A Short History of the Town
Llandeilo Town Heritage Trail
The small and attractive town of Llandeilo sits on a hill overlooking a bend in the river Towy (Afon Tywi), the longest river that is wholly in Wales. Together with the former neighbouring settlements of Dinefwr, it celebrates nearly 2000 years of history. The recent discovery of two Roman forts in Dinefwr Park takes the story of settlement back to the first century AD. Llandeilo itself takes its name from St Teilo; a contemporary of St David in the sixth century. By the 9th century, the religious community in Llandeilo had become one of the most important in Wales. It became known as the scholar’s town (‘Tre’r Ysgolheigion’). Meanwhile, the castle and town of Dinefwr had become the royal seat of the kings and princes of Deheubarth (southwest Wales); a powerful dynasty that went on to resist Anglo-Norman rule until the conquest by Edward I in the late 1200’s.
By the 1300’s, Llandeilo was established as thriving market town, and as it grew the township at Dinefwr declined. Little can now be seen of medieval Dinefwr, apart from the magnificent ruins of the castle at the heart of the later designed landscape of Dinefwr Park. However, Llandeilo expanded rapidly during the 18th and 19th centuries, especially after the building of a new bridge in 1848 amd the coming of the railway in the 1850’s. The town also benefitted from local estates of Dinefwr, Golden Grove and Derwydd. A feature of the town is its collection of fine Georgian and Victorian townhouses.
This trail guide has been prepared for Llandeilo Fawr Town Council by Cambria Archaeology. It highlights significant buildings in the historic core of the town and should be used in conjunction with a series of interpretative panels placed around the town. Visitors are also encouraged to explore the surrounding footpath network, and in particular the spectacular historic landscape of Dinefwr Park.
