You are here:
- Home
- Archaeology
- 20th Century
Llandeilo Archaeology & History
The 20th Century
The Ordnance Survey revised the map in 1905, and the new map shows that Alan Road, Latimer Road and Thomas Street had appeared, as well as new building along Railway Terrace, Station Road, Crescent Road and behind New Road (Greenfield Terrace). Arguably, it was during this period that Llandeilo entered its heyday as a market town, the commercial centre of a wide area of rural Carmarthenshire. By the early 20 th century, we see that a great number of shops serve the community, including the popular Market Provision Hall. There were numerous taverns, new commercial banks had opened, each of the main nonconformist denominations had built or rebuilt large chapels and a police station, school and post office served the townspeople. It is a remarkable piece of good fortune that this phase in the development of Llandeilo was recorded by the local photographer DC Harries and can still be viewed in the priceless collection of his photographs that are kept at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
The 20th century development of Llandeilo falls within the realms of the recollections of many of the present inhabitants of the town. Many will remember a town that was commercially strong enough to cater for the needs of its population until the last quarter of the century. The increase in private car ownership and the trend towards shopping in larger towns and cities such as Carmarthen and Swansea, has inevitably changed the commercial fortunes of Llandeilo, like many other country market towns.
One of the objectives of the Llandeilo Heritage Audit was to collect and record information pertaining to the 20 th century history of the town. In this respect the account of life in Llandeilo during this period, particularly the second half of the century, is reflected in this report and provides exceptionally interesting insights into aspects of the town's history. Much more detail has been included in the Site Gazetteer in part 6, below.
Several contributors have provided details of former businesses that existed in the town. These were often based in properties that are now private houses, for which there is little physical evidence. Church Street, for example, had several businesses during the 1930s, including an electrical and plumbing shop (PRN50296) and a cabinet-makers shop and workshop (PRN50300).
More obvious are the former shops in New Road, which included Sartor House (PRN50269), a tailor's that supplied livery to both the Dynevor and Cawdor estates.
Also in New Road was the Ammanford Co-operative Society (PRN50264), which in the 1950s became the first shop in Llandeilo to have open shelves and aisles. Nearby, the present auction rooms of Jones & Llewellyn were previously the Railway Tavern Stores (PRN50270), which had a Guinness bottling plant. After the Second World War it became a pickled onion factory (PRN50271) and later the Gwili Farmers Cooperative (PRN50272).
One important aspect of the town's 20 th century history, which appears to remain largely unrecorded, is the period of the Second World War. Recollections of a sign that survived into the 1950s, in the alleyway leading to the present Llandeilo Literary Institute in Rhosmaen Street, bearing the words "Public Air Raid Shelter" (PRN50265) invite further study. Likewise, information provided on the history of the British Army Military Hospital (PRN50282) based in Newton House, is deserving of attention. One former serviceman, posted to the area to man a searchlight battery, recalls that only a single rifle was available for the defence of the hospital. Later in the war, it became an American Army hospital, complete with a group of Nissen huts on the lawns outside the mansion. After D-day, the huts became a Prisoner of War camp (PRN50283) for German officers. The Americans also had camp (PRN50281) based at the old Dynevor Church Hall, with a field kitchen and large petrol dump in the fields where Dynevor Avenue now stands. Further away from the town, near the White Hart, the Women's Land Army had a camp (PRN50284), which was converted into temporary housing for homeless people after the war, as indeed were the Nissen huts outside Newton House - remembered by some local people as "Tin Town."
Perhaps the final comment should be reserved for one of the most interesting later 20 th century developments in the town, which can easily be overlooked in an historical account. The land north and west of New Road has become the focus for new residential developments since the middle of the century. Typical of the civic projects of the 1960s, new council housing was accompanied by a public recreation area that survives to the present day, know as Le Conquet park (PRN50294). The park includes a small football pitch, a bowling green and clubhouse, tennis courts and a paddling pool. Adjacent is the town's ambulance station and fire station, with the police station across the road. The old Church Hall is also at the edge of the park, accompanied by the Scout Hut and St John's Ambulance Hut. Altogether, these combined to give Llandeilo a new civic heart in the late 20 th century, far removed in character from earlier foci of settlement in this historic town, but much more attentive to the needs of the modern population.
Top
