Cilgerran
| Cilgerran | |
| Pembrokeshire | |
|---|---|
 View over Cilgerran | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SN195427 |
| Location: | 52°3’12"N, 4°38’2"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Cilgerran |
| Postcode: | SA43 |
| Dialling code: | 01239 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Pembrokeshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Preseli Pembrokeshire |
Cilgerran is a tiny town in the Cilgerran Hundred of Pembrokeshire. Historically it was the head town of the commote of Emlyn is Cuch.
Cilgerran is on the south bank of the River Teifi, which here marks the border with Cardiganshire on the north bank. It is the site of Cilgerran Castle, built in 1100, from which Owain of Powys is said to have abducted Princess Nest in 1109. It is first mentioned by name in 1164. This is probably one of the most picturesque castles in Wales and has been painted by many artists including J M W Turner.
The town is first mentioned in 1204 from when it was the administrative centre for a lordship until the sixteenth century. Although the town remained small it was considered one of the main market centres in Pembrokeshire in the seventeenth century. It was a marcher borough. Owen, in 1603, described it as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve,[1] and it still retains some of its corporate traditions.
Attractions in the town include annual coracle races. This event, started in 1950, attracts competitors from all over the world.
The churchyard of St. Llawddog contains a megalithic standing stone or Ogham stone upon which Ogham writing can still be seen. Also contained in the churchyard is the burial site and memorial to William Edmond Logan of Mount Logan, Canada fame. Logan was the first director of Geological Survey of Canada and mapped the coal mines of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. The memorial was erected in the centenary of his death.
The town was renowned for the quality of the slate that was mined there and exported through the port at Cardigan.
Outside links
References
- ↑ Owen, George, The Description of Penbrokshire by George Owen of Henllys Lord of Kemes, Henry Owen (Ed), London, 1892
