Dylan Thomas, who lived in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953, famously described it as a "timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town".[4] It is generally accepted as the inspiration for the fictional town of Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. Thomas confirmed on two occasions that his play was based on Laugharne[5] although topographically it is also similar to New Quay where he briefly lived.[6]
History
Excavations at Coygan Cave[7]Laugharne Castle, originally known as Abercorran Castle[8]Dylan Thomas sculpture, The Strand; made by sculptor Simon Hedger[9]
Throughout much of the Prehistoric period, human activity in the Laugharne area was centred on Coygan Bluff,[10] a steep-sided limestone peninsula[11] overlooking the now submerged coastal plain to the south. A natural cave[12] on the southeast face of the promontory was excavated five times between 1865 and 1965[13] yielding significant evidence that its chambers acted as a temporary shelter for groups of hunter-gatherers moving through the landscape over 50,000 years ago[14] and later material in the form of flint tools indicating an extended series of occupations from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.[15] These discoveries suggest that the Township[16] is probably the oldest still-inhabited settlement in Wales. Contemporary artefacts from the Mousterian period have also been found at nearby Paviland and Long Hole caves along with older hominin remains at Bontnewydd but, unlike at Laugharne, the communities associated with them are long vanished.[17]
In the 4th century BC, a promontory fort was built at the summit of the hill.[18] During the Bronze Age, Coygan camp is recorded as the site of an open settlement with funerary and ritual activity shown by a short-cist contracted inhumation. Further finds at a nearby round barrow on Laugharne Burrows[19] together with Beaker burials at Plashett[20] and Orchard Park[21] confirm a more permanent community. Excavation in the 1960s of the defended enclosure on Coygan revealed two huts contemporary with the defensive bank and ditch and a significant quantity of pottery recovered dating to the late 3rd century AD indicating that the site was occupied deep into the Romano-British period.[22] Another significant Iron Age settlement has also been identified at Glan-y-Mor Fort[23] in the north of the township.
The Laugharne hoard of over 2000 coins[24] and Roman bath remains found at Island House,[25] together with the substantial Romano-British group of imported 6th-century finewares, coinage and glass from Coygan Camp, described as "one of the richest from a native settlement in south-west Wales",[26] are all part of a concentration of traditional 'Roman' finds in the area. As evidence of activity from the period is generally scarce, these discoveries confirm the site as one of importance[27] and suggest that it continued to be a high status settlement well beyond the Roman occupation.[28] A 6th-century inscribed stone lies within Llansadwrnen church to the north, considered to be an outlying burial site of the more important secular settlement on Coygan. Laugharne Church,[29] which contains a 9th-century Celtic slab stone[30] and where a long cist grave cemetery has also been recorded, is thought to be a more likely early ecclesiastical site in the immediate area.[31]
In the Early Middle Ages Laugharne was the main settlement in the area and home to the Lords of Laugharne. It was a commote of Gwarthaf, the largest of the seven cantrefi of the Kingdom of Dyfed in southwest Wales, later to be ruled by the Princes of Deheuberth. In 1093, Deheubarth was seized by the Normans following Rhys ap Tewdwr's death.[32] In the early 12th century, grants of lands were made to Flemings by King Henry I when their country was flooded.[33] In 1116, when Gruffydd ap Rhys (the son and heir of Rhys ap Tewdwr) returned from self-imposed exile, the king arranged for the land to be fortified against him; according to the Brut y Tywysogyon, Robert Courtemain constructed a castle at Laugharne in that year[34] (this is the earliest reference to any castle at or near Laugharne[35]). Courtemain may be the Robertus cum tortis manibus (English: Robert with twisted hands)[36] mentioned in the Book of Llandaff, as one of a number of specifically named Norman magnates[notes 1] within the vicinity of the Llandaff diocese, who received a letter from Pope Callixtus II complaining about deprivations they had inflicted on diocesan church property;[37] in the letter, the Pope warns he would confirm Bishop Urban's proclamations against them, if they do not rectify matters. The Brut states that Courtemain appointed a man named Bleddyn ap Cedifor as castellan;[34] Bleddyn was the son of Cedifor ap Gollwyn, descendant and heir of the earlier kings of Dyfed (as opposed to those of Deheubarth).[34][38] The castle was originally known as Abercorran Castle.[8] When Henry I died, Anarchy occurred, and Gruffydd, and his sons, Lord Rhys in particular, gradually reconquered large parts of the former Deheubarth.
In 1154, the Anarchy was resolved when Henry II became king; two years later, Lord Rhys agreed peace terms with Henry II and prudently[39] accepted that he would only rule Cantref Mawr,[39] constructing Dinefwr Castle there. Henry II de-mobilised Flemish soldiers who had aided him during the Anarchy, settling them with the other Flemings.[33]
From time to time, however, King Henry had occasion to go to Ireland, or Normandy, which Lord Rhys took as an opportunity to try and expand his own holdings. Returning from Ireland after one such occasion, in 1172, King Henry made peace with Lord Rhys, making him the justiciar of "South Wales" (ie. Deheubarth). By 1247, Laugharne was held by Guy de Bryan; this is the earliest reference to his family possessing the castle,[35] and his father (also named Guy de Bryan) had only moved the family to Wales in 1219 (from Devon).[35] Guy de Bryan's descendants continued to hold the castle; his namesake great-grandson was Lord High Admiral of England. The latter's daughter Elizabeth inherited the castle and married an Owen of St Bride's who subsequently took his name – Owen Laugharne – from the castle[40] despite Gerald of Wales calling the castle Talachar, and other variations on Laugharne/Talacharn appearing in ancient charters; one anonymous pre-20th-century writer erroneously claimed that Owen Laugharne gave his name to the castle rather than the other way around.[40] Possession subsequently defaulted to the Crown, and in 1575, Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir John Perrot.[35] In 1644 the castle was garrisoned for the king and taken for Parliament by Major-General Rowland Laugharne, who subsequently reverted to the king's side.[41] The population in 1841 was 1,389.[42]
Laugharne Corporation
Laugharne Corporation is an almost unique institution and, together with the City of London Corporation, the last surviving mediæval corporation in the United Kingdom. The Corporation was established in 1291 by Sir Guy de Brian (Gui de Brienne), a Marcher Lord.[43] Laugharne Corporation holds extensive historical records.[44]
The Corporation is presided over by the portreeve, wearing his traditional chain of gold cockle shells (one added by each portreeve, with his name and date of tenure on the reverse), the aldermen, and the body of burgesses. The title of portreeve is conferred annually, with the portreeve being sworn in on the first Monday after Michaelmas at the Big Court. The Corporation holds a court leet half-yearly formerly dealing with criminal cases, and a court baron every fortnight, dealing with civil suits within the lordship, especially in matters related to land, where administration of the common fields was dealt with.[43] The Laugharne open-field system is one of only two surviving and still in use today in Britain.
'In Elizabeth's reign, the lordship passed to Sir John Perrott of Haroldston, a fact for which the inhabitants of Laugharne have had cause to regret. As at Carew Perrot modernised the castle, but he was the most unscrupulous "land-grabber" of his age, and in 1574 he induced the burgesses to part with three hundred acres of land in return for an annuity of £9 6s. 8d. The records say that "diverse burgesses of the said towne did not assent to same", and that it was "to the great decaying of many". It would be interesting to know by what methods of bribery or intimidation Sir John was able to accomplish his nefarious purposes.'[45]
Plan of open-field system in common land on The Hugdon, a hill to the west of Laugharne[46]
The most senior 76 burgesses get a strang of land on Hugden for life, to be used in a form of mediæval strip-farming.
The chief toast at the Portreeve's feast is "to the immortal memory of Sir Guido de Brian"; then the Recorder must sing the following song:
When Sir Guy de Brien lived in Laugharne,
A jolly old man was he.
Some pasture land he owned, which he
Divided into three.
Says he "There's Hugdon and the Moor
They will the Commons please;
And all the gentlemen shall have
Their share down on the Lees."[47]
Governance
Since 1972, Laugharne Township Community Council has formed the lowest tier of local government for the town, represented by 11 community councillors.[48]
For elections to Carmarthenshire County Council, Laugharne is covered by the Laugharne Township electoral ward, which also covers three neighbouring communities. The ward is represented by one county councillor. Independent councillor Jane Tremlett has represented the ward since 2004.
St Martin's Church
Tower of St Martin's church
The parish church of St Martin was built in the 14th century by Guido de Brian, lord of the manor of Laugharne.[49] The original dedication was to St Michael as 15th-century records use this dedication. The churchyard, rectangular in shape, has shown evidence of Cist burials. Various archaeological finds have been made during grave-digging: a wheel-topped stone; a medieval tile and a fragment of what is believed to be a tomb canopy. The churchyard's 18th- and 19th-century monuments are Grade II listed for their group value.[29]
The interior has a cross-slab, probably dating from the 9th or 10th century, with a carved Celtic design carved onto it. It has been suggested that the design is of Viking origin.[49]
The church is today part of the United Benefice of Bro Sancler.[50] Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas is buried in the churchyard, his grave marked by a white cross.[49][29][51]
Landmarks
Laugharne Town HallCastle House, LaugharneThe Great House, LaugharneWogan Street c. 1880Island House in 1856
Laugharne Township currently has 69 listed buildings and contains several fine examples of Georgiantownhouses including The Great House and Castle House together with Island House, parts of which date back to the Tudor period. All three properties are grade II* listed and a number of other early vernacularcottages have also survived.[53]
There are a number of landmarks in Laugharne connected with the poet and writer Dylan Thomas. These include the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, where he lived with his family from 1949 to 1953, and now a museum; his writing shed; and the Dylan Thomas Birthday Walk, which was the setting for the work Poem in October.[54]
In popular culture
Many scenes in the BBC Television series Keeping Faith (broadcast in Welsh as Un Bore Mercher) were filmed in and around Laugharne, referred to as Abercorran.[55]
^Carmarthen museum records indicate the photograph was taken during the excavation of the archaeological site at Laugharne by Herbert Eccles (whose Broadway estate contained the quarry) and S. Grant Dalton in either 1913 or 1917. "Coygan Cave, Carmarthenshire". AHOB. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^Vitch, Simon; Gaffney, Vince (2011). "West Coast Paleolandscapes Survey (PDF)"(PDF). Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales website. University of Birmingham: Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity.
^Aldouse-Green, S.; Scott, K.; Schwarcz, H.; Grun, R.; Housley, R.; Rae, A.; Bevins, R.; Redknap, M. (1995). Coygan Cave, Laugharne, South Wales, a Mousterian site and hyanae den: a report on the University of Cambridge excavation. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society. pp. 37–39.
^Oxford Roman Economy Project. "Laugharne Hoard Discovered 2006". Coin Hoards of The Roman Empire. Oxford University & Ashmolean Museum. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
^ abTyler, R. H.; et al. (1985) [1925]. Laugharne: Local History and Folklore. Llandysul: Gomer Press. ISBN9780863831546. Compiled by Head, Senior Assistant and senior pupils of Laugharne School
^ abcDavies, R. R. (1987). Conquest, Coexistence, and Change: Wales 1063–1415. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 101. ISBN0198217323.
^ abcdAvent, Richard (2006). "Laugharne Castle". In Lloyd, Thomas; Orbach, Julian; Scourfield, Robert (eds.). Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. The Buildings of Wales. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 219–27 (219–220). ISBN9780300101799.
^Indenture from John God to Sir John Perrot, cited in "Notes on the Perrot Family". Archaeologia Cambrensis (XLVII). Cambrian Archaeological Association: 324. July 1866. No. 26334. An indenture made 12 Elizabeth, in which John God, merchant tailor of London, makes over to Sir John Perrot the parsonage of Laugharne. (In this document Sir John is described as late of Carew.)
^Jones, Francis (1997). "Westmead, Laugharne". Historic Carmarthenshire Homes & Their Families. Brawdy Books. p. 196. ISBN0952834413. "In the latter part of the sixteenth century, the property was owned by Sir John Perrot, who by a deed dated 29 May 1584 settled certain properties on his 'reputed son' James Perrot 'late of Westmede in the County of Carmarthen'
^Julia Bolton Holloway, 'Mason, (Frances) Agnes (1849–1941)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 12 Nov 2016
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