Llanpumsaint

Infobox UK place
map_type=
latitude= 51.939
longitude= -4.3011
country= Wales
official_name= Llanpumsaint
unitary_wales= Carmarthenshire
lieutenancy_wales= Dyfed
constituency_westminster= Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
post_town= CARMARTHEN
postcode_area= SA
postcode_district= SA33
dial_code= 01267
os_grid_reference= SN415295
population= 595
population_ref = (2001) [http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/index.asp?locID=3978&docID=-1 Llanpumsaint Community Council]

Llanpumsaint (Welsh "Llan" church + "pum" five + "saint" saint(s)) is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, West Wales. In the 2001 UK Census Llanpumsaint community had a population of 595 [http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/index.asp?locID=3978&docID=-1 Llanpumsaint Community Council] .

Llanpumsaint community comprises the neighbouring hamlet of Nebo, the Hindu community and temple at Skanda Vale, and a number of farms.

According to the 2001 Census, 50% of those living in Llanpumsaint community are able to speak, read and write Welsh [http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/index.asp?locID=4473&docID=-1 Welsh Language Skills in Carmarthenshire Community Wards] , this is well above the 39% average recorded for Carmarthenshire in the same census [http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/index.asp?locID=4222&docID=-1 Welsh Language Statistics for Carmarthenshire] .

Location

Llanpumsaint is located on an unnumbered road that joins the B4336 just north of Bronwydd Arms and the A486 at Llandysul and Pentrecwrt. The village straddles the River Gwili between Bronwydd and Llanllawddog, at the confluence of two small tributaries, Nant-cwm-cerwyn and Nant Aeron. The nearest major settlement is Carmarthen, approximately 4.5 miles (7.25 kilometres) away by road.

History

Foundation

The name Llanpumsaint translates as "Parish of the Five Saints" ("Llan" means church or enclosed area of land). The five saints were brothers named Gwyn, Gwynno, Gwynoro, Ceitho and Celynin who came from the nearby hamlet of Cynwyl Gaeo. They were sons of Cynyr Barbtruc (or "cut-beard"; Welsh: "Cynyr Farfdrwch") and descendents of Cunedda the Imperator (Welsh: "Cynyr Wledig").

The five brothers are said to have built the Llanpumsaint Parish Church around the 5th or 6th Century. It is thought that they built the church on a pre-existing pagan site. There are also five pools in Nant-cwm-cerwyn which are named after each of the saints [http://194.130.49.212/index_CIS_1.cfm?SiteRef=1&CisRef=42&ChosenLang=1&ChangeBody=English Llanpumsaint Local History (in Welsh)] . These pools were the destination for pilgrimages to the village during the Middle Ages. Such pilgrimages tended to take place around the time of St. David's Day. [Aneirin Talfan Davies, Crwydro Sir Gâr (Llyfrau'r Dryw Publishing House, 1955)]

The names of the five saints appear elsewhere in the area. One of the brothers, Ceitho, is the patron saint of Llangeitho in Ceredigion where he founded an abbey and lived as a hermit there within. Another example is St Celynin's Church in the neighbouring community of Bronwydd which was built as a missionary church to Llanpumsaint in 1894. [http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/parishholding/david/d682-en/churches-en/st-celynins-church-bronwydd_-en/church_view The Church in Wales: St. Celynin's church, Bronwydd]

Evidence of Iron Age settlement at Pant Glas

At Allt Pant Glas, to the South of the village there are Earthworks indicating the site of a possible Iron Age timber castle of the motte and bailey or ringwork form [http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pls/portal/COFLEIN.REP_CATLIST_B.show?p_arg_names=pnumlink&p_arg_values=6026500 National Monuments Record of Wales: Crug, Allt Pant Glas] [http://www.ecastles.co.uk/philipdavis/Welshsites/181.html The Gatehouse: Allt Pant Glas, Llanpumsaint] .

1864-1965 Railway Village

In 1860 the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway was opened. "Llanpumpsaint" station was opened in 1864 when the line was extended as far as Llandysul. At the height of its operation the Carmarthen Aberystwyth Line linked Llanpumsaint to Carmarthen in the South (connecting to the West Wales Line) and to Cardigan, Aberaeron and Aberystwyth (connecting to the Cambrian Line) in the North.

The railway served the village for over 100 years until the line finally stopped taking passengers in February 1965 and the station was closed. Freight trains continued to pass through the village on their way between Felin Fach and Carmarthen until 1973, when the line was finally closed and lifted. The dismantled railway still passes through the village and until recently the original "Llanpumpsaint" station sign could be seen in front of the Railway Inn. In neighbouring Bronwydd, a section of the line was reopened in 1978 as the Gwili Railway. The Gwili Railway aims to eventually restore the railway as far as Llanpumsaint. Plans are currently underway to extend the railway South to Abergwili Junction [http://www.gwili-railway.co.uk/home.html Rheilffordd Gwili] . However, the logistics of restoring the track as far North as Llanpumsaint (there are seven derelict bridges crossing the Gwili between Bronwydd and Llanpumsaint [http://users.aol.com/WalesRails/gwil.htm Wales Rails: Gwili Railway] ) mean that there is currently no timetable for restoration.

Llanpumsaint Parish Church

Llanpumsaint Parish Church (The Church of St Celynin, Ceitho, Gwyn, Gwyno and Gwynoro) is a medieval church belonging to the Church in Wales. The precise age of the church is unknown. At the time of the The Religious census of 1851, the parish priest William Henry Powell attested that the church had been "...consecrated from time immemorial." There is a 6th century Ogham stone in the churchyard which may give some indication of the church's age. The original church building was restored in 1882. An extension to the nave and the porch date from 1933 [http://www.churchplansonline.org/retrieve_results.asp?c=Carmarthenshire&offset=110 Carmarthenshire Church plans records] .The east window of the nave was designed by Mildred (Elsie) Eldridge, the wife of renowned Welsh poet R. S. Thomas. [http://www.churchinwales.org.uk/parishholding/david/d682-en/churches-en/st-celynin-ceitho-gwyn-gwyno-and-gwynoro_-en/church_view The Church in Wales: St Celynin, Ceitho, Gwyn, Gwyno and Gwynoro]

Very near to Llanpumsaint Parish Church is Bethel Presbyterian Chapel which was originally built in 1796. Nearer to the old trainline there is also Caersalem Baptist Chapel which was built in 1904. [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CMN/Llanpumsaint/index.html UK & Ireland Genealogy online: Llanpumsaint]

Skanda Vale

Skanda Vale, also known as "The Community of the Many Faces of God", is a Hindu Temple/Monastery located in the Llanpumsaint Community, at a distance of 1.6 miles (2.7 kilometres) from Llanpumsaint village. The temple holds festivals which are attended by pilgrims from all over the UK and even further afield. Skanda Vale also runs a hospice and as such is a registered charity.

Notable People

*Martha Llwyd (1766-1845) Welsh poet and hymnist.
*William Williams (politician) (1788-1865) Welsh businessman based in London, Radical MP 1835–1847 and 1850–1865
*David Owen (Brutus) (1795-1866), a satirical writer, editor and preacher.
*Timothy Davies (politician) (1857-1951) Welsh businessman based in London, Mayor of Fulham, Liberal MP 1906-1920
*Jennie Eirian Davies (1925-1982), Welsh politician and magazine editor.

References

External links

* [http://194.130.49.212/index_CIS_1.cfm?SiteRef=1&CisRef=42&ChosenLang=1&ChangeBody=English Llanpumsaint community website]
* [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/CMN/Llanpumsaint/index.html GENUKI: Llanpumsaint]
* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2738025 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llanpumsaint and surrounding area]

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