Hendy () is a village in the

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 ...

Llanedi Llanedi () is a village and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Once the name of a parish, Llanedi is now a community taking in the hamlet of Llanedi and the villages of Hendy, Hendy, Fforest (suburbs of Pontarddulais) and T ...

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 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 is situated at the Carmarthenshire and

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

border, and lies on

Afon Gwili : ''For the river which flows into the River Loughor see Afon Gwili (Loughor)'' The River Gwili () in Carmarthenshire, is a tributary of the River Towy, the longest river entirely in Wales. Its headwater is found east of Llanllawddog, in the Bre ...

, just across the

River Loughor The River Loughor () () is a river in Wales which marks the border between Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns ar ...

from

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also spelled Pontardulais (), is a town and community in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. It is in the Pontarddulais ward of the City and County of Swansea Council. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

. Together with Fforest to the north, it forms part of a continuous built-up area centred on Pontarddulais. Most of the village sits between the

M4 Motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

junction 48 and the

A48 road The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wale ...

(Fforest Road) north of the motorway. The area is represented in the Senedd by

Lee Waters Lee Waters (born 12 February 1976) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Deputy Minister for Climate Change from 2021 to 2024. He has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Llanelli since 2016. Early life Waters gre ...

(Labour) and in the UK Parliament by

Nia Griffith Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and ...

(Labour). Gareth Beynon Thomas (Plaid Cymru) is local county councillor and the community council is made up of Plaid Cymru and Independent members.

History

Etymology

Hendy comes from the Welsh for 'Old House'.

Industry

A tinplate works was established in 1870. Forty houses were built by the owners to accommodate the workers, though some built their own homes which eventually led to it becoming a sizeable village.

Amenities and sports

Hendy RFC () is the village's rugby union team. Hendy Park () is where the team play on its pitch, and the park also contains a playground and multi-game areas. The village once also had a cricket field and other sport facilities. A trail opened in 2020 around the old cricket ground. The old Hendy Cricket Club was converted to ''Canolfan Gwili Centre'', a community centre, by the community council. It opened in 2024.

Notable people

* John Jenkins (1872–1936), a Welsh poet and theologian; bardic name of ''Gwili'' * Dai Hiddlestone (1890–1973), a Welsh international rugby union player who played for

Neath RFC Neath Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2024/25. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a whi ...

Bryn Howells Bryn Howells (9 February 1911 – 6 June 1983) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Llanelli RFC, a ...

(1911–1983), a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer * Terry Price (1945–1993), an international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer. *

Steven Shingler Steven Shingler (born 20 June 1991) is a professional rugby union player for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. His favoured position is Fly-half but he also plays centre and full-back. His older brother Aaron Shingler is a Wales i ...

(born 20 June 1991) Welsh professional rugby union player, Wales U20 international * Geraint the Snakeman (born 1955), a TV personality who works with reptiles, real name ''Geraint Wyn Hopkins''

References

Villages in Carmarthenshire {{Carmarthenshire-geo-stub