Llandeilo

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Concise History of Llandeilo - Part 1

from Llandeilo

by Eirwen Jones, 1984

The Author

from a portrait in oils by the Llandeilo artist, the late Carey Morris

The author, a native of the town, has successfully published a number of works of an historical and cultural nature. Her Folk Tales of Wales has established itself among readers of all ages.

[Eirwen Jones published her little 61-page booklet in 1984 to provide the residents of Llandeilo with a concise history of their town. This booklet is no longer in print (and the author has sadly passed on) so we reproduce the complete text below to give her useful little publication a second life. Naturally, the booklet cannot anticipate any changes that have happened in Llandeilo since 1984. Comments in square brackets [ ] have been added for this website and are not in the original.]

Llandeilo is a town in Carmarthenshire, situated in a central position in the Vale of Towy, one of the most beautiful valleys in Wales. It is the administrative centre of Dinefwr. The population is approximately 2,000.

The town stands on the north bank of the River Towy and on the A40 road from Brecon to Carmarthen. It is situated 230 miles from London, 33 miles from Brecon, 60 miles north-west from Cardiff; it stands 15 miles from Carmarthen, 24 miles from Swansea, 23 miles from Neath and 92 miles from Bristol. The town is composed of a compact, central block of buildings and houses, and the main life of the town and neighbourhood is centred here. For centuries it enjoyed a high status as the county town of the old county of Carmarthenshire and also a high reputation as a market town.

Llandeilo has an historical existence of over seven hundred years and a legendary pedigree of some six hundred years more. In general, it can be assumed that a town has existed on the site for some 1300 years. There is written record of the town since the beginning of the 13th century. In its early stages it was dependent on the fortunes and misfortunes of the House of Dinefwr.

The town is named after St. Teilo and this is more apparent now that, by official decree, the name is spelt in its ancient form, Llandeilo (for centuries it was spelled Llandilo).

St. Teilo

Teilo was a very popular saint of the 6th century - the Age of Saints. Indeed, he might have become the patron saint of Wales but for the fact that St. David, his kinsman, was a contemporary.

So popular was Teilo, that, when he died, three parties of men fought with each other for the possession of his body for the purpose of burial. So severe was the strife, that war would have followed, but one man, wiser than the others, suggested that they should all pray. He believed that the saint himself would give them a sign as to where he wished to be buried. The men agreed; and so they knelt in prayer. When they rose, they beheld before them, not one corpse, but three! Accepting this miracle, each section bore away a body; and so there are some who hold that St. Teilo is buried in Llandaff Cathedral; some believe that he was buried with his ancestors in Penally, near Tenby and there are those who maintain that he rests in Llandeilo.

There are, of course, many other legends associated with Teilo's name. He is said to have spent much time praying and meditating on the Carmarthenshire Vans. A well existed for centuries at Llandyfan, which was known as Teilo's Miraculous Healing Well. Pilgrims came from afar to drink of the water which had been poured into a skull, said to be the skull of St. Teilo, and they felt that they had regained their strength. The skull has long since disappeared and the waters of the well have been diverted into a reservoir which serves the town. A cult of St. Teilo was fostered after his death. Twenty-three churches in Wales were dedicated to him and one in Brittany. The ecclesiastical parish of the town in the Towy Valley was named Llandeilo-Fawr.

The Church

The present church building dates in the main from the 19th century when so many of the churches of the diocese of St. David were restored and renovated almost to a pattern. The architect of very many of these churches in West Wales, and also of the vast vicarages that went with them, was a Llandeilo man, David Jenkins of Abbot's Hill. He was assisted by his son, William Jenkins of the Morfa. The battlemented tower of the church remains, reminiscent of a time when the church was a fortress. The inhabitants of the town would hurry up an outside turret staircase seeking safety in times of war. In times of peace, farmers vied with each other, seeking to rent the tower for the winter months for it served as an excellent storehouse for grain. In the 19th century, the churchyard was a marketplace, the tombs serving as tables and the game of "fives", a kind of tennis, was played against the church wall. Rough and ready justice was administered in the church porch - in the "Court of the Dusty Feet". Disputes arose in the nearby marketplace, due largely to diversity in weights and clipping of the coinage. The church clock, fitted into two sides of the tower, was a gift to the town from David Pugh, the squire of Manoravon. The incipient rivalries of the landed gentry often rebounded to the benefit of the citizens of the town.

The Churchyard

Originally there was only one churchyard; now there are two. To facilitate coach travel down inclines that were particularly steep, a road was constructed through the churchyard in the 1840s. There was considerable legal wrangling concerning the project. Bodies were exhumed and re-buried. Gradients in the road brought severe engineering problems. Furthermore, there were financial crises. The central government retracted from its commitment to help with the improvement of the roads, maintaining that its policy applied only to "English towns". As a result of this, the local government had to face the cost and this with some considerable difficulty.

Elections

The churchyards and church square were in a central position and lent themselves for local government administration. Before the days of secret ballots, hustings were set up - two on the church square for public declaration of votes and one within the churchyard for the use of officials. The Great Election of 1802 has gone down in the history of the county. Election time was a period of great excitement. Anne Beale, an eye-witness, writing in 1846 calls up the general atmosphere in the town when the county representative was elected to Parliament.

An election however, collects great numbers of people and despite the cheerless aspect of the morning all orders in the neighbourhood flocked in to see the show.

The procession begins to wind through the park and very gay the lines of carriages and horses with flags and ribbons look under the oaks and along the green fields. But hark! fits of music come on the breeze and horns and fifes are distinctly heard. 'Tis the march of the Men of Harlech in enthusiastic vigour and now a full cheer hails the members from the townsfolk. From the schoolhouse to the market place are suspended garlands of evergreens and flowers, adorned with endless bows of red and orange ribbon. The members in a carriage and pair, attended by their friends and supporters, pass under the floral arch and bow until their necks must ache.

A short street brings them to the Town Hall where they are to be proposed and accepted as honourable members for the county.

What a sale of red ribbons Mr. Lewis the Shop must have enjoyed, for red bows of every variety and shape appear on all sides. Nothing but red is to be seen. Red gowns, red trimmings, red roses, red faces. The procession having made its way through all the streets of our large provincial town, the different individuals who compose it disperse. The gentlemen adjoin to the school houses where Conservatives of both sexes may eat and drink as much as they like.

The voters make their way to the different ale houses where they follow the good example of their superiors.

After allowing a sufficient time to elapse for digestion, dinner parties assemble at the different inns where meat and drink, those external rousers and calmers of John Bull's excitable feelings, are again the order of the day. Speeches are either made or spoilt in the making, healths drunk and jollity kept up. All are merry as a successful party and plenty of wine can make them. The members are praised and flattered and are consequently in good humour with them selves and those around them.

Mid-19th century

Considerable development took place in the mid-19th century. In 1858 Llandeilo was becoming a compact town. According to a survey there was a church, four chapels, 11 streets; 73 shops; 23 public houses and 290 houses. Religious fervour had swept through the town with the Welsh Religious Revival of the 18th century. Open-air meetings had been held outside the George Inn. The Calvinistic Methodists were declared unorthodox because they preached "without the church". A Calvinistic Methodist Chapel was built in a retreat where the Public Institute was set up later. It was first built in 1779 and re-built in 1851. In another retreat, and almost opposite, was a Wesleyan chapel. Built in 1809 it was re-built in 1849. A Baptist chapel had been built at the north end of Abbot's Terrace in 1829. Congregationalists had a stronghold in Abercennen, later called Ffairfach. A chapel, the Tabernacle, had been built in 1818. A British school was attached to it. There was activity at the parish church also. On the 21st of February, 1848, the first stone of the old church was taken down. On the 23rd of March the foundation stone was laid by Mr. Morgan, the builder of the bridge. The church now had a smaller tower. There were five bells in the belfry. The graves of the chief families of the neighbourhood were in the chancel. Among them was that of Archdeacon Beynon who had worked indefatigably to raise funds for the building.

The Mail

Gwilym Teilo, the Llandeilo bard, recorded facts which are invaluable in tracing the development of the town. There was a Post Office kept by David Gwilliam in George Street. This had been established in 1750. A mail service had been pioneered for over thirty years before by Ralf Allen. "Jac y Post", alias for John Morgan, carried the letter bags to Carmarthen for a period of sixty years. In 1858 he was aged 87. He was reputed to have "danced more horn- pipes, drunk more beer and fought more Irishmen than any man living". The Post Office, then known as the "Letter Office", was moved to Rhosmaen Street. Later it was in Abbot or Abbey Terrace. For a period it was kept by the mother of Anne Beale, the writer.

Water Supply

Water was supplied by way of thirty stand pipes set up in the streets. There were also numerous wells in the town. The streets were lit; but, for a period of fifteen years (1843 to 1848), the town was in total darkness. A dispute had arisen as to who was responsible for paying the lamp-lighter and the oil wicks and candles necessary. There were complaints that children had smashed the glasses of the lamps. Discussions followed concerning public lighting by gas.

The horse chestnut tree

A horse chestnut tree, planted in 1818 and growing in the churchyard and overlooking the square, was, an object of civic pride. It was the gift of a Mr. William Rees, a tradesman living near. He is reputed to have kept a musket under his counter which he was readily prepared to use if he saw any signs of vandalism. His vigilance extended over twenty years; the tree flourished and became an object of great beauty.

The Railroad

The "iron road" or railway first reached Llandeilo in November 1856. It injected new life into the commercial and social activities of the town. Some saw the benefits for agriculture and for mineral industries. Others were prophets of doom. Railways were a menace to Wales; they said; Llandeilo would suffer: The railway would "annihilate the Welsh language that the hills and dales of Cambria have echoed for unknown centuries". Furthermore, "the people's manners and customs are to be almost at once and for ever forgotten". Others consoled themselves believing, "Manners may vary; but the Cymro will still be Cymro in passion, in feeling and in character".

The provisions market

The provision market was built [on Carmarthen Street in 1838] at the expense of A. J. Gulston Esq. of Derwydd. It served a wide area, particularly after railway development began. Previously, an open market had been held in Market Street. It extended to the back of Waterloo House. Butter and farm produce generally were sold there. Fish stalls were under the chestnut tree on the Church Square. Across the road were the shambles where cattle were slaughtered. Welsh flannel was sold at stalls in King Street. Corn and cheese were sold on the ground floor of the Shire Hall. The corn of the Towy Valley was renowned. Sir William Paxton, a shrewd financier, realised its worth. Early in the 19th century, he had plans for developing Milford Haven as a port. He intended to export from there to America, abundant supplies of corn from the Towy Valley.

The national schools

The history of Llandeilo, like that of ancient Egypt, is written in stone. Quarries of fine stone existed close at hand. Excellent craftsmen were nurtured in the area. The reputation of the stone masons spread afar. Men building the National Schools, opposite to the provision market, were cajoled to go to London by the contractors, Myers and Sons. They would be engaged in building a palatial house in St. James' Square for a Baron Rothschild. In a desire to see something of the world beyond their own parish, the men agreed. In the metropolis, however, the masons found themselves faced with a situation beyond their understanding. In modern terms they were faced with an industrial strike. The Llandeilo men were totally bewildered. At home, their work had been cemented with goodwill. Disillusioned, they put their tools into their kit-bags and set off for home. It took them twelve days to walk back to Llandeilo, resting a while on their journey at Gloucester They reached home safely, sadder but wiser men.

Llandeilo Past and Present