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Llangennech
Village
Capel Salem in the village centre
A welcome sign to the village
LlangennechLocation within Carmarthenshire
Population	4,964 (2011 census)
Language	Welsh and English
OS grid reference	SN560015
Community	Llangennech
Principal area	Carmarthenshire
Preserved county	Dyfed
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LLANELLI
Postcode district	SA14
Dialling code	01554
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Llanelli
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Llanelli
List of places UK Wales Carmarthenshire 51°41′35″N 4°05′31″W / 51.693°N 4.092°W / 51.693; -4.092

Llangennech (Template:IPA-cy(Welsh pronunciation)) is a village and community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of 1,222 hectares (4.72 sq mi).

It is governed by Llangennech Community Council and Carmarthenshire County Council. Llangennech is also the name of the county electoral ward coterminous with the village. It falls in the Llanelli parliamentary and Senedd constituency. It lies in the Mid & West Wales region for regional Senedd members.

Llangennech was a coal mining community, with several local collieries mining steam coal. There is also a large Labour tradition in the village originating with the mine workers. There was a large Royal Navy depot in the village, which was closed in 2007 in Ministry of Defence restructuring.

Llangennech has a strong rugby union team, Llangennech RFC, that feeds many players into Llanelli RFC and then on to the Llanelli Scarlets regional rugby union team.

The town is served by Llangennech railway station on the Heart of Wales Line with trains to Swansea to the south and Shrewsbury to the north.

The community is bordered by the communities of Llanelli Rural, Llannon, and Llanedi, all in Carmarthenshire; and by Grovesend and Waungron and Gorseinon in the City and County of Swansea.

History

Toponymy

The village has been know by many names over the years. These include Llangennydd, Llangennich, Llangenardh, Llangennach, Llangenarth, Llangenneth, Llangenyth, Llangennych and Langenardh. The likely origin of the village's name comes from the parish church, known as both St. Cennech's or St. Gwynnog's. The church is believed to have been dedicated to the brothers St. Cennydd and St. Gwynog, the sons of St. Gildas. Documents reveal that the village has commemorated St. Gwynog since at least the 16th century.

After their education, the Celtic saints who studied in Wales would become missionaries and form Christian cells. If successful, these cells would become a "Llan", an early Welsh word for enclosure.

Industry

The village's coal industry dates back to at least the 17th century, where the Duchy of Lancaster survey in 1609 talks of a Thomas Lloyd's "coleworks" in the Allt area of the village. "Llangennech Coal", as it was known, was used extensively around the world.

Llangennech Park House

Llangennech Park House was a country estate in what is now the street Maes Tŷ Gwyn. It was previously owned by the Earl of Warwick in the 19th century only to later be transferred to the government during the Second World War. Attempts at securing protected site status were futile and it now stands abandoned.

Aircraft Crashes

Piper PA-30-320 Twin Comanche

On the 17th of March 1992, an aircraft carrying two passengers and one pilot crashed in Llangennech at 16:34 on its flight back to Haverfordwest. The pilot and front seated passenger sustained only minor injuries, whereas the other passenger suffered from a broken neck. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

English Electric Canberra

During an air test flight on the 13th of January 1958, the Canberra's engine failed causing a steep dive to the ground. It crashed into marshland two hundred yards from the railway station. The only occupant, Flight Lieutenant James Turnbull Wallace, was unfortunately killed due to the crash. He is buried at Llantwit Major Cemetery. The crash caused a thirty foot crater. Eyewitness accounts suggest that a flaming parachute was seen in the air as the plane came crashing down. No one was attached. Part of the parachute was later found fifty yards from the crater.

Demographics

Llangennech community's population was 4,964, according to the 2011 census; an increase of 10.07% since the 4,510 people noted in 2001.

The 2011 census showed 39.9% of the population could speak Welsh, a fall from 46.8% in 2001.

Geography

Troserch Woodlands

The Trosech Woodlands lie near the River Morlais, approximately one mile to the north of the village. It is owned and cared for by the Trosech Woodland Society for the benefit of the public.

Governance

Llangennech is currently represented in parliament by Nia Griffith MP and in the Senedd by Lee Waters MS, both under the Llanelli constituency. Both are members of the Labour party.

The Local Authority for the area is Carmarthenshire County Council and the village's county councillors are Gary Jones and Jacqueline Seward. On a community level Llangennech is run by Llangennech Community Council. It currently seats 12 councillors. Meetings are held in the community centre.

Transport

Llangennech is served by the Heart of Wales line, with trains both beginning and terminating in Swansea and Shrewsbury. The franchise for the line is currently run by Transport for Wales (TfW).

Derailment Incident

On the 26th of August 2020, ten tankers derailed near the village and spilled around 446,000 litres of fuel. The area of the spillage included a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and a special area of conservation (SAC). The incident caused major damage to these environments.

Education

Llangennech Primary School is the only school in the village. In 2017, Carmarthenshire County Council voted 38-20 in favour of somewhat controversial plans for the school to switch from dual stream education to an exclusively Welsh-medium education. The school historically feeds into Ysgol Gyfun y Strade and Bryngwyn Comprehensive School for secondary education.

Sports

Rugby

The village's rugby team is Llangennech RFC. There are a range of age groups able to play, and the main team play in the WRU Division One West league. Notable players include the bodybuilder Flex Lewis.

Football

The village is represented in football by Llangennech AFC.

Cricket

Llangennech Cricket Club was founded in 1881. It has three senior sides, all playing in the South Wales Cricket Association's leagues. In 2019 the club won both the All Wales Sport midweek league and cup.

Bowls

There is a bowling green in the village used by the Llangennech & Bryn bowls club.

Notable residents

• Eileen Beasley, Welsh language campaigner, lived here during her and her husband's campaign for Welsh language tax bills
• Huw Edwards, BBC News presenter, lived in the village during his youth
• Hywel Teifi Edwards, Welsh historian, lecturer and author, lived in the village
• Rhys Gabe, Welsh international rugby player was born in Llangennech
• Tristan Garel Jones, Conservative politician who served as MP for Watford and later became a life peer. The family moved to Llangennech's Bridge Street when his father was posted to India during the Second World War. Jones attended the Welsh speaking village school. They lived above their uncle's newsagent shop.

References

1. ^ "Area: Llangennech (Ward)". Office for National Statistics. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
2. Charles, Alwyn (1997). History of llangennech (1st ed.). Llangennech Community Council. p. 11. ISBN 0953080706. OCLC 38340509.
3. Charles, Alwyn (1997). History of llangennech (1st ed.). Llangennech Community Council. pp. 16–17. ISBN 0953080706. OCLC 38340509.
4. "LLANELLY FLOATING DOCK AND RAILWAY". The Cambrian. Retrieved 6 September 2022 – via National Library for Wales. The neighbourhood of Llanelly is famous for the coal it produces, especially that description of coal known by the name of 'Llangennech Coal'
5. "Llangennech house, Llangennech, Carmarthenshire". www.welshruins.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
6. "REF: EW/C92/3/3" (PDF). gov.uk. Air Accident Investigation Branch. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
7. Huckfield, Paul; Burton, John (1 March 2013). "Military Aircraft Crash sites in Southeast Wales" (PDF). The Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
8. "Pilot's body is found in shattered Canberra". Western Mail. 14 January 1958.
9. "Jet crash shakes infants' school". Llanelly Star. 18 January 1958.
10. "Area: Llangennech (Ward)". Office for National Statistics. 18 November 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
11. "2011 Census results by Community". Welsh Language Commissioner. 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
12. "Troserch Woods Llangennech". troserchwoods.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
13. Charles, Alwyn. "History of Troserch Woodlands and Mills" (PDF). troserchwoods.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
14. "English stream education removed from Ysgol Llangennech". BBC News. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
15. Sinclair, Tom (18 January 2017). "Llangennech School to become Welsh-Medium". The Llanelli Herald. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 8 May 2021 suggested (help)
16. "Llangennech CC". llang.play-cricket.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
17. "Eileen Beasley: Welsh language campaigner". The Independent. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
18. "Urddo Mark Drakeford a Huw Edwards i'r Orsedd". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). 5 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
19. Rees, D. Ben (26 January 2010). "Hywel Teifi Edwards obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
20. "GABE, RHYS THOMAS (REES THOMAS GAPE; 1880 - 1967), rugby player | Dictionary of Welsh Biography". biography.wales. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
21. Langdon, Julia (30 March 2020). "Lord Garel-Jones obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2022.

Further reading

• Charles, Alwyn (1997). History of Llangennech. Llangennech: Llangennech Community Council. ISBN 0953080706. OCLC 38340509.
• Bevan, Kenny; James, Gordon; Jones, Llew; Martin, Rhys (1985). Bois y Llan: Llangennech RFC. Kenny Bevan. OCLC 656726362.
• Symmons, M.V (1979). Coal Mining in the Llanelli Area ~ Volume One ~ 16th. Century to 1829. Vol. 1. Llanelli Borough Council. ISBN 9780906821008. OCLC 25069029.

External links

[REDACTED] Media related to Llangennech at Wikimedia Commons

• Llangennech Community Council
• Carmarthenshire County Council

• Villages in Carmarthenshire
• Communities in Carmarthenshire
• Carmarthenshire electoral wards
• Llanelli