| Tregaron | |
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Tregaron
Tregaron shown within Ceredigion |
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| OS grid reference | SN679597 |
|---|---|
| Principal area | Ceredigion |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TREGARON |
| Postcode district | SY25 |
| Dialling code | 01974 298/299 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Ceredigion | |
Tregaron is a market town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales, lying on the River Brenig (also Brennig), a tributary of the River Teifi. The town is twinned with Plouvien, in Finistere, France.[1] According to the 2001 Census, Tregaron's population was 1,183,[2] of whom 68.8% spoke Welsh fluently.
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Tregaron received its royal charter as a town in 1292.[3]:p7 It owes its origin and growth to its central location in the upper Teifi Valley. It was the market town for the scattered agricultural communities in the broad, fertile countryside to the south and the rich landowners with extensive holdings in the uplands to the east, the home of many sheep and few people. To the north was Cors Caron which was a fertile land when drained, and to the west a hilly region with self-sufficient farmers on smallholdings of a few acres. These people all converged on Tregaron for the weekly market and the annual fair, Ffair Garon, where the sale of poultry, pigs, cattle and horses took place. Sheep fairs were held in May and June and two hiring fairs took place in November. A large number of taverns and inns in the town catered for the influx of country folk to these events.[4]:p30
In the middle of the 18th century, Matthew Evans kept an inn in the town. He had two sons and a daughter who were celebrated robbers and collectively known as Plant Mat ( Matthew's children in English). They lived for several years in a cave near Devils Bridge which still bears their name. They terrorized the district and would give to their friends a glove to act as a passport and identify them to their brethren. It was difficult to apprehend the trio because of the narrowness of the entrance to the cave which made it impossible to storm. After several years of success, they committed a murder and eventually being taken, were sentenced to death and executed.[5]:p240
Tregaron was a main gathering place for the drovers who, before the advent of rail transport, herded large numbers of cattle, sheep and even geese hundreds of miles to the markets of south-east England. Many Tregaron men were drovers and accumulated considerable wealth in the process. They acted as news carriers and unofficial postmen and some were adept at avoiding tollgates.[4]:p31
The Tregaron area had a number of water-driven woollen mills and was a centre for the manufacture of hosiery. Woollen socks were knitted at home by men, women and children and sold at the market, often to dealers who resold them in the industrial valleys of South Wales.[4]:p32
The church is dedicated to St Caron. He was a man of lowly origins but "his courage and generous deportment obtained him the sovereignty in Wales: he made war against the Romans, reigned seven years and was buried in Tregarron".[5]:p242 The church has a tower and stands on a rocky eminence. It consists of a simple nave and chancel.
Other notable buildings in the town include the 13th-century Talbot Hotel, which supposedly has an elephant buried in its grounds.[6][7] The remote chapel Soar y mynydd is close to Tregaron. In March, 1977, a cottage near Tregaron was one target of an Operation Julie police raid in which vast quantities of the drug LSD were seized.[8]
Nearby Cors Caron (Tregaron Bog), is known for its adders, buzzards and red kites. The River Brenig is noted for its brown trout and eels. The river has been the subject of dredging and flood-protection works to provide 1-in-100-year flood protection to the town and improve the environment for wildlife along a stretch of river. [9]
During the Second World War, the War Office used a site near Tregaron for training exercises. Continuation of such use after the war was the subject of protest by Plaid Cymru.
An annual eisteddfod is held in the town each September, drawing performers from all parts of Wales and beyond. Eisteddfodau have been conducted at Tregaron for a century or more. The Caron Male Voice Choir was formed in 1969 and has performed in Europe and America as well as the UK.[10]
The town holds an annual festival of harness racing in August, which also attracts racegoers from across the UK. This was started in 1980 by the Tregaron Trotting Club.[11] A race day is now also held early in May each year.[12]
The Tregaron Rugby Football Club performs creditably in League Six West of the Welsh Rugby Union.[13]
In 1860, government subsidisation was approved for the construction of a railway from Manchester to Milford Haven. At the urging of local people led by David Davies and supported by Joseph Jenkins, capital was subscribed for a station at Tregaron.[14]:pp 70-72 The section from Pencader to Lampeter was completed in January 1866 and the grand opening of the entire line was held at Aberystwyth on 12 August 1867.[14]:pp 79 providing a boost to the economy of the town.
Unfortunately, Tregaron's train service was withdrawn and the station closed in 1965 after the line was badly damaged by flooding. There is an approximately two-hourly bus service to Aberystwyth and Lampeter and a more sporadic service to other neighbouring small towns and villages, but as with many rural areas, there are no buses after approximately 18.00 in the evening and none at all on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The Tregaron district has one secondary school, Tregaron Secondary School, and seven primary schools, Tregaron, Lledrod, Bronnant, Llangeitho, Penwuch, Pontrhydfendiagaid and Llanddewi Brefi[15] which are administered by the Ceredigion County Council.[16]
Notable people from Tregaron include: