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NARBERTH
AND THE LANDSKER BORDERLANDS
Narberth is one of
the oldest towns in the county. Legend links it
with King Arthur and certainly
it has
associations with the Kings and Princes of Dyfed,
being where the main court was held. Situated
on important
trade routes from Carmarthen to the East and the
sheltered harbour at Tenby to the south, Narberth
assumed great
significance. And time spent discovering the town
and the many other interesting places in this
area will
be well rewarded.
Llanddewi Velfrey
Now straddling the A40, but not always so, Llanddewi
Velfrey’s village centre moved when the new turnpike
was built in the late 18th century. This explains why
the splendid church of St David now stands in splendid
isolation some way from most of the houses. Ffynnon
Baptist chapel, which does stand on the main road,
takes its name from a local well called ‘Ffynnon
well na buwch’ which translates as ‘a well
which is better than a cow’ because it produced
the purest water and supposedly never dried up. Confusingly
for English-only speakers, in the phrase it is the
word ‘Ffynnon’ which means ‘well’!
Llawhaden
The charming castle was once a fortified Bishop’s
residence with most of the ruins dating from
the 13th century. The church by the river is
very interesting
and dates from the 1380s.
Ludchurch
In the 19th century, the village was known as Egypt
and consisted of just 12 houses, of which only
The Cottage and Elm Cottage remain. Ludchurch was
an important
area for limestone quarrying and nowadays there
are many pleasant walks by them. One of the quarries
has
been flooded to form a nature reserve with several
of the old limekilns around it.
Narberth
In recent years Narberth has acted as a magnet
for stylish, quality shopping, now boasting
many excellent
galleries, antique shops, clothes shops,
restaurants and more. Until the advent of
the A40, the
town used to stand on the busy east-west
route from
Carmarthen
and had a thriving market and cattle fair.
Now it has regained its pre-eminence. The
castle (recently reopened)
is well worth a visit and there are some
fine buildings, including what was the old
town
hall
(now a gallery)
and the magistrate’s court.
Tavernspite
Until the coming of the main A40 Tavernspite
was an important town on the old mail coach
route
to Milford Haven. The name derives from the
Welsh for ‘inn’ ‘tafarn’ and ‘ysbyty’ meaning
a hospital, hospice or resting place.
The village often wins competitions for floral decoration and has
one of the most picturesque chapels in the county.
Templeton
The name Templeton derives from the Knights Templar
who once lived here. The layout of the village
is one of the best surviving examples of Middle
Age town planning with a single main street fronted
by houses with respective plots extending behind
each dwelling. It is claimed by many to be the
real location of the castle mentioned in the Mabinogion.
To the west of the village is a fortification known
as Sentence Castle.
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Also in this
section:
-
Hidden Treasures -
Areas to Discover
- In and Around the
Preseli Hills
- Pembrokeshire's
Secret
Waterway
- St David's Peninsula
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