Live in Kidwelly

Brief Historical Background

Kidwelly is an ancient town, established around 1115 with a dramatic Norman Castle, imposing Church and is steeped in folklore and historical characters. Situated on the Gwendraeth Estuaries, the town grew in significance over the centuries, acting as a port for the shipping of coal and other goods.

The construction of the Kymer’s Canal in the late 1700’s served to reinforce the town’s status as an important working coastal town. During the 19th Century and until the latter part of the 20th Century, the town was the base of a thriving industrial community including a tin works, brick works, coal mining and various manufacturing industries. This ensured a thriving economic base supporting the presence of several retail outlets and banks.

Currently there are a number of small / medium sized businesses including Gravells Car Dealer, Burns Pet Food Nutrition, building supplies, pipeline/concrete product and two food stores (Spar & Co-op) at either end of the Town. These are supplemented by a core of small businesses in the town centre, which include a bakery, butcher, clothes shop, newsagent, launderette, pharmacy, hairdressers, curtain and upholstery supplies, complimentary health therapy centre, tearooms, restaurant, six public houses and three social clubs. The town is also serviced by a Doctor Surgery, Veterinary Surgery, Library, 2 Primary Schools (one English and one Welsh medium), Police Station, Part time Fire Station and Post Office. There is a two star Hotel in the vicinity and 6 bed and breakfast establishments in the locality. There is also the recently constructed Princess Gwenllian Centre, which is a multi purpose sports and community facility.

Public transport is well served with daily bus services to nearby towns including Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea and the town is also on the main Fishguard – Paddington, London railway line.

The current population is approximately 3,000

Future

Kidwelly Town Council with support from the Kidwelly Town Forum are now fully committed and working to the same goal of revitalising and regenerating the Town. Both organisations have been successful in securing funding to undertake various schemes with the aim of helping to improve and regenerate the Town. Currently there is a major regeneration project underway and is known as the Glan Yr Afon development located near the town centre. This is a partnership scheme between the Town Council, Carmarthenshire County Council and the Town Forum. The proposals include the landscape enhancement of the former slaughterhouse building (anticipated start date late summer 2007). The majority of the 40 acre, Glan Yr Afon site has been identified for informal community recreational use with an environmental bias as growing numbers and varying types of interesting wildlife, plant species and birds are being found on the site. This site is currently being designated as a Local Nature Reserve.

Kidwelly has a rich historical legacy, the centre piece of which is the imposing Castle attracting around 30,000 visitors each year. In the centre of Kidwelly are the fine Priory Church of St Mary (Grade 1 Listed) and other places of interest include Khymer’s Canal which is the oldest canal in Wales and the Kidwelly Industrial Museum. Kidwelly is also famous for its legends – Princess Gwenllian, the fable of “Hen Fenyw Fach Cydweli” and the “Black Cat”.