Cilgerran (previously Kilgerran or Cil-Garon) is both a village, a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, and also a

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 ...

, situated on the south bank of the

River Teifi The River Teifi ( ; , ), formerly anglicised as Tivy, forms the boundary for most of its length between the Welsh counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final of its total length of , the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembr ...

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 Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It was formerly an incorporated

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

. Among Cilgerran's attractions are

Cilgerran Castle Cilgerran Castle () is a 13th-century ruined castle located in Cilgerran, Pembrokeshire, Wales, near Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan. The first castle on the site was thought to have been built by Gerald of Windsor around 1110–1115, and it c ...

and annual

coracle A coracle is a small, rounded, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales, and also in parts of the west of Ireland and also particularly on the River Boyne, and in Scotland, particularly the River Spey. The word is also used for ...

races. Kilgerran Halt was a stop on the former

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 ...

. There are a number of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s, including the parish church. Nearby are the hamlets of Llwyncelyn, Rhoshill, Cnwce,

Pen-y-bryn Pen y Bryn is a two-storey manor house, in Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, in north-west Wales, adjacent to the A55, five miles east of Bangor and eight miles west of Conwy. It is constructed mainly of broken stone, with roughly dressed quoins and ...

, Carreg-wen and Pontrhydyceirt, and the villages of

Llechryd Llechryd () is a Rural area, rural village on the A484 road approximately from Cardigan, Ceredigion, Wales. Situated on the north Bank (geography), bank of the Tide, tidal River Teifi, Llechryd is the first point upstream of Cardigan where cross ...

and

Boncath Boncath is a village, Community (Wales), community and postal district in north Pembrokeshire, Wales, about west of Newcastle Emlyn. The village stands at a cross-roads linking the nearby settlements of Newchapel, Pembrokeshire, Newchapel (''C ...

Cilgerran Hundred 200px, Pembrokeshire showing Cilgerran Hundred The Hundred of Cilgerran (often written "Kilgerran") was a hundred in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formed by the Act of Union of 1536 from the commote of the pre-Norman cantref of Emlyn ...

derives its title from the former town, which was once the headquarters of the

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

of ''Emlyn is Cuch'' (Emlyn below the River Cych). Slate quarrying was an important activity in the 19th century.

Location

Cilgerran lies above sea level on the southern bank of the

. The stream ''Afon Plysgog'' which rises on nearby Rhoshill runs under the road to the west of Cilgerran to join the Teifi. A mixture of woodland and pasture surrounds the town, which is strung out along a fairly level C-class road in an eastwest orientation connecting with the

A484 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the ...

at Llechryd to the east and the A478 at

to the west.

History

A view of Cilgerran castle from the quarry NLW3361149

, strategically built in 1100 at "Cenarth Bychan", high above the River Teifi, is the castle from which Owain of Powys is said to have abducted

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

in 1109. Originally in Cantref Emlyn (Emlyn Is-Cych), Cilgerran came under Norman control with the building of the castle, from where the Lordship of Cilgerran was administered. The Welsh under the

Lord Rhys Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...

regained control from 1164-65 (the date of the first recording of the name "Cilgerran") to 1223. By 1204 the town was beginning to grow, with 22 taxpayers recorded in 1292. The Hundred of Cilgerran was established in 1536. It was a

marcher borough The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

;

Owen Owen may refer to: People and fictional characters * Owen (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Places United States * Owen, Missouri, a ghost town * Owen, Wisconsin * Owen County, Indiana ...

, Lord of Kemes, described it in 1603 as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve. Cilgerran (as ''Kilgarren'') appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. Although the town remained small it was considered one of the main market centres in Pembrokeshire in the early 17th century, with mainly Welsh demographics. The principal occupations throughout Cilgerran's history were farming, salmon fishing and slate quarrying. In 1895 salmon of 38 and 43 1/2lb were caught in coracle nets. The town's market ended in the early 20th century, there was no further quarrying after 1936 and the castle had been allowed to become a ruin since the 16th century, partly as a result of nearby quarrying. At least since 1833 Cilgerran has been referred to as a village. A rare visit by a

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

to the village was photographed in April 2016.

Worship

The parish church of St Llawddog is a grade II* listed building. The church's tower is mediaeval and the remainder, in decorated Gothic style, dates from 1855. The font and pulpit are carved Bath stone. The churchyard contains a

megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...

standing stone or

Ogham Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...

stone upon which Ogham writing can still be seen. Penuel Baptist Chapel (a Grade II listed building) is on the main street, while Tyrhos Congregational Chapel (Grade II) is on the road linking Cilgerran and the hamlet of Rhoshill. Babell Calvinist Methodist Chapel dates from about 1763 and closed in 2011.

Education

Cilgerran County Primary School educates 139 (in 2013) children from nursery to 11 years old and serves several surrounding villages. Pupils are taught in English and Welsh with the aim of bilingualism by the age of 11.

Public houses

The ''Cardiff Arms'' (19th century) and ''Pendre Inn'' (18th century or earlier) are both Grade II listed buildings; the ''Masons Arms'' (known locally as the ''Ramp Inn'') is in Cnwce, a settlement to the east of Cilgerran.

Amenities

Cilgerran has a post office, a cafe, a garage/petrol station and general stores. In and around the town are a number of small businesses including a pet food store. Rhosygilwen estate, near Rhoshill, is a venue for concerts and exhibitions, attracting international artists and musicians under the banner of Project Rhosygilwen, run by Dr Glen Peters. The estate is home to the first utility-scale solar park in west Wales, constructed in 2011 and generating enough electricity to power 300 homes.

Transport

The

closed in 1962; the section of old trackbed between Cardigan and Cilgerran is now a footpath and cycle track to the Teifi estuary woodlands and marshes and the

Welsh Wildlife Centre The Welsh Wildlife Centre is a wildlife reserve covering Teifi Marshes, near Cilgerran on the Pembrokeshire/Ceredigion border, Wales. The site is located close to the Cardigan-Cilgerran Offshoot of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. History ...

. The only public transport serving Cilgerran is the local bus service.

Attractions

With much of Cilgerran Castle in ruins, its picturesque nature and setting have attracted many artists including

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

. The annual

races on the

were first held in 1950 and attract competitors from all over the world. The river flows slowly through a wooded gorge below the castle making it attractive for canoeists and kayakers.

Population and governance

The census population of the

of Cilgerran was: 854 (1801): 1266 (1851): 1,033 (1901): 815 (1951): 703 (1981). The percentage of Welsh speakers was: 96 (1891): 94 (1931): 78 (1971). The population in 2001 was 1,931, with 53 per cent Welsh speakers, and in 2011 was 1,507. 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. ...

; the

includes

Bridell Bridell () is a small settlement and parish in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish includes the village of Pen-y-bryn. Together with the parishes of Cilgerran and Llantood, it is in the community of Cilgerran. Bridell Parish The Church in ...

Llantood Llantood (formerly ''Llantyd'', ''Llantwyd'' or ''Llan-Illtyd'') is a hamlet and parish in Cilgerran community, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. Location Llantood is south-west of Cardigan on the A487 Cardigan to Newport road near the north Pemb ...

and Rhoshill. The

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 ...

of Cilgerran covers the communities of Cilgerran and

Manordeifi Manordeifi () is a parish and community (Wales), community in the hundred of Cilgerran Hundred, Cilgerran, in the northeast corner of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The population of the community in 2001 was 478. It has an elected community council and ...

. The ward had a population of 1,453 in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, increasing to 2,058 in the 2011 Census.

Slate quarrying

A substantial degree of slate quarrying was carried out in and near Cilgerran, mostly situated on the south side of the

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

. They played a significant role in Wales' slate industry, being the only significant quarries in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

apart from those around Rhoshill. Most slate was transported to the port at Cardigan for export by sea. Some of the slate was used for buildings within the town, or exported directly by railway for use within Britain. Wharves were built east of the town on the River Teifi (at ), where slate could be loaded onto boats to take it to Cardigan. Slate was first quarried at Cilgerran by John Edwards, in the late 1790s. He opened a quarry north of the town, in the land known as 'Forest' (near the Caernarfon Farm), called the Lower quarry or Forest quarry – at the site of what became Quarry Caernarvon. Later, with his two sons John and Thomas, Edwards opened another quarry slightly higher up the river, known as the Gigfran quarry ('Gigfran' is Welsh for '

Carrion crow The carrion crow (''Corvus corone'') is a passerine bird of the family Corvidae, native to western Europe and the eastern Palearctic. Taxonomy and systematics The carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus ...

'). Soon afterwards, John Bowen opened the Plain quarries, and around this time the Castle quarries and Moses' quarry were also opened, by George John and David John, and Moses Griffith, respectively. Upon the death of John Edwards (around 1830), Thomas Lloyd, of Coedmawr, and Oliver Lloyd, of Cardigan, acquired the Lower quarries, and began expanding them on a large scale. However, they sold the quarries soon afterwards, to James Stephens, of

. In the late 1830s, another quarry was opened in the 'Forest' estate, by Mr. James Mathias of Cilgerran. It was called 'Quarry Forever', and situated adjacent to Gigfran quarry. About the same time, Gigfran quarry became exhausted and was thus given up. The industry peaked in the late 19th century, its continuance until that time supported by the coming of the railway in 1869. There were two groups of quarries at Cilgerran – the ones north of the town, known collectively as the Forest quarries, and those to the east of the town, around Cnwcau, sometimes called the Town quarries. The Forest quarries were almost immediately opposite (the other side of the Teifi Gorge from) Rhoshill. The major quarries were:

Notable people

Siôn Cent Siôn Cent (c. 1400 – 1430/45), (or 1367? – 1430?) was a Welsh language poet, and is an important figure in Medieval Welsh literature. Similarity to other persons He has also been called Sion Gwent by Gruffydd Robert and Sion Y Kent and Sion ...

(ca.1367/1400 – ca.1430) a Welsh language poet and an important figure in

Medieval Welsh literature Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...

, born at Cwm Tridwr near Egllwisilan or Kilgerran. *

Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of th ...

(1742–1814), a Welsh naval officer and colonial governor. A memorial was erected in Cilgerran St Llawddog's Church by his brother, Abel Anthony Gower. * Titus Lewis (1773–1811), a Welsh Baptist minister and author, was born in Cilgerran. *

Thomas Frederick Colby Thomas Frederick Colby FRS FRSE FGS FRGS (1 September 17849 October 1852), was a British major-general and director of the Ordnance Survey (OS). A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society, Colby was one of the leading geograp ...

(1784–1852), geographer was brought up at Rhosygilwen mansion between Cilgerran and Rhoshill. *

William Edmond Logan Sir William Edmond Logan, FRSE FRS FGS (20 April 1798 – 22 June 1875), was a Canadian-born geologist and the founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada. Life William Edmond Logan was born into a well-to-do Montreal family ...

(1798 in

Mount Logan Mount Logan ( ) is the highest mountain in Canada and the second-highest peak in North America after Denali (McKinley). The mountain was named after Sir William Edmond Logan, a Canadian geologist and founder of the Geological Survey of Canada ...

, Canada – 1875 buried in Cilgerran), the first director of

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

who mapped the coal mines of

. * John Rowland Phillips (1844–1887), lawyer and antiquary. *

Rhys Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Kilgerran Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. It is pronoun ...

CBE, QC, JP (1907–1991), a Welsh Liberal Party politician. * Bernard Thomas (ca.1923–2014), of Llechryd, piloted a Welsh coracle across the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

in 1974 in hours, to demonstrate how the Bull Boats of the

Mandan The Mandan () are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still ...

Indians of

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

could have been copied from coracles introduced by Prince Madog in the 12th century.

References

External links

*
Cilgerran Community CouncilPhotographs of Cilgerran and the surrounding area on GeographA Vision of Britain through Time: Cilgerran (historical background)The town's entry
on the

National Monuments Record of Wales The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; ; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored bodies, Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectural a ...

website
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