Llanybri is a rural farming village situated between the
estuaries of the
River Tywi and
River Taf 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
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 ...
. It is one of two villages with their own churches in the
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 ...
of
Llansteffan (the other being Llansteffan on the Tywi estuary).
Description and history
Llanybri developed, under the ownership of the Lords of Llansteffan and Penrhyn, around a central open area of common land and a
chapel dedicated to St Mary. The chapel was known as 'Morabrichurch' in the 14th century and by the 16th century was called 'Marbell Church'. The village lay at the junction of seven roads.
The chapel had become an
Independent church by 1790. It eventually closed in 1962. After a fire, most of the church building was demolished, though the tower became 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 ...
. It is known as 'Yr Hen Gapel' (meaning 'The Old Chapel').
The Holy Trinity Church and a non-conformist chapel were built in the 19th century
at opposite ends of the village.
Writers
The writers
Lynette Roberts and
Keidrych Rhys lived in the village.
Dylan Thomas was a frequent visitor to the village pub, the Farmers' Arms, both when he lived near Llansteffan and in Laugharne. The landlady gave an account of his visits.
Thomas' maternal aunt, Anne Gwyn, once lived in Plas Uchaf, while one of his great-aunts had lived in Plas Isaf.
References
External links
''BBC Domesday Reloaded - D-block GB-232000-210000''''Poem from Llanybri''
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Villages in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthen Bay