Cynwyl Elfed

Cynwyl Elfed (sometimes Conwyl) is a village and parish in Carmarthenshire. The parish includes the villages of Cynwyl Elfed, Blaenycoed and Cwmduad. It is situated about five miles north of the county town Carmarthen and had a population of 953 in 2001.

The area around the village has yielded a significant number of Roman artefacts, including a statue of Diana. It was the most important centre of the commote of Elfed in the Middle Ages.

Cynwyl Elfed transmitting station stands on high ground to the north of the village.

River

The River Gwili is a tributary of the River Towy, the longest river entirely in Wales. Rising to the east of Llanllawddog, in the Brechfa Forest, it runs west, through Llanpumsaint, to its confluence with the River Duad, just south of Cynwyl Elfed village. Then its course turns to the south-east, running through Bronwydd before joining the River Towy at Abergwili.

Railway

The Gwili Railway is a standard-gauge heritage railway from the former Abergwili Junction, near Carmarthen, along a short section of the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway that closed for passenger traffic in 1965. Based at Bronwydd Arms railway station, the Gwili Railway currently owns eight miles of the old railway line, which once ran past Cynwyl Elfed. There is a possibility that the existing line, and the old station site near Cynwyl Elfed, could be restored as part of an extension to the heritage line.

Roads

The A484 is a principal road from Swansea to Cardigan, and runs through Cynwyl Elfed affording connections to Carmarthen and the A40.

Amenities

The parish church of St Cynwyl of the Church in Wales, originally founded in the 6th century,^[1] contains 14th century elements and a barrel roof.^[2] It is a grade II* listed building. ^[3]

Cynwyl Elfed has a primary school.

Notable people

The poet and hymnist Howell Elvet Lewis (known as Elfed) was born in the village in 1860. The house where he was born, 'Y Gangell', contains a small exhibition of his life.