Coordinates: 51°49′07″N 4°36′47″W / 51.8185°N 4.613°W
| Whitland | |
| Welsh: Hendy-gwyn | |
  Whitland
Whitland shown within Wales |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Principal area | Carmarthenshire |
| Ceremonial county | Carmarthenshire |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WHITLAND |
| Postcode district | SA34 |
| Dialling code | 01994 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Carmarthenshire | |
Whitland (Welsh: Hendy-gwyn; literal translation: 'Old White House', or sometimes Hendy-gwyn ar Daf; 'Old white house on the river Taf') is a small town in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales, lying on the River Tâf. Whitland is home to the elusive "Whitland Trout" noted for its eggs and oily scales.
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History
Traditionally Whitland is seen as the site of an assembly of lawyers and churchmen, sometimes described as the first Welsh parliament. It was called in 930 by Hywel Dda; literal translation: 'Hywel the Good' in order to codify the native Welsh laws.
Whitland takes its name from the Cistercian abbey in the medieval period. The monastery pre-dates Tintern Abbey but now is very much a ruin. The monks wore unstained white woollen cloaks, hence the name of the Abbey - "White land" or "Alba Landa". The monastery in Whitland was subject to Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Much of the limestone was taken and used for other buildings. The magnificent setting of the ruin and the Abbey's layout can still be viewed.
The Hywel Dda interpretive centre is a publicly funded Culture centre. It boasts a fine garden using reclaimed stone. Hywel Dda is considered one of the most accomplished of Welsh rulers, minting his own coins, creating the revolutionary Welsh Laws, and using his diplomacy to secure Wales at a particularly turbulent period.
It is sometimes stated that the family of John Adams, the second President of the United States, came originally from the Whitland area. However, there is no truth in this story. The Adams family lived in north Somerset near Bristol from at least the early 15th century, before migrating to North America in the 17th century. This story is likely to have been invented by a prominent family surnamed Adams that once lived in the Whitland area, and is unfortunately still widely believed.
Amenities
The town is also home to a secondary school (Ysgol Dyffryn Taf) and a wide variety of sporting grounds. Its main industry was a dairy, but it was closed in 1994.
Whitland was also an important railway centre, being to junction to four branch lines - to Pembroke Dock, Fishguard, Fishguard via Puncheston and Cardigan. The latter was closed as a result of the review by Dr Beeching in the early 1960s, as a result the railway rapidly lost importance, and today has reverted to a branch line station.
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Whitland boasts many local sporting teams including Rugby union, Football (soccer), Cricket, Short and Long mat bowls, Darts, billiards etc.
Education
There are two schools in Whitland a primary school and a secondary school. The primary school is called Whitland Primary School and the secondary is called Dyffryn Taf. Dyffryn Taf is twinned with the school in the small town of Pipriac in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France.
External links
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