Llanelli

The spelling 'Llanelly' is an anglicised form which was used until 1966, after which it was changed following a local public campaign. This is evident in the name of the local historic building, 'Llanelly House'. It can also lead to confusion with the village and parish, Llanelly, which is in south-east Wales near Abergavenny. Llanelly in Victoria, Australia was named after the town of Llanelli (or Llanelly as it was known as in the 19th century).

Llanelli has hosted the National Eisteddfod six times: in 1895, 1903, 1930, 1962, 2000 and 2014.[8]

In the mid-20th century, Llanelli was the largest town in the world where more than half the population spoke a Celtic language.[9] It is ranked the 7th largest urban area in Wales. According to the 2011 UK Census returns, 23.7 per cent of Llanelli town residents habitually spoke Welsh. However, the area around Llanelli is a Welsh stronghold where 56 per cent do so in communities such as Llwynhendy and Burry Port.

During the 1950s, Trefor and Eileen Beasley campaigned to get Llanelli Rural Council to distribute tax papers in Welsh by refusing to pay taxes until their demand was met. The council reacted by sending in the bailiffs and selling their furniture to recover the money owed. The Beasleys' neighbours bought the furniture and returned it to them. The council finally reversed this policy in the 1960s, when it accepted that Welsh should have equal status with English language.[10]

A number of manufacturing companies (including the Tata Steel Europe tinplate works at Trostre, and Dyfed Steels), many of which service the automotive industry, are in the area around Llanelli.[12] The Technium Performance Engineering Centre was developed at Llanelli Gate as a business incubator for businesses in the automotive, motorsport and aerospace sectors.[13]

The traditional industries of Llanelli have been in gradual decline over recent decades and local government has responded by promoting developments such as the Machynys Golf Course, new retail parks at Trostre and Pemberton, and the Millennium Coastal Park, to help attract tourism.[14] The core shopping area has now largely relocated from the town centre to the Trostre/Pemberton area.

Llanelli has a brewing tradition, with the Felinfoel Brewery in Felinfoel, located just outside the town.[15]

The Reverend James Buckley was an ordained Methodist minister, born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1770. After moving to Llanelli towards the end of the 18th century, he became involved in the establishment of a small brewery in the town. After the death of the owner, the Rev. Buckley came into the possession of the brewery and changed its name to Buckley's Brewery. In 1998, the brewery was purchased by Brains Brewery, and production was transferred to their brewery in Cardiff. However, Brains continue to produce The Reverend James, a bitter named in memory of the Reverend.[16] The brewery has now been partly demolished.

Over the past decade, the emphasis on heavy industry that once played an important part in the district has changed to an emphasis on creating tertiary sector employment in leisure and tourism. Llanelli is now being developed as a leisure and tourism destination, with many ongoing developments such as the new Llanelli Scarlets rugby stadium, the Old Castle Works leisure village (see below) and a National Hunt racecourse at Ffos Las near Trimsaran.[17] Machynys Ponds, a Site of Special Scientific Interest notable for its dragonfly population, is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south of Llanelli.[18][19]

Tabernacle Chapel

From the early 19th to the late 20th century, Llanelli was a major centre of Welsh nonconformism and there were many notable chapels in the town. Several of these have now closed and others are in serious decline. Their history was chronicled in a volume by BBC journalist Huw Edwards.[20]

Of these chapels, several are significant, including Capel Als, where David Rees was a minister for many years in the 19th century. Llanelli was noted for its numerous Independent (Congregationalist) chapels, including, Tabernacle, Siloah and Soar.

The Tabernacle Chapel, built in 1872–1873, by John Humphreys of Morriston, is situated at corner of Town Hall Square, overlooking Town Hall. The site is bordered by Coleshill Terrace, Church Street and Coldstream Street. It is built of brown snecked rubble stone with extensive Bath stone dressings and a slate roof. A prominent feature is the four-pillared Corinthian arcade at the entrance. It was Grade II* listed in December 1992.[21] It is used as a venue by the Llanelli Choral Society.[22][23] Other listed chapels in Llanelli include Bethel Baptist Chapel in Copperworks Road,[24] Park Congregational Chapel, at the junction between Murray Street and Inkerman Street,[25] Zion Baptist Chapel at Island Place,[26] and Hall Street Methodist Church.[27]

St Elli's Parish Church, Church in Wales.

The parish church of St Elli has a medieval tower; the main body of the church was rebuilt by G. F. Bodley in 1905–1906. The church is a Grade II* listed building.[28] Several other churches in the town are also listed buildings, but made redundant by the Church in Wales and now in private ownership. They include All Saints Church,[29] and St Albans Church.[30]

The town's rugby union teams—the Scarlets regional side, competing in the Pro14, and Llanelli RFC, competing in the Principality Premiership—play at Parc y Scarlets, opened in November 2008 just outside town in Pemberton.

Previously, the two teams had played at Stradey Park, home to Llanelli RFC for over 130 years. It was one of the stadiums used during the 1999 Rugby World Cup, hosting the Argentina v Western Samoa game on 10 October. Stradey Park is now being re-developed.

The Welsh folk song Sosban Fach ("Little Saucepan") is mostly associated with Llanelli RFC. Many rugby clubs have notable scalps collected from touring international sides, but on 31 October 1972, Llanelli claimed perhaps the greatest by beating the New Zealand All Blacks. The Scarlets side emerged 9–3[31] winners at Stradey Park.

There is also a strong junior rugby core in Llanelli, including club sides such as Felinfoel, New Dock Stars, Llangenech and the Llanelli Wanderers. In 2005, Coedcae School won the Inter-Schools Cup of Wales with an 8–5 victory over Brynteg Comprehensive.

Rugby league

Llanelli's rugby league club are the West Wales Raiders and play in the Rugby Football League's League 1 competition. They are based at Stebonheath Park.

Football

Stebonheath Park is the home of football club Llanelli A.F.C., who play in the top football league in the country, the Welsh Premier League. Although the town has a rich rugby heritage, football is a very popular pastime. As a result, there are many active local teams and tournaments held there such as the 2018 Challenge Cup where West End United beat Trostre Sports AFC.

Bowls

Llanelli hosts the annual Llanelli Open Bowls Tournaments, the oldest and most prestigious of which, the Roberts-Rolfe Open Singles event, has been run since 1926, and now has a first prize of £600. These are held from July to September in Parc Howard.

Golf

The Llanelli area has two golf courses, including the Machynys Peninsula Golf & Country Club which hosted the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe from 2005 until 2008; and Glyn Abbey Golf Club which was named Welsh Golf Club of the Year 2009.

Snooker

Llanelli is the birthplace and home of Terry Griffiths OBE, snooker world champion in 1979 and runner up in 1988. Now a coach and snooker commentator, he runs The Terry Griffiths Matchroom in the town centre.

Millennium Coastal Path near Llanelli

Some local attractions include:

• The Millennium Coastal Path, which spans 13 miles (21 km) of coastline from Loughor to Pembrey, offers views of the Gower Peninsula and the opportunity for traffic-free cycling.
• National Wetlands Centre, about 1-mile (1.6 km) east of Llanelli, near Llwynhendy and Bynea, is one of nine wetland nature reserves managed by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
• Llanelly House is one of Llanelli's most historic properties, an example of an early 18th-century Georgian town house. The house, located directly opposite the parish church, is currently in a poor state of repair, however the town council has recently purchased it with plans to completely restore the house for civic and public use. The house was built for Thomas Stepney, the Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire, in 1714. John Wesley, the early leader of the Methodist movement, stayed at the house several times. The house was also featured in the first series of the BBC television show, Restoration.[36]
• Parc Howard Museum[37] is set in the grounds of Parc Howard. The museum houses a collection of Llanelly Pottery (Llanelli spelt with a 'y' at the time of the pottery) an art collection and material related to the history of the town.

The Ffwrnes Theatre opened in late 2012, replacing the former Theatr Elli which was part of the Llanelli Entertainment Centre.[38][39] A multi-screen cinema opened in October 2012. Millions of pounds are also being spent on regenerating the town centre shopping district.[40]

Throughout the year, there are many festivals, carnivals and events held in or near Llanelli. They include:

• Welsh International Open, a competition of the World Bowls Tour (February)
• Into the Future Festival — educational event about the environment and technology, organised by the county council[41] (August)
• Llanelli Big Day Out — pop and live music event[42] (August)
• Llanelli Beer Festival — official CAMRA event[43] (August)
• Llanelli Christmas Carnival (November)
• Llanelli Ramblers Festival of Walks, an annual walking festival, late Spring Bank Holiday weekend (May)
• Llanelli Pride, first Saturday in August.

The first Welsh-medium primary school, Ysgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant, was established in Llanelli in 1947. The English medium secondary schools are St John Lloyd, Bryngwyn and Coedcae; the only Welsh medium secondary school is Ysgol y Strade. St Michael's School is a private school for ages three to eighteen. Ysgol Heol Goffa is a special school for children with disabilities.

Coleg Sir Gâr (Carmarthenshire College) has its main campus at Graig near Pwll. It provides a college education for most of the town's further education students as well as a limited variety of vocational undergraduate degrees through the University of Wales. There are sixth form colleges at Ysgol Gyfun y Strade (Welsh medium) and St Michael's (English medium).

In Prince Philip Hospital is a postgraduate centre for medical training run by Cardiff University's School of Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.[46]

Llanelli is twinned with:[47]

• Agen, France

Llanelli Waterside, a joint venture between Carmarthenshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly Government, is a project that aims to drive the regeneration of the Llanelli area by transforming the waterfront into a business, leisure and residential community. Currently, there are two seafront housing developments under construction. Pentre Nicklaus Village, located on the Machynys Peninsula has been the subject of recent criticism for being above the price range of local people. Pentre Doc Y Gogledd (North Dock Village) in the historic North Dock area is currently being developed by David Mclean homes and is currently on the last phase of development.

• Phil Bennett, Wales, British Lions
• Jonathan Davies, represented Wales in rugby league and rugby union
• Ieuan Evans, Wales, British Lions
• Ray Gravell, Wales, British Lions, actor and broadcaster.
• Carwyn James, Wales, coach of Llanelli and British Lions
• Gareth Jenkins, Wales, coach of Llanelli, Llanelli Scarlets and Wales
• Barry John, Cardiff, Wales, British Lions
• Dwayne Peel, Wales and British Lions
• Derek Quinnell, Wales and British Lions

• Wyndham Evans, footballer and football manager
• Emyr Huws, midfielder, Wales
• Kyle Letheren, Plymouth Argyle F.C goalkeeper.
• Byron Stevenson, Wales international footballer.

• Jeff Evans, cricket umpire
• Dai Greene, athletics, 400m hurdler, world champion and IAAF gold medalist
• Terry Griffiths, world snooker champion (1979)
• Neil Haddock, boxer, British Superfeatherweight Champion
• Evan Hoyt, tennis player.
• Flex Lewis, bodybuilder, ex-rugby footballer
• Melbourne Tierney, rugby league
• Eirian Williams, snooker referee.

• Lord Elwyn Jones, Labour Lord Chancellor
• Rod Richards, Conservative MP, Conservative leader in the National Assembly for Wales
• Michael Howard, leader of the Conservative Party, Home Secretary
• Sir Tom O'Brien, trade unionist, Labour MP
• Robert Buckland, Conservative Lord Chancellor
• David Thomas, trade unionist and Labour organizer

• Huw Edwards, BBC newsreader
• John Owen-Jones actor
• Juliet Ace, playwright and dramatist
• Simon Armstrong, film, television and stage actor
• David Brazell, opera singer and early recording artist
• Ronald Cass, film writer and composer
• Peter Anthony Freeman, author and storyteller
• Jessica Garlick, Eurovision Song Contest 2002 UK entrant and Pop Idol finalist
• Gareth Hughes, silent film actor, born in Halfway/Pemberton
• James Dickson Innes, artist
• Deke Leonard, rock musician, author, raconteur and TV panellist
• Terry Morris, artist and photographer
• Natasha O'Keeffe, television actress
• Christopher Rees, singer, songwriter, musician.
• Rachel Roberts, actress
• Dorothy Squires, singer and second wife of actor Roger Moore.
• Donald Swann, of Flanders and Swann
• Huw Thomas, ITN, newscaster
• Imogen Thomas, former Big Brother contestant and glamour model
• Jeffrey Thomas, actor, star of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

• William Lloyd (British Naval officer), admiral
• Rev'd Dr Leslie John Griffiths, The Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, Methodist Minister.
• Gwladys Yvonne McKeon, Australian marine biologist, born at Llanelli
• Sir John Meurig Thomas, chemist
• Brian Trubshaw, pilot of first flight of British Concorde