsh football commentator and former player and manager. Playing career Born in Llanelli, Evans played as a right back. After playing as an amateur with Stoke City, Evans turned professional with ...

(born 1951), player, manager and commentator *

Emyr Huws Emyr Wyn Huws (born 30 September 1993) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for the Wales national team. He retired in December 2023. He came through the youth systems of Swansea City and Manchester City before ...

(born 1993),

and

Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football ...

* Matthew Jones (born 1980), Wales and premier league footballer and manager *

Kyle Letheren Kyle Charles Letheren (born 26 December 1987) is a Welsh former professional footballer and goalkeeper coach. He is currently a goalkeeper coach at Doncaster Rovers. He has played in the Scottish Premier League for Kilmarnock, in the Scottish P ...

(born 1987),

Plymouth Argyle F.C. Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

goalkeeper * Byron Stevenson (1956–2007), Wales

Other sports

Jonny Clayton Jonny Clayton (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number five. Nicknamed "the Ferret", he has won four PDC major televised s ...

(born 1974), professional dart player * Jeff Evans (born 1954), cricket umpire * Dai Greene (born 1986), 400m hurdler, world champion and IAAF gold medalist *

(1947–2024), world snooker champion (1979) *

Neil Haddock Neil Haddock (born 22 June 1964) is a Welsh former lightweight and super featherweight boxer. Before turning professional he won a silver medal as a lightweight at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. His early career as a professional lightweight was ...

(born 1964), boxer, British superfeatherweight champion * Evan Hoyt (born 1995), professional tennis * Edward Laverack (born 1994), professional cyclist * Flex Lewis (born 1983), bodybuilder *

Melbourne Tierney Melbourne Tierney (3 December 1923 – 27 November 2014) was a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. Starting with his home village club Tumble RFC after the second world war, Tierney turned professional ...

(1923–2014), rugby league * Eirian Williams (born 1955), snooker referee

References

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Llanelli Rural CouncilLlanelli Town CouncilPhotos of Llanelli and surrounding areaLlanelli Community Heritage - Promoting Llanelli's rich heritage
{{Authority control Towns in Carmarthenshire Communities in Carmarthenshire Populated coastal places in Wales Ports and harbours of Wales

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