Carmarthen
Carmarthen, situated on the River
Towy (or Tywi), is the county town of Carmarthenshire, with a population
of 20,000. Carmarthen is one of the oldest towns in Wales with the
remains of Roman settlement dating back to the first century. Later, in
the thirteenth century, the town was to become one of
the earliest medieval walled towns. Up to the
eighteenth century, agriculture and associated trades dominated the
economy. Iron and coal had an impact in the mid eighteenth century but
Carmarthen never developed industrially to the same degree as other
Welsh towns like Merthyr Tydfil. Carmarthen was the scene, in 1843, of
the Rebecca Riots, when Rebecca and her daughters (400 men dressed as
women) attacked the jail in protest at toll charges at the town gates. Carmarthen's economy now relies increasingly on
tourism. The River Towy, on which the town stands, is a renowned sea
trout, or sewin, fishing river and attracts many visiting anglers during
the summer months. The map below shows the
features of the town as it was around the mid twentieth century. Click on a selected area of the map to see an
enlargement.
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