Abergwili () is a village and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, Wales, near the confluence of the rivers

Towy The River Towy (, ; also known as the River Tywi) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi ...

and Gwili, close to the town of

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

. It is also an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

. Named after the village of Abergwili, the community includes the settlements of Peniel, Llanfihangel-uwch-Gwili and White Mill. The grounds of the former Bishop's Palace are listed on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

Bishop's Palace

The village is known for its Bishop's Palace, home to the Bishop of St David's since 1542, when Bishop William Barlow transferred his palace from

St David's St Davids or St David's (, , "Saint David, David's Welsh toponymy, house”) is a St David's Cathedral, cathedral City status in the United Kingdom, city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun, Pembrokeshire, River Alun and is ...

to Abergwili, re-using the premises of an older

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

of priests. The building is believed to have been built between 1283 and 1291, when Thomas Bek was made bishop of St Davids. It was known as a college until it was amalgamated with another to create Christ College in Brecon. It was almost completely rebuilt in 1903 following a disastrous fire. It contains the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

originally added by Archbishop Laud in 1625, when he was Bishop of St David's. In 1974 the old episcopal palace was purchased by

Carmarthenshire County Council Carmarthenshire County Council ( or ''Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin'') is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The co ...

for use as a museum, whilst a new residence for the bishops, "Llys Esgob", was built in part of the grounds, together with Diocesan Offices - thereby continuing a connection with Abergwili which has now lasted for well over 400 years. Until 1802 the river Towy ran past the back of the Palace; it changed course and left an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

. Today it is a large lily pond with large amounts of wildlife. The park is registered at Grade II on the

Amenities

Abergwili has seen a substantial increase in population in recent years with new property developments but has kept its character and

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

tranquility. The Celtic cross war memorial was built in memory of those from the village who died in the two world wars. Abergwili has a bilingual primary school in the centre. The village is home to the Carmarthen Quins rugby union team. Merlin's Hill Centre is a farm which has been opened up to the public. Merlin's Hill is next to the farm. There is a footpath that goes to the top of the hill, which is the site of an Iron Age hillfort. Merlin's Hill is down in local legend as the final resting place of

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

from the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

. The "Wheat Sheaf"

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in the village is one of the oldest pubs in Carmarthenshire. Around 1850 there was also a pub called the "Albion Inn". It has a hospital,

Glangwili General Hospital Glangwili General Hospital (), previously known as West Wales General Hospital, is a general hospital in Carmarthen, Wales. It is managed by Hywel Dda University Health Board Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDUHB) () is the local health bo ...

, and heritage railway,

Gwili Railway The Gwili Railway () is a Welsh heritage railway, that operates a preserved standard gauge heritage railway, railway line from the site of Abergwili Junction (near Carmarthen) in South West Wales, southwest Wales along a section of the former ...

. It once had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Religious history

There are two places of

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

worship in the village of Abergwili: Ebeneser Chapel, a Welsh Nonconformist Independent Chapel, and

, a

Church in Wales The Church in Wales () is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The position is currently held b ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

. St David's was rebuilt in the early 1840s when the Rev. Joshua Hughes was vicar, on the foundations of a much earlier church. The new church was consecrated in 1843. The cost was £1,400, and Hughes was later to become

Bishop of St Asaph The Bishop of St Asaph heads the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph. The diocese covers the counties of Conwy county borough, Conwy and Flintshire, Wrexham county borough, the eastern part of Merioneth in Gwynedd and part of northern Powys. The ...

. Richard Davies was buried at this church. The parish of Abergwili also includes a number of other places of worship, including the church at Llanfihangel uwch Gwiliand the Independent (Congregationalist) chapel at Peniel.

Local government

Abergwili is an

for the purposes of elections to

. From

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

until 2017, the ward was represented by

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

councillor Pam Palmer. Abergwili also has a community council. It was won by Plaid Cymru candidate Dorian Williams in 2017, who was succeeded by Neil Lewis in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. The

is bordered by the communities of: Llanllawddog; Llanegwad;

Llanarthney Llanarthney (; ) is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales. It is situated on the B4300 road, 12 km (7.5 miles) east of Carmarthen and 10 km (6 miles) west of Llandeilo. The community had a population at the 2001 ...

;

Llangunnor Llangunnor () is a village and community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is the southern suburb of Carmarthen town and consists mainly of suburban housing which has expanded in recent years. It has a small shop, two chapels, a church and ...

;

; and Bronwydd, all being in Carmarthenshire.

Notable people

* David Lewis (1760–1850), Welsh Anglican priest and writer * Basil Jones (1822–1897), Welsh bishop and scholar, Bishop of St David's from 1874, died in Abergwili * John Owen (1854–1926), professor of Welsh, Dean of St Asaph and Bishop of St David's from 1897; died in Abergwili * Alice Abadam (1856–1940), Welsh suffragette, feminist and public speaker; died in Abergwili * Alfred Pullin (1860–1934), British sports journalist who wrote about rugby union and cricket

References

External links

Abergwili Parish websiteP. G. Wright's pictures of AbergwiliCarmarthenshire County Museum official page
{{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire Communities in Carmarthenshire Registered historic parks and gardens in Carmarthenshire