Carmarthenshire, Wales

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Carmarthenshire like this:

Carmarthenshire, a maritime co. of S. Wales, and the largest of all the Welsh counties; is bounded N. by Cardiganshire, E. by Brecknockshire and Glamorgan, S. by the Bristol Channel, and W. by Pembrokeshire; greatest length, NE. and SW., 50 miles; greatest breadth, E. and W., 42 miles; the coast, which is marshy, measures about 35 miles; area, 594,405 ac.; pop. ...

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124,864. The surface generally is upland or mountainous, much of it being waste. The Black Mountains rise on the NE. border, the chief summit, Carmarthen Van, having an alt. of 2596 ft. The vale of the river Towy extends in length about 30 miles NE. and SW. through the middle of the co. The uplands consist chiefly of slate or limestone; old red sandstone occurs about the estuary of the Towy; coal and ironstone are worked in the SE. Good crops of oats, barley, and wheat are produced in the valleys, but the principal industry is stock-raising. (For agricultural statistics, see Appendix.) The fisheries are of some importance. The co. comprises 5 hundreds, 3 commots, 81 pars., with part of 1 other, the Carmarthen Boroughs (Carmarthen and Llanelly -- 1 member), and the mun. bors. of Carmarthen and Llandovery. It is entirely in the diocese of St David's. For parliamentary purposes it is divided into 2 divisions, viz., Eastern and Western, 1 member for each division.

Vision of Britain presents long-run change by redistricting historical statistics to modern units. However, none of our modern units covers an area close to that of Carmarthenshire. If you want trends covering a particular location within the county, find it on our historical maps and then select "Tell me more".

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