Llanboidy 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. ...

West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...

. The community includes the village of Llanglydwen.

Location

According to the

2001 United Kingdom Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...

, the community had a

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 988 rising to 1,061 at the 2011 Census. It is located near the border with

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 ...

close to the Landsker Line. The village itself is on the Welsh speaking side. The community is bordered by the communities of: Llanwinio;

Llangynin is a village and community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 284. St Cynin's church is a grade II* listed building which stands some 2 km south of the centre of the village. ...

;

St Clears St Clears ( ; ) is a town on the River Taf and a community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,995. The community includes the small settlements of Bancyfelin and Pwlltrap. It is bordered by the Carmarthenshire t ...

;

Eglwyscummin Eglwyscummin () is a community (Wales), community situated on the south-western boundary of Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales. It is made up of the three ward parishes of Ciffig, Eglwyscummin, and Marros, all surrounding the village of Red Rose ...

;

Whitland Whitland (, , or , , from the medieval ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Geography The Whitland Community (Wales), community is bordered by the communities of: Henllanfallteg; Llanboidy; and Eglwyscummin, a ...

; Henllanfallteg; and

Cilymaenllwyd Cilymaenllwyd is a Community (Wales), community on the extreme northwest of Carmarthenshire in Wales. The community population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 742. It lies about west of Carmarthen, southeast of Fishguard a ...

, all being in Carmarthenshire; and by

Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a Community (Wales), community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Hills, Preseli Mount ...

Governance

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 ...

in the same name exists. This ward stretches beyond the boundaries of Llanboidy. The population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 2,087.

History and amenities

Llanboidy is a scenic village in West Carmarthenshire, Wales. Its history goes back to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

where the site of a timber built fort can be seen near the village centre. 'Llanboidy' may mean church (Llan) of the cowshed () and its name probably is linked to St. Brynach. Brynach was a wandering 5th century Irish

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

who got shipwrecked off the

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 ( ...

coast, returning to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

from a tour to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. He founded several

churches and the village church is named after and dedicated to him. Another notable church he founded is at the village of Nevern. This is approximately 20 miles north west of Llanboidy and is overlooked by Carn Ingli (said by some to mean Mountain of Angels). Llanboidy then became an important

drovers road Drover or Drovers may refer to: Animal moving * Drover, a person who moves animals over long distances in droving * Drover (Australian), a person who moves animals over long distances in Australia * Drover (dog), a dog used for droving People * ...

route in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and once had four

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

s. It has a sports and social club and a

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team. There is a village

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and the school has recently been re-built. The church

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

holds a very precious statue, called "the Grief", by the

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

-born sculptor Sir William

Goscombe John Sir William Goscombe John (21 February 1860 – 15 December 1952) was a prolific Welsh sculptor known for his many public memorials. As a sculptor, John developed a distinctive style of his own while respecting classical traditions and forms o ...

. It was slowly deteriorating, until it was restored and brought indoors, in order to preserve it. It was a funerary monument to the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

MP Walter Rice Howell Powell. Powell was a Haverfordwest-born 1819

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who brought money and jobs to the village and his legacy can be seen at the Market Hall, Piccadilly Square and other fine buildings in the village. The seat of the Powells was the mansion of Maesgwynne, north of the village.

References

External links

Llanboidy siteLlanboidy on GenukiLlanboidy Football ClubPhotos of Llanboidy and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire Communities in Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire electoral wards