Boncath is a village,

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 ...

and postal district in north

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Wales, about west of

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn () is a town and Community (Wales), community on the River Teifi, in West Wales. The community is wholly in Carmarthenshire, but the built up area also includes Adpar north of the Teifi, which is in Ceredigion. Adpar was formerl ...

. The village stands at a cross-roads linking the nearby settlements of Newchapel (''Capelnewydd''),

Eglwyswrw Eglwyswrw () is a village, Community (Wales), community and parish in the former Cantref of Cemais (Dyfed cantref), Cemais, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village lies between Newport, Pembrokeshire, Newport and Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan at the ...

Blaenffos Blaenffos is a small village of around 200 inhabitants in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the Community (Wales), community of Boncath. It sits on the boundary between the former parishes of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Castellan, Pembrokeshire ...

and

Bwlchygroes Bwlchygroes (; sometimes spelled Bwlch-y-groes) is a small upland rural village in the community and parish of Clydau, north Pembrokeshire, Wales, SW of Newcastle Emlyn and the same distance east of Crymych. Community Bwlchygroes Community H ...

. Formerly a hamlet around an inn, the village developed after the coming of the railway in 1885.

History

The name of the village comes from the Welsh word for buzzard, ''bwncath''. It was recorded on a pre-1850 historical parish map as in the parish of

Llanfihangel Penbedw Llanfihangel Penbedw is a parish in the former Hundred of Kilgerran in northeast Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish, a joint curacy with Capel Colman, in the Diocese of St David's in the Church in Wales, included the village of Boncath and part ...

(St Michael) in the Hundred of Cilgerran. Llanfihangel Penbedw parish church, which dates from 1325 or earlier, was restored in 1859 but fell into disuse in the 1970s. Part of the village lies in

Capel Colman Capel Colman is a parish in northeast Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the Community (Wales), community of Boncath. Formerly in the Hundred (county division), Hundred of Cilgerran Hundred, Cilgerran, Capel Colman is a small, rural parish of some surrou ...

parish. The Boncath Inn (formerly Tavern) has stood at the crossroads at least since 1862 when Thomas Rees, publican, farmer, and grocer, was listed as bankrupt in October 1862 and discharged in the December. Despite the coming of the railway, in 1890 David George of Boncath Tavern, innkeeper and farmer, was reported as receiving an order and adjudication in bankruptcy. In June he was subjected to public examination in Carmarthen. In August, the dividend payable to creditors was fixed at 4s 10½d to the pound (£), or about 24 per cent, payable in September. Boncath railway station 1849673 12a2910c

Boncath railway station 1849673 12a2910c

Boncath developed into a larger settlement when the Whitland and Taf Vale Railway was extended to Cardigan in 1885. Boncath railway station, opened in September 1886, was a two-platform stop between Crymmych Arms and Kilgerran Halt on the

Whitland and Cardigan Railway The Whitland and Cardigan Railway was a long branch line in West Wales. It was built in two stages, at first as the Whitland and Taf Vale Railway from the South Wales Main Line at Whitland to the quarries at Glogue. It opened in 1873, at first ...

, known as ''"Cardi Bach"''. The line was closed due to the 1963

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

and the station building became a private residence. The village once included three tailors, a cobbler and a dressmaker, and in 2000 a new Community Hall was completed. There are 27 listed structures in the community, 19 of which are associated with Cilwendeg House, described as one of the most important mansions in Pembrokeshire. Cilwendeg dates from the late 18th century and was built on the site of a former property dating back to the 1600s. One of the features of the property is the Grade II* listed Shell House built in the late 1820s. Many other structures on the property are listed. The 21 bedroom mansion was a care home from 1952 to 2010. Cilwendeg hosted the 2013

Urdd National Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( or ) is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest yo ...

Amenities

The Boncath Inn (now closed) stands in the centre of the village along with a village shop/Post Office and a number of small businesses. Bus service 430 passes through the village, running between Cardigan and Narberth. The Welsh Independent Chapel at Fachendre (Fach-hendre), established in 1879, is to the south-east of the village and is a historic monument. The Community Hall, a registered charity, provides a venue for events in the local area.

Administration

The village has its own elected

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

and is part of the Clydau

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 ...

for the purposes of elections to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council () is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. History There have been two bodies called Pembrokeshire County Council. The first existed from 1889 until 1974, and th ...

. The civic community is split into two electoral wards: Llanfihangel, consisting of the former parishes of

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

(including the village of Blaenffos) and Llanfihangel Penbedw, and Capel Colman, consisting of the parishes of Capel Colman and

Penrydd Penrydd (variously spelled Penrhydd, Penrhudd, Penrith, Penreth or Penrieth) is a former parish in the Hundred of Kilgerran, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish's history is closely linked with that of Castellan, and included parts of the pre ...

References

External links

Geograph: photographs of Boncath and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire