- Whitland
infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name=Hendy-gwyn
constituency_welsh_assembly=
map_type=
official_name= Whitland
unitary_wales=Carmarthenshire
lieutenancy_wales=Carmarthenshire
constituency_westminster= Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
post_town= WHITLAND
postcode_district = SA34
postcode_area= SA
dial_code= 01994
os_grid_reference= SN205165
OldMapsYear=1891
OldMapsEasting= 220506
OldMapsNorthing= 216500
OldMapsCounty= 10carma451Whitland ( _cy. Hendy-gwyn; literal translation: 'Old White House', or sometimes Hendy-gwyn ar Daf; 'Old white house on the river Taf') is a small
town inCarmarthenshire , south-westWales , lying on theRiver Tâf . Whitland is home to the elussive "Whitland Trout" noted for it's eggs and oily scales.History
Traditionally Whitland is seen as the site of an assembly of lawyers and churchmen, sometimes described as the first Welsh
parliament . It was called in930 byHywel Dda ; literal translation: 'Hywel the Good' in order to codify the nativeWelsh law s.Whitland takes its name from the
Cistercian abbey in themedieval period. Themonastery pre-datesTintern Abbey but now is very much a ruin. Themonk s wore unstained white woollen cloaks, hence the name of theAbbey - "White land" or "Alba Landa". The monastery in Whitland was subject toHenry VIII 'sdissolution of the monasteries . Much of thelimestone was taken and used for other buildings. The magnificent setting of the ruin and the Abbey's layout can still be viewed.The Hywel Dda interpretive centre is a publicly funded Culture centre. It boasts a fine garden using reclaimed stone. Hywel Dda the Good himself is a controversial figure amongst modern historians as having been the first to sell out to the EnglishFact|date=August 2007.
It is sometimes stated that the family of John Adams, the second
President of the United States , came originally from the Whitland area. However, there is no truth in this story. The Adams family lived in north Somerset near Bristol from at least the early 15th century, before migrating to North America in the 17th century. This story is likely to have been invented by a prominent family surnamed Adams that once lived in the Whitland area, and is unfortunately still widely believed.Amenities
The town is also home to a
secondary school (YsgolDyffryn Taf ) and a wide variety of sporting grounds. Its main industry was adairy , but it was closed in1994 .Whitland was also an important railway centre, being to junction to four branch lines - to
Pembroke Dock ,Fishguard , Fishguard viaPuncheston and Cardigan. The latter was closed as a result of the review by Dr Beeching in the early 1960s, as a result the railway rapidly lost importance, and today has reverted to a branch line station.Whitland boasts many local sporting teams includingRugby union ,Football (soccer) ,Cricket , Short and Long matbowls ,Darts ,billiards etc. Many of these sporting clubs have junior sections. The Whitland Junior rugby section known as the Junior Borderers, because of the borderline location withPembrokeshire , have seen many a star rise through their ranks. Prime example is Michael Phillips, Welsh international rugby player. Today they boast one of the best Under 16 squads in Wales, a team under the guidance of the senior 2XV coach Arwyn Thomas, and have not lost a game at all in the 2006-2007 season, and have participated in all of the Pembrokeshire Cup finals since they began in the Under 10 section. This season (2006-2007) they have already clinched the league title, whitout conceding more that 60 points in 12 games, and they are in the final of the Pembrokeshire Cup once again. The squad contains 2 Welsh caps, Scott Williams and Sion Morris, who are alsoLlanelli Scarlets representatives.Whitland is twinned with the small town of
Pipriac inIlle-et-Vilaine ,Brittany .External links
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2742981 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Whitland and surrounding area]
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