Laugharne (; Welsh: Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Taf.
The ancient borough of Laugharne Township (Welsh: Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival in Wales. In a predominantly English-speaking area, just on the Landsker Line, the community is bordered by those of Llanddowror, St Clears, Llangynog and Llansteffan. It had a population at the 2021 census of 1,100.
Laugharne Township electoral ward also includes the communities of Eglwyscummin, Pendine and Llanddowror.
Dylan Thomas, who lived in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953, famously described it as a "timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town". It is generally accepted as the inspiration for the fictional town of Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. Thomas confirmed on two occasions that his play was based on Laugharne although topographically it is also similar to New Quay where he briefly lived.
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History
Throughout much of the Prehistoric period, human activity in the Laugharne area was centred on Coygan Bluff, a steep-sided limestone peninsula overlooking the now submerged coastal plain to the south. A natural cave on the southeast face of the promontory was excavated five times between 1865 and 1965 yielding significant evidence that its chambers acted as a temporary shelter for groups of hunter-gatherers moving through the landscape over 50,000 years ago and later material in the form of flint tools indicating an extended series of occupations from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. These discoveries suggest that the Township is probably the oldest still-inhabited settlement in Wales. Contemporary artefacts from the Mousterian period have also been found at nearby Paviland and Long Hole caves along with older hominin remains at Bontnewydd but, unlike at Laugharne, the communities associated with them are long vanished.
In the 4th century BC, a promontory fort was built at the summit of the hill. During the Bronze Age, Coygan camp is recorded as the site of an open settlement with funerary and ritual activity shown by a short-cist contracted inhumation. Further finds at a nearby round barrow on Laugharne Burrows together with Beaker burials at Plashett and Orchard Park confirm a more permanent community. Excavation in the 1960s of the defended enclosure on Coygan revealed two huts contemporary with the defensive bank and ditch and a significant quantity of pottery recovered dating to the late 3rd century AD indicating that the site was occupied deep into the Romano-British period. Another significant Iron Age settlement has also been identified at Glan-y-Mor Fort in the north of the township.
The Laugharne hoard of over 2000 coins and Roman bath remains found at Island House, together with the substantial Romano-British group of imported 6th-century finewares, coinage and glass from Coygan Camp, described as "one of the richest from a native settlement in south-west Wales", are all part of a concentration of traditional 'Roman' finds in the area. As evidence of activity from the period is generally scarce, these discoveries confirm the site as one of importance and suggest that it continued to be a high status settlement well beyond the Roman occupation. A 6th-century inscribed stone lies within Llansadwrnen church to the north, considered to be an outlying burial site of the more important secular settlement on Coygan. Laugharne Church, which contains a 9th-century Celtic slab stone and where a long cist grave cemetery has also been recorded, is thought to be a more likely early ecclesiastical site in the immediate area.
Laugharne Corporation
Laugharne Corporation is a rare surviving medieval corporation in the United Kingdom. The corporation was established in 1291 by Sir Guy de Brian (Gui de Brienne), a Marcher Lord. Laugharne Corporation holds extensive historical records.
The corporation is presided over by the portreeve, wearing his traditional chain of gold cockle shells (one added by each portreeve, with his name and date of tenure on the reverse), the aldermen, and the body of burgesses. The title of portreeve is conferred annually, with the portreeve being sworn in on the first Monday after Michaelmas at the Big Court. The Corporation holds a court leet half-yearly formerly dealing with criminal cases, and a court baron every fortnight, dealing with civil suits within the lordship, especially in matters related to land, where administration of the common fields was dealt with. The Laugharne open-field system is one of only two surviving and still in use today in Britain.
'In Elizabeth's reign, the lordship passed to Sir John Perrott of Haroldston, a fact for which the inhabitants of Laugharne have had cause to regret. As at Carew Perrot modernised the castle, but he was the most unscrupulous "land-grabber" of his age, and in 1574 he induced the burgesses to part with three hundred acres of land in return for an annuity of £9 6s. 8d. The records say that "diverse burgesses of the said towne did not assent to same", and that it was "to the great decaying of many". It would be interesting to know by what methods of bribery or intimidation Sir John was able to accomplish his nefarious purposes.'
The most senior 76 burgesses get a strang of land on Hugden for life, to be used in a form of medieval strip-farming.
The chief toast at the Portreeve's feast is "to the immortal memory of Sir Guido de Brian"; then the Recorder must sing the following song:
Governance
Since 1972, Laugharne Township Community Council has formed the lowest tier of local government for the town, represented by 11 community councillors.
For elections to Carmarthenshire County Council, Laugharne is covered by the Laugharne Township electoral ward, which also covers three neighbouring communities. The ward is represented by one county councillor. Independent councillor Jane Tremlett has represented the ward since 2004.
St Martin's Church
The parish church of St Martin was built in the 14th century by Guido de Brian, lord of the manor of Laugharne. The original dedication was to St Michael as 15th-century records use this dedication. The churchyard, rectangular in shape, has shown evidence of Cist burials. Various archaeological finds have been made during grave-digging: a wheel-topped stone; a medieval tile and a fragment of what is believed to be a tomb canopy. The churchyard's 18th- and 19th-century monuments are Grade II listed for their group value.
The interior has a cross-slab, probably dating from the 9th or 10th century, with a carved Celtic design carved onto it. It has been suggested that the design is of Viking origin.
The church is today part of the United Benefice of Bro Sancler. Welsh poet and playwright Dylan Thomas is buried in the churchyard, his grave marked by a white cross.
Landmarks
Local attractions include the 12th-century Laugharne Castle, Laugharne Town Hall and the estuary birdlife.
Laugharne Township currently has 69 listed buildings and contains several fine examples of Georgian townhouses including The Great House and Castle House together with Island House, parts of which date back to the Tudor period. All three properties are grade II* listed and a number of other early vernacular cottages have also survived.
There are a number of landmarks in Laugharne connected with the poet and writer Dylan Thomas. These include the Dylan Thomas Boathouse, where he lived with his family from 1949 to 1953, and now a museum; his writing shed; and the Dylan Thomas Birthday Walk, which was the setting for the work Poem in October.
In popular culture
Many scenes in the BBC Television series Keeping Faith (broadcast in Welsh as Un Bore Mercher) were filmed in and around Laugharne, referred to as Abercorran.
Laugharne weekend
The Laugharne Weekend, a three-day arts festival held in the spring of 2007, featured writers such as Niall Griffiths and Patrick McCabe. Headline performers since then have included Ray Davies, Will Self, Howard Marks and Patti Smith. The Millennium Hall is the main venue and smaller events are held locally such as in the Dylan Thomas Boathouse.
Notable people
Thomas Rede (ca.1390 – ca.1455), merchant, landholder, knight and public official of nearby Roche Castle
Reginald Pecock (ca.1395 – ca.1461), prelate and writer, born in Laugharne
Sir John Perrot (1528–1592), Lord Deputy of Ireland, Lord President of Munster and Privy Councillor to Elizabeth I, lived in Laugharne Castle
Sir Thomas Perrot (1553–1594), Elizabethan courtier, soldier and Member of Parliament, lived in Laugharne Castle
Sir James Perrot (1571–1636), writer and Member of Parliament, lived in Laugharne
Sir Sackville Crowe (1595–1671), English politician, lived in Laugharne
Rowland Laugharne (1607–1675), Parliamentary General; his 1644 siege of the castle, a former family home, left it an uninhabitable ruin
Bishop William Thomas (1613–1689), Vicar of Laugharne, ejected by Cromwell. Later Bishop of St Davids and Bishop of Worcester.
Sir John Powell (1632/3–1696), judge who presided over the trial of the Seven Bishops in 1688, lived in Laugharne
Sir Thomas Powell (ca.1665 – 1720), lawyer and Member of Parliament, born in Laugharne
Griffith Jones (1684–1761), educational pioneer, curate of Laugharne where he also resided in later years
Bridget Bevan (1698–1779), also known as Madam Bevan, educationalist and philanthropist, lived in Laugharne