CAKRMARTHKK8HIRK. 



CAKRMARTHENSHIKK. 



th.lmlafUM.sa. 



frotatha of UM ' 

 nW.arUk.Mj 



Smrly parallel to this nap, but more to the 

 JIarri*A>MantiafUM valley of UMCothy 

 To UM KHrthMMt of UM last river in the 

 DA. or BUok M ountaiaa. of which the highest 

 ra Van, mr correctly T Pan or But Sir Oasr 

 BMOOD), has MI elevation of UM feet. BeudM 

 Tlarn and TreoaaU. Mountains 



Ta. coast-line of CaanaarUMnahir. U wholly included within Caer- 

 -fri-n BB*. TU* nobU bar U 15 mile, acroa., tad afford* good 

 aswhonca. The wartsra side, where it U sheltered by Caldy Inland, 

 wUea tatmt a natural breakwater. aar*M aa a aeeur. harbour for 

 hipping, except during easterly galas. The principal river of Caer- 

 i UM Tywi, or Ttmg, which rises in Cardiganshire in a 

 .near or upon the boi^r towards Brecknockshire; whence, 

 owing .oath ward, and receiving the waUn of many brooks, it enters 

 ' * UM north-eastern extremity of the county 



Sear Llaadovery it reoeirea UM united stream of the rivers Braen 

 and Owydderig, or Owthrig, and thus augmented runs to the south- 

 waat past LUngadock and Llandilo-vawr, receiving many small 

 falilsri oa each bank. Below Llandilo-vawr the Towy bends more to 

 UM wwt, and flows to Caennarthen ; this bend takes place at Grongar 

 Hill. celebrated by UM pen of the poet Dyer. Between LlandUo-vawr 

 and Caennarthen, the Towy receives the waters of the Cothy or 

 Oothy, UM most important of Ha feeder*, and the waters of several 

 other streams. From Caennarthen the river flows southward into the 

 Bay of Carmarthen, ita ssstuary being combined with those of the 

 Owwdraeth-vawr and the Tave. The whole course of the Towy is 

 about 40 miles, of which about 50 miles are in the county of Caer- 

 marthen. It is navigable to Caennarthen town, about eight or nine miles 

 up the river. This river abounds with fish, especially salmon, sewin, 

 trout, and eels ; alao lampreys and lamperns in the months of June 

 and July. It affords great diversity and beauty of scenery. Its 

 banks are in many places well wooded. The Cothy rises on the border 

 of the county towards Cardiganshire, and has a south-west course of 

 about 25 miles before its junction with the Towy. The Tare rises in 

 Psmbrokeahire, east of Precelly Mountain, but has only a small part 

 of iu course in that county. The valley through which it flows is 

 well wooded. Near the village of St. Clear it receives the Cathgenny 

 and the Cowin or Cowen. The Tave becomes navigable at St Clear, 

 and flows into Caermarthen Bay just below the town of Laugharne ; 

 iU whole course is about 26 or 28 miles. The Gvcndrarth-vawr (or 

 Great Owendraetb) rises in the hills which occupy the south-east part 

 of UM county towards Glamorganshire, and flows south-west into 

 Caennarthen Hay. The mouth is much obstructed by sand, which 

 by it* accumulation has formed a dangerous bar, much to the 

 injury of the trade of Kidwelly. Ita course is only about 15 

 mile*. The Uougkor rises in the Mynydd Du, or Black Mountains, 

 and flowing south-west forms, during the greater part of its 

 course, UM boundary between Caennarthenshira and Glamorgan- 

 sain. It is a very copious stream from ita source, near which 

 it has a fall of 18 feet; and it receives several tributaries. Its 

 ssstuary has the name of the river Hurry. It is navigable to above 

 1 Jo'whor, which is on the Glamorganshire side. It has been supposed 

 that the Uoughor really issues from a lake near the Caermarthenshire 

 Van ; and the supposition was confirmed by the circumstance that 

 some busks of corn thrown into the lake reappeared six hours after- 

 wards at the apparent source of this river. The Teify divide* this 

 county from Cardiganshire. 



Than an no lakes of any extent in Caermarthenshire. One on 

 tyoydd-mawr (the Great Mountain) which overlooks the valley of 

 UM Towy U of circular form, about half a mile across, and abounds 

 la fine perch and other fish. Another lake of very limpid water lies 

 at the foot of the steep declivity of the Cacrmarthenshire Van : it is 

 remarkable for UM beauty of the scenery by which it is surrounded. 

 Iu (frt~t depth in 16 fathoms, and its greatest diameter about a 

 H abounds with fin, perch and eels of extraordinary sue. It 

 is UM soon, of UM Bawddy. a feader of the Towy. 



** an properly only two navigable rivers in the county, the 



Towy asd UM Tav. : the navigation o? the Lloughor and the Owen- 



"f***** *"*"rl ta ""to* > t>ir actuaries. There is one 



*- from Kidwelly to I.Unelly, with a cut to Petubrey 



i oa. (th.Cs-miartlMB.hin) railway 16 mile, long from 



j?TT ''UJTiL 01 c " u " ' ""*P * LUneU y. *"> 



! ' Dd aotW (th LUnelly) railway little 

 ** * bMin at iU nnination at 



JansUy. Thai, railroads are chiefly designed for 

 1 produce of th. county to the sea. The South 

 W-naarUMiiahin at iu south-eastern extremity 

 Iwr passing Kidwvlly proceeds up the vallev ol 

 Tow* to Caermarthen, and through the south-wert.ni side of'the 

 arty wurn direction. It quit, the county near 

 Maad Abbey, a few mile* from Lampeter. 



is intersected in almost every direction by 



J ra . >ri !l rMj *' boUl U ~ lin ? Haverfordwart 

 UM county ; oa. |milli through Oxford, Gloucester 

 aad Bnroa, eaten CaOTtaarthemhire betwem Trecartl. and Lhuido 

 1 rua. by LUadorary and LUodilo-vawr to Caermarthen; the 



other through Bath, Bristol, Cowbridgr, and Neath, enters Caermar- 

 henahire near Pontarddylaia, and runs to Caennarthen. This road 

 s the chief communication between Swansea and Caermarthen. 

 ["here an several other important roads in the county. 



Otology and Mineralogy. The southern part of the county 



(ordering upon Glamorganshire and the sea forms part of the great 



coal-field of .South Wales and the moit extensive of the coal-fields of 



Jreat Britain, though yet comparatively little worked. Tlie coal is 



chiefly what U called stone-coal ; the large coal of this quality is used 



or drying hops and malt ; the small coal called culm for burning 



imestone. Towards the coast the coal is more bituminous. Culm 



constitutes the principal fuel of the district ; it is mixed with clay 



ill it acquires the consistence of mortar, and is then formed into 



alls of a moderate size, which are piled in the grate and give out a 



strong heat. Iron-stone is procured from the coal-measures near 



jlonelly, where are considerable iron-works. The northern outcrop 



of a basin of carboniferous limestone crosses the county in a waving 



ine, and at Caermarthen Bay divides the coal-field into two parts, 



separating that which is in Pembrokeshire from that in Caermar- 



heuahirc and Glamorganshire. From this belt of limestone the 



nrmers of this county obtain their lime for manure. Some marble 



of a blue colour slightly veined with white, which bears an excellent 



ralish, is quarried in it : it is wrought into chimney-pieces and sent 



o Bristol. The tombstones in the neighbourhood are all made of it. 



The old red-sandstone, which rises from beneath the mountain 

 imestone, occupies in the county only a comparatively narrow strip 

 of the surface bounding the coal-field and the limestone district to the 

 north. About Caennarthen the rocks are chiefly of the Silurian 

 system. Clay-slate and grauwacke-slate underlie the sandstone, and 

 rising from beneajth it occupy the rest of the county. (Conybeare 

 and Phillips, ' Geology of England and Wales ; ' Murchiaon, ' Silurian 

 System ; ' ' Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain ; ' 

 ' Ordnance Maps ; ' ' Geological Map of the Society for the Diffusion 

 of Useful Knowledge.') 



IHriiiunt, Town*, Ac. Gougu, in his additions to Camden, says 

 ;hat Carmarthenshire contains six hundreds ; but this is not correct. 

 There are altogether eight hundreds, namely, Cathinog and Cayo in 

 the north, Perfedd in the east, Iskennen in the south-east, Carnwallon 

 and Kiilwrlly in the south, Derllys in the west and south-west, and 

 Elvet in the north-went. The three hundreds of Iskenuen, Carnwallon, 

 and Kidwelly form a district distinct from the rest of the county, 

 laving a coroner of its own. 



There are in this county one borough, CAERJIARTHEN, with its con- 

 tributory borough LI.AKEI.LT, and six market-towns, besides the two 

 already mentioned : Kidwelly, Laugharne, LI.AXDII.O-VAWB, LI.AH- 

 DOVERT, Llangadock, and NEWCASTLE EMLYN. Those printed in 

 small capitals will be described in separate articles ; the remainder 

 we shall briefly notice here. 



Kulicflly, or Cydtctli, a borough, is upon the Gwendraeth-vechan, 

 or Lessor Gwendraeth, near its junction with the Gwendraeth-vawr ; 

 8 miles S. from Caennarthen : the population of the parish in 1851 

 was 1648. Old Kidwelly was once surrounded with walls and had 

 three gates, one of which is yet standing. The trade of New Kid- 

 welly has declined, owing to the sand obstructing the navigation of 

 the river. The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is in the new 

 town, and is a plain ancient structure containing an aisle and two 

 ruined transepts : there is a tower at the west end surmounted by a 

 spire 1 65 feet in height. A good stone bridge crosses the Gwendraeth- 

 vechan. The ancient castle occupies a rocky eminence on the western 

 side of the Gwendraeth-vechan : its external appearance is grand and 

 imposing ; it is on the whole in tolerable preservation. The magni- 

 ficent gateway towards the west which formed the principal entrance 

 is yet standing. This fortress is said to have been built about the 

 close of the llth century by a Norman knight who had assisted in 

 the conquest of Glamorganshire. There is a Free school Some 

 slight remains of a religious house are traceable. Kidwelly has 

 several Dissenting meeting-houses. 



Lauijhnrnc is on the right bank of the actuary of the Tave, about 



| miles from Caennarthen : the population of the parish iu 1851 

 was 2011. The town is built on the edge of a marsh open to the sea, 

 and backed by high grounds : it contains a considerable proportion of 

 respectable houses. The parish church, dedicated to St. Martin, is 

 large and handsome. The castle of Laugharne is a picturesque and 

 noble ruin. It was probably built by some of the Norman lords who 

 invaded this coast soon after the Conquest: it was an object of 

 frequent hostility in the wan between the Welsh and the Knglili, 

 and was again contested in the war between Charles I. and the 

 Parliament There are also the remains of a building called Roche's 

 Castle, but supposed to have been really a monastery. The town of 

 Laugharne U incorporated. The trade of the place consists chiefly 

 of the export of small quantities of butter and corn. There are 

 several Dissenting places of worship and some parochial endowments. 

 This town was the birthplace of an eminent political and theological 

 writer, Dean Tucker, who died in 17. 



Llaagadode, or Man Oadog Pater, is in the vale of Towy, near the 

 junction of the Sawddy with that river, about 8J miles from Llandilo- 

 vawr : the population of the hamlet of Above Sawthe, which contains 

 the town of Llangadock, was 825 in 1851. The town occupies a 



