LLANGADOCK

"LLANGADOCK, a parish and small decayed town in the hundred of Perfedd, county Carmarthen, 7 miles S.W. of Llandovery, and 7 N.E. of Llandilo Fawr. The Lanelly and Vale of Towey line of railway has a station here. It is situated in a vale, at the foot of the Black mountains, between the river Sefni and the Sawdde, a tributary of the Towey. The parish includes the hamlets of Above-Sawthe, Dyffrun-Cidrich, and Gwynfe Quarter Bach. There formerly was a castle here, the site of which was afterwards occupied by Bishop Beck's college. In the wars of Edward I. the church was plundered by the English soldiers. Here are collieries and lime works, in which the people are mostly employed. The river is here crossed by a stone bridge. The Roman Via Julia Montana passed through the neighbourhood. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of St. David's, value with that of Llanthoysaint annexed, £267, in the patronage of the bishop. The parish church stands on gently rising ground. There is also the district church of Gwynvai, the living of which is a perpetual curacy, value £107, in the gift of the vicar. The Independents, Wesleyans, and Calvinistic Methodists, have each a chapel. There is a British school, also one supported by Mr. Lloyd. Slight traces of iron and lead have been found. Glansevins and Tan-yr-Allt are the two principal residences. About 3 miles S.W. of the town, on the summit of a detached hill, called Gam-Goch, is a Roman encampment, in the form of a regular parallelogram, the walls of which are still in some places from 20 to 30 feet high, formed of large and shattered blocks, giving a cyclopean appearance to those desolate and venerable ruins. Thursday is market day. Fairs are held on 16th January, 12th March, last Thursday in May, 9th June, first Thursday after the 11th September, second Thursday after old Michaelmas Day, and 11th December."

"ABOVE-SAWTHE, (Sawddy), a hamlet in the parish of Llangadock, and hundred of Perfedd, in Carmarthenshire, South Wales, near Llangattock. It is situated between the rivers Sawddy and Sevin, near the western slope of the Black Mountains."

"DYFFRUN-CIDRICH, a hamlet in the parish of Llangadock, hundred of Perfedd, in the county of Carmarthen, 3 miles E. of Llangadock. It is situated on the river Towy, under Trichrug."

"ESGOB-CNWCKCREEN, a village in the parish of Llangadock, township of Above Sawthe, county Carmarthen, not far from Llangadock."

"GWYNFE-QUARTER-BACH, a chapelry in the parish of Llangadock, county Carmarthen, 2 miles from Llangadock. It is situated in a sheltered spot under the Black mountains. The village is considerable. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of St. David's, value £107, in the patronage of the vicar."

"QUARTER-BACH, a hamlet in the township of Gwynfe-Quarter-Bach, parish of Llangadock, county Carmarthen, 2 miles from Llangadock. It is situated under the Black mountains."

"TALSARN, a hamlet in the parish of Llangadock, hundred of Perfedd, county Carmarthen. It is situated under Talsarn Hill, a lofty peak of the Black mountains."

"VABON, a hamlet in the township of Dyffrun-Cidrich, parish of Llangadock, county Carmarthen, on the river Towy, under Trichrug mountain."

"VELINDRE, a village in the hamlet of Dyffrun-Cidrich, parish of Llangadock, county Carmarthen, 3 miles N.E. of Llangadock, on the river Towy, under Trichrug."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018