Cymraeg >>>
LLANGAIN
is a village in two parts, surrounded by farms which still retain their medieval
names and fields dotted with prehistoric monuments. Hengastell was the site
of an early medieval castle, while the spectacularly situated Green Castle or
Castell Moel, now ruined, was a 15C dwelling-house built by the Reed family.
Below Green Castle is the deep pool where large ships at one time moored, sending
their cargo by lighters to the port of Carmarthen. Above and below Green Castle
are woodlands, laid out in beautiful walks by the Woodland Trust, and provided
with a car park.
Llangain Church, situated in a tranquil spot outside upper Llangain, was rebuilt
in 1871 and has fine memorials to the Gwyn family of Pilroath and Cwrt Hir.
The latter are two of the many mansions in the area, others being Llwyn Du,
Fern Hill and Pant-yr-athro. Fern Hill, together with Blaencwm and Pentrewyman,
have achieved additional fame for their association with Dylan Thomas, whose
family lived in those farms.
LLANGYNOG, with its maze of roads, is best explored on foot. The discerning
eye will see in the fields crop-marks indicating the sites of Iron Age hill
forts and huts, often immortalised in farm names such as Castell y Garthen,
Castell Cynog, Dan-Lan-y-Castell and Castell Cogan. There are also earlier relics,
the most famous of which is Twlc-y-Filiast, a neolithic burial chamber (access
on request Bancyffynon Farm). The site of the 6C Church of Saint Cynog may have
been an existing place of worship. The present building has been considerably
modified over the years and contains memorials to the Morris family of Coombe
and rare late 19C wall-paintings (over-painted coloured tiles).
Ebenezer Babtist Chapel was originally built in the 18C and subsequently modified,
the last renovation being in 1991 after storm damage. The old mansion of Coombe,
rebuilt in the 19C by the Morris banking family, is now a Cheshire Home.
LLANDEILO ABERCOWIN is one of the most atmospheric places in west Wales, with
its ruined church and medieval house (Pilgrim's Rest). The church was founded
by Saint Teilo in the 6C and rebuilt around 1270 by Richard Laundry, a local
lord. One of its famous incumbents was Griffith Jones, famous for his Circulating
Schools. Permission to visit the church may be obtained from the owners of Pilgrim's
Rest.
LLANYBRI is a hill-top hamlet, commanding magnificent views across the esturies
of the Taf and Tywi, and further afield over to Pembrokeshire to Devon. Old
farms and cottages are clustered around the ruins of Hen Gapel. The latter was
formerly the medieval church of Morbrichurch and an Anglican chapel-of-ease
before being leased in the late 17C to the Independants, who purchased it in
1878 and retained it until 1960. Capel Newydd, another Independant chapel, was
built in 1814 and rebuilt in 1873-4. In its graveyard are buried members of
Dylan Thomas' family.
Holy Trinity Church, built in 1852 and restored in 1891, has fine marble wall-tablets
inscribed with Welsh texts. In 1999 Lynette Roberts, the poet, was buried in
the churchyard. She and her husband, Keidrych Rhys, editor of the Magazine Wales,
lived in Llanybri in the 1940's, attracting the leading Anglo-Welsh writers
to village as visitors. Among then were Dylan and Caitlin Thomas. Another writer
with close associations with Llanybri was Glyn Jones, whose family had lived
in Cwm Celyn, a farm situated near one of the fords to Laugharne.
LLANSTEFFAN was an important borough and port, and it received a new lease of
life from the 18C onwards as a major tourist attraction. The Castle, strategically
placed to guard the Tywi estuary, was built within the still visible ramparts
of a late Bronze Age hill fort. A wooden 11C castle was replaced by the Norman
invaders in the 12C with a stone building, which was considerably extended in
the 13C. Although it was later adapted into a more comfortable residence, the
castle was abandoned in the 16C.
Below the castle lies the woodland know as the Sticks (a mistranslation of the
Welsh word "coed"). Before the old beech trees were felled circa 1960, wooden
benches were installed between the trees, facing a stage (still in place), to
accommodate audiences for concerts and community singing and, notably, the annual
Mock-Mayor-making ceremony.
A cliff path leads from the Sticks to Scotts Bay, named after the family of
Captain John James Scott and his wife, comprising a son and nine daughters,
who occupied St. Anthony's Cottage from 1862 until the 1950s. The house is named
after the nearby St. Anthony's Well, a holy well, which would have been on a
road to Laugharne Ferry and thence on the pilgrim route to St. Davids. It was
customary to throw pins into the water and make a wish. A sculptured plaque
by John Taulbut commemorates the saint.
A National Trust path leads past St. Anthony's Cottage along the headland above
Wharley Point, known colloquially as Werle (the place of the weir), after a
medieval weir belonging to the lordship of Llansteffan. From the path and along
the road to Laugharne Ferry may be seen farms which retain their medieval names,
Lord's Park, Laques, Mwche, Down, Pentowin. The bell-house, from where the ferry-man
was summoned across the Taf, can still be seen at the end of the ferry lane
near Pentowin.
The Llansteffan-Kidwelly and later the Llansteffan-Ferryside ferry ran originally
from Ferry Point at the other end of Llansteffan. Ferry Point, in medieval times
the Manor of the Ferry, is now occupied by a variety of attractive chalets.
Fluctuating tides sometimes reveal the hulks of old boats buried in the mud.
By 1891 two landing-stages were built opposite the green, for the convenience
of passengers arriving by train to Ferryside.
The coming of the railway to Carmarthen in 1852 affected Llansteffan in that
the village expanded to accommodate the increasing number of tourists. Attractive
terraces of houses were built on the green, while cottages elsewhere in the
village were rebuilt as spacious houses.The village also has fine gentry houses:
Plas Llansteffan, built in the 16C and rebuilt in 1788; the Cottage, built c.1820;
Hill House, built in 1855; Orchard House, built in 1860.
Llansteffan Church was founded by Saint Steffan, an associate of Saint Teilo,
in the 6C. The present nave dates from the 13C, the tower and transepts were
added in the 15C and the Lloyd Chapel in the 16C. The interior was renovated
several times during the 19C and a current programme of restoration is on-going.
The church has fine 19th and 20C stained-glass windows, including an east window
by John Petts.
Bethany Babtist Chapel was rebuilt in 1866 and the present Moriah Methodist
Chapel building was renovated in 1911. Moriah graveyard has some unusual monuments.
This page is part of www.llansteffan.com
English >>>
Mae LLANGAIN yn bentref mewn dwy ran, a amgylchynir
gan ffermydd a adnabyddir hyd heddiw wrth eu henwau canoloesol, a'u caeau sy'n
frith o gofadeiladau cynhanesol. Roedd Hengastell yn safle castell canoloesol
cynnar, tra bod Green Castle neu Gastell Foel, sydd erbyn hyn yn adfail, yn
annedd o'r 15G a adeiladwyd gan y teulu Reed. Islaw Green Castle mae pwll dyfn
lle'r arferai llongau mawrion fwrw'u hangor, ac anfon eu cargo i borthladd Caerfyrddin
ar gychod cludo. Uwchben ac islaw Green Castle mae coedwigoedd, sy'n frith o
lwybrau hardd a osodwyd gan yr Ymddiriedaeth Coedwigol, gyda maes parcio gerllaw.
Ailadeiladwyd Eglwys Llangain, sydd mewn man tawel ar gyrion Llangain Uchaf,
yn 1871 ac ynddi ceir cofebion i'r teulu Gwyn o Pilroath a Chwrt Hir. Mae Cwrt
Hir yn un o nifer helaeth o blasdai yn yr ardal, rhai eraill yw Llwyn Du, Fern
Hill a Phant-yr-athro. Adnabyddir Fern Hill, ynghyd a Blaencwm a Phentrewyman,
am eu cysylltiad a Dylan Thomas, gan i'w deulu fyw yn y ffermydd hynny.
Y ffordd orau i fwynhau LLANGYNOG, gyda'i fyrdd o lonydd, yw wrth gerdded. Bydd
llygaid craff yn adnabod cylchoedd cnydio neu crop-marks sy'n dangos safleoedd
caerau a chytiau o'r Oes Haearn, a adlewyrchir yn enwau'r ffermydd, megis Castell
y Garthen, Castell Cynog, Dan-Lan-y-Castell a Chastell Cogan. Mae yno hefyd
greiriau cynharach, a'r un mwyaf adnabyddus yw Twlc-y-filiast, lle mae siambr
gladdu Neolithig (ceir mynediad gyda chaniatad Fferm Bancyffynon). Mae'n bosib
i safle 6G Eglwys Sant Cynog fod yn fangre addoli hyd yn oed cyn hynny. Mae'r
adeilad presennol wedi'i adnewyddu'n sylweddol dros y blynyddoedd, ac mae'n
cynnwys cofebion i'r teulu Morris o Coombe, a gwaith celf o ddiwedd y 19eg ganrif
sy'n cynnwys peintiadau dros deils lliw ar y walydd.
Adeiladwyd Capel Ebeneser y Bedyddwyr yn wreiddiol yn y 18G gyda nifer o adnewyddiadau
ers hynny - yn fwyaf diweddar yn 1991 ar ol difrod storm.
Mae hen blasdy Coombe, a ailadeiladwyd yn y 19G gan deulu bancio'r Morrisiaid,
erbyn hyn yn Gartref Cheshire.
Mae LLANDEILO ABERCOWIN yn un o'r llefydd mwyaf atmosfferig yng Ngorllewin Cymru,
gydag adfail eglwys a thy canoloesol (Pilgrim's Rest). Sefydlwyd yr eglwys gan
Sant Teilo yn y 6G ac fei'i hail-godwyd tua 1270 gan Richard Laundry, arglwydd
lleol. Un o'i ymwelwyr cyson oedd Griffith Jones a ddaeth yn enwog am ei Ysgolion
Cylchynnol. Ceir caniatad i ymweld a'r eglwys gan berchnogion Pilgrim's Rest.
Mae pentref LLANYBRI ar ben y bryn, gyda golygfeydd anhygoel dros aber afonydd
Tywi a Thaf, ac ymhellach eto draw i Sir Benfro a Dyfnaint. Mae hen ffermydd
a bythynnod yn glwstwr o amgylch adfeilion yr Hen Gapel. 'Roedd yr Hen Gapel
yn wreiddiol yn eglwys ganoloesol Morbrichurch ac yna'n gapel Anglicanaidd cyn
cael ei osod ar ls i'r Annibynnwyr yn niwedd y 17G. Prynodd yr Annibynnwyr
y capel yn 1878 a bu'n eiddo iddynt tan 1960. Adeiladwyd Capel Newydd, eto i'r
Annibynnwyr, yn 1814 ac fe'i ailadeiladwyd yn 1873-4. Claddwyd nifer o aelodau
o deulu Dylan Thomas yn ei fynwent.
Yn Eglwys Holy Trinity, a godwyd yn 1852 gydag adnewyddiadau yn 1891, mae tabledi-wal
marmor gydag ysgrifau Cymraeg wedi'u harysgrifennu arnynt. Yn 1999 claddwyd
Lynette Roberts, y bardd, yn ei mynwent. Roedd hi a'i gwr, Keidrych Rhys, golygydd
cylchgrawn Wales yn byw yn Llanybri yn ystod y 40au, gan ddenu nifer o lenorion
Anglo-Cymreig i'r ardal fel ymwelwyr. Ymysg y rhain 'roedd Dylan a Caitlin Thomas.
'Roedd LLANSTEFFAN yn fwrdeisdref canoloesol ac yn borthladd pwysig, ac fe ddaeth
bywyd newydd yma yn ystod y 18G pan y'i sefydlwyd yn ganolfan twristiaeth o
bwys. Mae'r castell, a leolwyd yn strategol i amddiffyn aber afon Tywi, wedi'i
osod o fewn gwrthglawdd caer o'r Oes Efydd, gydag olion gweladwy hyd heddiw.
Cymerwyd lle y castell pren gwreiddiol o'r 11G pan gododd y goresgynnwyr Normanaidd
gastell cerrig yn y 12G, a estynwyd yn y 13G. Er iddo gael ei addasu'n ddiweddarach
i fod annedd fwy cyfforddus, aeth y castell yn adfail yn y 16G.
Islaw'r castell mae coedwig a adnabyddir fel y "Sticks" (cam-gyfieithiad o'r
gair "coed".) Cyn i'r hen goed ffawydd gael eu torri i lawr tua 1960, 'roedd
meinciau pren wedi eu gosod rhwng y coed, yn wynebu llwyfan (sydd yna o hyd),
i gynnig mannau eistedd i'r cynulleidfaoedd a ddaeth yno ar gyfer cyngherddau
a chanu cynulleidfaol, ac, yn benodol, ar gyfer seremoni blynyddol ethol y Ffug-Faer.
Mae llwybr yn arwain o'r Sticks i Scotts Bay, a enwyd ar ol teulu Capten John
James Scott, a fu'n byw yn Saint Anthony's Cottage o 1862 tan y 1950au. Enwyd
y ty ar ol ffynnon St. Anthony sydd gerllaw - ffynnon sanctaidd a arferai fod
ar y ffordd i fferi Talacharn, ac felly'n rhan o daith y pererinion i Dyddewi.
Mae'n arferiad lleol i daflu pin i mewn i'r dwr gan wneud dymuniad. Mae plac
cerflunwaith gan John Taulbut yno'n coffiu'r sant.
Mae llwybr yr Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol yn arwain heibio St. Anthony's Cottage
ar hyd y pentir uchben Wharley Point, a adnabyddir yn lleol, ac yn gywir, fel
"Werle" (man y gored, neu "weir") ar ol hen gored ganoloesol o eiddo arglwyddiaeth
Llansteffan. O'r llwybr hwn ac o'r ffordd i fferi Talacharn gwelir ffermydd
sy'n arddel eu henwau canoloesol hyd heddiw - Lord's Park, Laques, Mwche, Down,
Pentewin. Mae'r clochdy, o ble y galwyd dyn y fferi ar draws y Taf, i'w weld
hyd heddiw ar ddiwedd lon y fferi ger Pentewin.
Daeth dyfodiad y rheiffordd i Gaerfyrddin a newidiadau mawr i Lansteffan, gyda'r
pentref yn chwyddo i ymdopi a'r cynnudd yn nifer yr ymwelwyr. Adeiladwyd terasau
o fythynnod deniadol ar y Green, tra'r ailadeiladwyd bythynnod bychain yn y
pentref yn dai llawer mwy. Mae plasdai gwych hefyd o fewn y pentref: Plas Llansteffan
sy'n dyddio o'r 16G; y Cottage, a godwyd yn 1820; Hill House a adeiladwyd yn
1855, ac Orchard House a adeiladwyd yn 1860.
Sefydlwyd Eglwys Llansteffan gan Sant Steffan yn y 6G. Mae corff yr eglwys yn
dyddio o'r 13G, fe ategwyd y twr a'r groesfa yn y 15G, a Chapel Lloyd yn y 16G.
Atgyweirwyd y tu mewn sawl gwaith yn ystod y 19G ac mae rhaglen adnewyddu ar
y gweill ar hyn o bryd. Mae ffenestri lliw cain o'r 19G a'r 20G i'w gweld yno,
gan gynnwys ffenstr y dwyrain gan John Petts.
Aliagodwyd Capel Bethania y Bedyddwyr yn 1866 ac fe adnewyddwyd Capel Moreia
y Methodistiaid yn 1911. Mae cofebion anghyffredin i'w gweld ym mynwent Moreia.
This page is part of www.llansteffan.com