A History of Carmarthenshire

Lloyd, Sir John E., (Ed.). 2 vols., Cardiff, London Carmarthenshire Society (1935, 1939).

With the kind permission of the publishers sundry extracts from this book have been extracted by Gareth Hicks onto some parish pages, these snippets below are in random order.

Here is a list of the book's contents and contributors.

History of the Church in the County

A Religious and Educational Movement

"A manuscript is extant which contains a record of the institution and sequestration of clergy, the licensing of schoolmasters, and the appointment of officials between 1753 and 1761, when Ellis was titular bishop of St David's. His commissioner was Thomas Eynon , vicar of Llangynnor, later vicar of Abergwili, who became archdeacon of Brecon in 1758, and from 1740 to 1757 was master of Carmarthen Grammar School. It was he who licensed and instituted the clergy, and sequestrated parishes on death or resignation....""

"It is certain that Morgan Rhys, probably the greatest of the early hymn writers and second only to Williams of Pantycelyn, served as a schoolmaster under Griffith Jones and Madam Bevan, from 1757 to 1775. He was master at Llandysilio Gogo in Cardiganshire in 1758. He served at Llangathen, Cilycwm, Llangynnor, and on three occasions at Llanfynydd, as well as in other parishes...."

After the restoration......Bishop Lucy became bishop of St David's in 1660.............from the replies to this bishop's enquiries...................in 1672......... the churchwardens of  Llangynnor  naively wrote; ' We present omnia bene, '; apart from some persons who would not pay the church rate"

Puritan Domination: a Period of Depression

"........in addition to the commissioners, twenty five Puritan ministers, or 'approvers' ,were selected......these 'approvers, or any five of them, were responsible for the filling of the churches ordered vacant by the Commissioners. Carmarthenshire again had not a single representative among the approvers. The clergy were ejected from the following parishes............. Llangynnor ..."

Nonconformity and Methodism

The Propagation of the Gospel

"The three years' Propagation Act expired in 1653 and was not re-enacted......early in 1654 the Commissioners for Approbation of Public Preachers came into force (fortunately known for short as Triers)......who had the fullest powers to to review and revise all previous Puritan appointments...............the Triers also made a bold attempt to fill some of the vacant parishes by approving new ministers...........(the following name is in the list of the Trier nominees ) ..........David Price, Llangynnor (? date)

Church Life

"In 1775 too, there was a stir at Ffynnon Henry. Here a weaver named Daniel Davies, himself from the neighbourhood of Newcastle, evangelised in the newer style not only at Ffynnon Henry but also at Rhyd Argaeau and at Ty Coch (Llangynnor) ....."

Arminianism, Arianism, Unitarianism

"A terrific war of pamplets ensued .......................at Ty Coch (Llangynnor) ..... the Calvinists (obtained possession)...... "

Calvinistic Methodism

" .............a study of the place names in Welch Piety, confining ourselves to the period before 1761 (Griffith Jones's death), yields many instances of Methodist homes being used by Griffith Jones as school-houses, some of them  very well-known, such as......................Bola Haul and Pibwr in Llangynnor..."

"Some two dozen Carmarthenshire exhorters of the early period are known to us by name, but most are mere names...........................A list of (less well known) early exhorters in Carmarthenshire includes;

• 1744, Richard Williams, Llangynnor

Literature and Literary Associations

Sir Lewis Morris (1833-1907)

" Gwen, a Drama for Monologue (1879), introduces the vale of Towy and Llangynnor churchyard into its closing scene.."

Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729)

"...there is a marble monument to his memory in Llangynnor churchyard..."

Medieval divisions

In early medieval terms Carmarthenshire was made up of  Ystrad Tywi [without Gower], Emlyn Uch Cuch and Y Cantref Gwarthaf [without Efelffre]. At some point pre the Norman conquest  Ystrad Tywi itself was divided into Y Cantref Mawr and Y Cantref Bychan.......................In addition to these two cantrefs Ystrad Tywi was generally assigned a third (mentioned in the Mabinogion)........with the doubtful name of Cantref Eginog..............the names of the commotes into which this cantref was divided were undoubtedly well known..........hence it would appear as if Cydweli, Carnwyllion, and Gower had been at some time or other combined to make up a cantref which was not an ancient and recognised division of the country...............the names Gwyr (Gower) and Cydweli (Kidwelly) are to be found in Nennius and other ancient authorities, so that there can be no doubt that they go back to a remote past as descriptive of the tract between Carmarthen and Swansea......................the historic commote of Cydweli consisted of the six parishes of Llangynnor, Llandyfaelog, Llangyndeyrn, St Ishmaels, Kidwelly and Pembrey............"