Llanfyrnach

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The parish church of St Brynach, Llanfyrnach

Llanfyrnach is a village and parish in the hundred of Cemais, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means "church of St Brynach". It is situated in a remote upland area on the headwaters of the River Tâf, about 18 km from Cardigan, the nearest town. The parish is included within the community and ward of Crymych.

There is a small Norman motte close to the church. Much of the parish was unenclosed moorland until the start of the nineteenth century. Population doubled as numerous small farms were established following enclosure. The Whitland and Taff Vale Railway reached the village in 1873^[1], and the village became a transport depot for the surrounding hill country, a role that it still retains although the railway closed in 1963. Lead and agricultural produce were shipped out, and heavy supplies, notably lime, were brought in. The village remains small, with much of the workforce employed in transportation. The area remains staunchly Welsh-speaking.

There was an important lead mine on the north side of the village until the end of the nineteenth century. Mining occurred on a small scale for the sake of the low but significant concentration of silver in the ores, perhaps from as early as the sixteenth century. As a result of high demand for lead in the Victorian era, the mine was greatly extended in the 1840s, and had reached 520 m below the surface by the time of its closure in 1890.

Population of the parish: 542 (1801): 933 (1851): 954 (1901): 844 (1951): 837 (1981). Percentage Welsh speakers 100 (1891): 97 (1931): 82 (1971).

The Welsh language poet Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) was born in Llanfyrnach yn 1878.