Pencader () is a small village 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 ...

, in the community of Llanfihangel-ar-Arth. It is located around 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Llandysul and 6.5 miles (10 km) south-west of

Llanybydder Llanybydder (, formerly spelt ''Llanybyther'', is a market town and Community (Wales), community straddling the River Teifi in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population of the community was 1638 ...

, in the valley of the Gwen brook, shortly before the confluence with the River Talog, to form the River Tyweli (a tributary of the Teifi). It is a village of little more than 500 houses, two shops, two pubs and an Anglican church (St Mary's). For many years, it was one of the main stops on the

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 ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

rail route, and was the junction for the service to

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn () is a town and Community (Wales), community on the River Teifi, in West Wales. The community is wholly in Carmarthenshire, but the built up area also includes Adpar north of the Teifi, which is in Ceredigion. Adpar was formerl ...

; the Pencader Tunnel enabled services to reach Carmarthen via Llanpumsaint. The decline of the railways saw the

branch line closed in 1952 and the main line closed to passengers in 1965.

History

A battle was fought here between Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Hywel ab Edwin in 1041; Gruffydd was the victor, and went on to become the first and last

King of Wales Latin versions of "King of Wales" () were titles used on a handful of occasions in the Middle Ages. They were very rarely claimed or applied by contemporaries, because Wales in the Middle Ages, Wales, much like Gaelic Ireland, Ireland, usually h ...

. Pencader is the site of an old castle, which was probably erected by

Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke Gilbert Fitz Gilbert de Clare (6 January 1148), was created Earl of Pembroke in 1138.He was called 'Strongbow' but his son Richard is much more readily associated with that nickname. Life Born at Tonbridge, Gilbert de Clare was the second son o ...

in 1145.

Railway

The broad gauge Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway connected Pencader to both the West Wales Line of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

, and north to . From 1845, a scheme was proposed to connect the industrialised

Northwest England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to the deep water port at

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was ...

, to provide an alternative to the congested

Port of Liverpool The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of ...

. Given Parliamentary approval in 1865 as a standard gauge railway, the Manchester and Milford Railway junctioned with the C&CR at Pencader, and then drove north to Strata Florida, and to the coast at . Having constructed and made operational the easy section from Pencader to Aberystwyth, the M&MR ran out of money trying to build the connection from to Strata Florida, leaving the stub of the Llangurig branch from the Mid-Wales Railway. The M&MR was absorbed into the GWR in 1911. Under the Beeching Axe of

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

, in 1965 passenger services to Pencader ceased, with freight and goods ceasing in 1973. The station was demolished, and the site is now a lorry haulage depot.

Notable people

* John Evans (1779 at Cwmgwen – 1847), a Welsh Methodist. * Sarah Jacob (1857–1869), one of the so-called fasting girls * Aled Hall (born 1968), Opera singer

Image gallery

File:The War Memorial, Pencader - geograph.org.uk - 596575.jpg, War memorial in Pencader File:View_towards_Pencader_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1105327.jpg, View towards Pencader File:Horse grazing near Pencader wind turbine.jpg, Horse grazing near the Pencader wind turbine

Nearby areas

References

External links

Village website
* {{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire