Cefneithin () is a village and community in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

, Wales, in the Carmarthenshire coalfield area. It lies just off the A48 road, 7 miles north west of

Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acc ...

and 9 miles north of

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carma ...

. Its nearby community villages include Cross Hands, Drefach, Cwmmawr, Foelgastell and

Gorslas Gorslas is a village and a community in Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the ...

. The

Gwendraeth Fawr The River Gwendraeth ( cy, Afon Gwendraeth) is a river in Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay. The Gwendraeth Fawr (''large Gwendraeth'' in English) i ...

river flows nearby and its source is at Llyn Llech Owain, just north of the village. Cefneithin has a chapel (Tabernacl), a village hall (Y Neuadd), a primary school, and a secondary school. The latter, Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth, was re-opened in 2016 after an extensive renovation and an £18.4m investment; it has 1,000 pupils, of which 157 in sixth form, and resources for children with additional learning needs. Prior to 2016 when the school was called Ysgol Gyfun Maes Yr Yrfa, some of its famous pupils include Nigel Owens (international rugby referee), Jonathan Edwards (MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr), TV presenter

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...

and

British and Irish Lion The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their nationa ...

rugby player, Dwayne Peel. The local rugby club, Cefneithin RFC, was founded in 1922. Blaenhirwaun Colliery was situated just outside Cefneithin and was near the extremity of the coalfield. It produced high grade anthracite with an output of about 350 tons per day. 360 people were employed below ground and 80 on the surface. It was served by two vertical shafts sunk to the Green Vein. The No.1 shaft was 10 feet in diameter and 155 yards deep and was the upcast. It was equipped with a Walker Paddle fan which produced about 55,000 cubic feet of air per minute at a water gauge of 3.125 inches. The No. 2 shaft was 13 feet in diameter and 212 yards deep and was the downcast and winding shaft for men and materials. The former Colliery has been regenerated to become the Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park - a mix of broadleaved woodland and grassland which is home to a diverse collection of wildlife. The area includes footpaths, picnic facilities, information points and a track for mountain bikers and horseriders. The National Cycle Network passes by Cefneithin RFC's playing field, "Cae Carwyn James," and cyclists can use this former railway line to reach the seaside locations of

and

Burry Port Burry Port ( cy, Porth Tywyn) is a port town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, on the Loughor estuary (Moryd Llwchwr), to the west of Llanelli and south-east of Kidwelly. Its population was recorded at 5,680 in the 2001 census and 6,156 ...

Notable people

* Gareth Davies WRU Chairman, played cricket for Cefneithin and

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...

2nds, & rugby for

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

*Jac & Wil Davies, Welsh singing duet *

Robert Dickie Robert Dickie (23 June 1964 – 28 October 2010) was a Welsh professional boxer, fighting at both featherweight and super-featherweight. He was Scottish champion at featherweight, British champion at both weights and became WBC International s ...

(1964 - 2010), professional boxer * Carwyn James, rugby player and coach *

Barry John Barry John (born 6 January 1945) is a former Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s, and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC bef ...

, rugby player * Gwynoro Jones MP, played rugby for Cefneithin; became Member of Parliament at the age of 27 *Aneira Thomas, first baby born into NHS at 12:01am on Monday 5 July 1948 *

Ronnie Williams Ronald Clive Williams (29 March 1939 28 December 1997) was a Welsh actor and comedian, who remains best known for his association with Ryan Davies during the 1970s. Ronnie Williams began his career as an actor, but struggled for recognition, ...

(1939 – 1997), actor and comedian

References

{{reflist

External links

* https://www.francisfrith.com/cefneithin Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway Villages in Carmarthenshire