Llanybri is a rural farming village situated near the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the River Tywi in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known ...

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

. The parish of

Llansteffan Llansteffan, is a village and a community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen. Description The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...

consists of two distinct villages with separate churches: Llansteffan by the estuary and Llanybri inland on the hilltop.

Description and history

Llanybri was a demesne manor of the Lords of

and Penrhyn and appears to be an early nucleation around a central open space, adjacent to a chapel dedicated to St Mary that had been established, as ‘Morabrichurch’, by the 14th century at least and was, in the 16th century, called ‘Marbell Church’. An area of common land lay within the village and may have Medieval origins. Pendegy Mill, some 700m west of the village, is the site of the Medieval ‘Mundegy Mill’. Rees (1932) depicts Llanybri as a borough, and though the designation is most unlikely the settlement did lie at the junction of seven routeways.

Writers

The writers Lynette Roberts and

Keidrych Rhys William Ronald Rhys Jones (26 December 1915 – 22 May 1987), who used the name Keidrych Rhys, was a Welsh literary journalist and editor, and a poet. He was editor of the periodical, ''Wales'', published from 1937 to 1949 and from 1958 to 1 ...

lived in the village.

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Unde ...

was a frequent visitor to the village pub, the Farmers' Arms, both when he lived near Llansteffan and in Laugharne. The landlady gave an account of his visits. Thomas' maternal aunt, Anne Gwyn, once lived in Plas Uchaf, while one of his great-aunts had lived in Plas Isaf.

References

External links

''BBC Domesday page''''Poem from Llanybri''
{{authority control Villages in Carmarthenshire Carmarthen Bay