Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for LLANELLY

LLANELLY, a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Carmarthenshire. The town stands on the river Burry, or estuary of the Loughor, at the influx of the Lliedi, on the South Wales railway, and at the terminus of the Llanelly and Vale of Towy railway, 4 miles W of the boundary with Glamorganshire, and 17 SE by S of Carmarthen. It was only a village so late as about 1813; but, in consequence of its advantageous site near the sea, for the outlet of a large portion of the South Wales coalfield, and for the extensive trade of the Cambrian copper-works, it has grown into a large, bustling, and prosperous seat of population and of commerce. It is irregularly built, but has undergone very great improvement. Many old and unsightly habitations have been removed; new buildings, with ranges of handsome shops, have been erected on their site; and large recent extensions, in new streets with respectable houses, have been formed. The chief public buildings are a town hall, a convenient market-house, a custom-house, a bankingoffice, churches, chapels, a workhouse, railway stations, and the smelting-house of the Cambrian copper-works. The parish church, near the centre of the town, is a fine old edifice, with two steeples, the one terminated by a spire, the other by an embattled turret. Three other churches, St. John's, Trinity, and St. Paul's, are modern erections; and another, St. Peter's, was projected in 1865. The Park Congregational chapel was completed near the end of 1865; is in the early decorated English style, of furnace-dressed rubble with Bath stone dressings; has a tower and spire 104 feet high; and comprises a lower level, with large school or lecture-room,-and an upper level, with the chapel-proper, containing space for about 688 sittings. There are chapels also for Baptists, Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Roman Catholics; and there are likewise national and other schools. The workhouse has accommodation for 200 inmates. The Cambrian copper-works are surmounted by a chimney 231 feet high, which is a conspicuous object for miles around. A head post office‡ is in High-street; and a receiving post office‡ is at the docks. There are a telegrraph office and three chief inns. Markets are held on Thursdays and Saturdays; fairs are held on Holy Thursday, 29 July, 30 Sept., and 11 Nov.; and there are foundries, tin-works, and a pottery.

The harbour is protected by a breakwater; admits ships of 600 tons' burden; and has three excellent docks, furnished with loading stages,-an admirably constructed graving dock,-and well-contrived appliances for prevonting silting no. and for carrying on all the current business of the port. Acts for improving and managing the harbour, in costly methods, were obtained in 1813 and 1843; and another act, with further powers, was introduced in 1858, to divert the streams, called the Pwll, the Yard, and the Cille, by means of a new cut, into the river Lliedi, for scouring purposes, to make three several reservoirs to discharge into the three several docks, -to maintain, extend, and improve the breakwater,-and to make and maintain a branch railway from the South Wales line, near the old Castle colliery, to the Carmarthen dock, and to the end of the breakwater. The chief imports are copper ore and grain; and the chief exports are coal, culm, copper cake, copper sheeting, iron, and fire clay. The port includes, as sub-ports, Carmaethen, St. Clears, Laugharne, and Pembrey. The vessels belonging to it, at the commencement of 1864, were 31 small sailing-vessels, of aggregately 925 tons; 48 large sailing-vessels, of aggregately 5,726 tons; and 4 steamvessels, of aggregately 98 tons. The vessels which cleared in 1863, were 24 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 5,225 tons, to British colonies; 310 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 35,655 tons, to foreign countries; 455 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 31,704 tons, to foreign countries; 2 British steam-vessels, of jointly 212 tons, to foreign countries; 2,164 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 148,250 tons, coastwise; and 111 steam-vessels, of aggregately 11,457 tons, coastwise. The vessels which entered, in 1863, were 26 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 5,533 tons, from British colonies; 6 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 291 tons, from British colonies; 271 British sailing-vessels, of aggregately 33,995 tons, from foreign countries; 402 foreign sailing-vessels, of aggregately 28,861 tons, from foreign countries; 1 British steam-vessel, of 106 tons, from foreign countries; 1,275 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 77,784 tons, coastwise; and 123 steam-vessels, of aggregately 12,163 tons, coastwise. The amount of customs, in 1862, was £2,964; the amount of light dues, £893.

Llanelly is a borough by prescription; is mentioned in a document of the time of Edward II. as then a borough, but has no extant charter; and was so ill defined in its borough character, at the time of the parliamentary boundary commission, that the inhabitants seemed scarcely to know in what sense it was a borough. It is governed nominally by a portreeve and burgesses; and it unites with Carmarthen in sending a member to parliament. Its old limits were supposed to be conterminate with what was called Llanelly hamlet; but its limits, under the reform act, include also part of Hengoed hamlet. It is a seat of county courts, and a polling-place. Electors of Llanelly and Carmarthen boroughs, in 1833, 684; in 1863,853. Pop. of Llanelly hamlet or old borough, in 1851,8,415; in 1861,11,084. Houses, 2,126. Pop. of the borough as now constituted, in 1851, 8,710; in 1861,11,446. Houses, 2,195. The increase of pop. arose from the extension of the coal, iron, tin, and copper trades.—The parish contains also the rest of Hengoed hamlet, and the hamlets of Westfa, Berwick, and Glyn. Acres, 18,075; of which 2,575 are water-Real property of Llanelly hamlet or old borough, in 1860, £38,821; of which £7,349 were in mines, £11 in quarries, £7,774 in railways, and £250 in gas-works. Real property of Hengoed, £5,543,-of which £350 were in mines, and £51 in quarries; of Berwick, £8,500,-f which £3,545 were in mines, £56 in quarries, and £593 in railways; of Glyn, £2,924,-of which £277 were in mines. Pop. of the parish in 1851,13,663; in 1861, 17,279. Houses, 3,321. Llanelly House is the seat of W. Chambers, Esq.; Llangrannick House, of the Earl of Warwick; Stradey, of D. Lewis, Esq.; and Glanmor, of R. Neville, Esq. An ancient camp, supposed to be British, is in the vicinity of the town. The head living is a vicarage, united with the chapelries of St. John and Trinity, in the diocese of St. David's. Value, £96. * Patron, R. G. Thomas. Esq. St. Paul's chapelry is a separate benefice, constituted in 1846; the pop. within its limits in 1861, was 5,009; and the living of it is a P. curacy, of the value of £150, * in the patronage of alter. nately the Crown and the Bishop.

The sub-district contains the old borough and the hamlets of Hengoed and Westfa. Pop., 14,619. Houses, 2,805. The district comprehends also the sub-district of Loughor, containing the hamlet of Berwick, and the parishes of Llangennech and Loughor, the latter electorally in Glamorgan; the sub-district of Llannon, containing the hamlet of Glyn, and the parishes of Llannon and Llanedy; and the sub-district of Pembrey, containing the parishes of Pembrey and Kidwelly. Acres, 73,451. Poor rates in 1863, £9,225. Pop. in 1851,23,507; in 1 861. 27,979. Houses, 5,513. Marriages in 1863,229; births, 1,140,-of which 67 were illegitimate; deaths, 509,-of which 170 were at ages under 5 years, and 24 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 2,023; births, 9,272; deaths, 5,065. The places of worship, in 1851, were 11 of the Church of England, with 4,020 sittings; 13 of Independents, with 4,369 s.; 14 of Baptists, with 3,072 s. 7 of Calvinistic Methodists, with 2,134 s.; 5 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1,005 s.; and 1 of Latter Day Saints, with 160 s. The schools were 13 public day schools, with 1,399 scholars; 23 private day schools, with 743 s.; and 43 Sunday schools, with 5,784 s.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Llanelli CP/AP       Llanelly Urban SubD       Llanelly RegD/PLU       Carmarthenshire AncC
Place: Llanelli

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