Medieval borough which sprang up around castle.

GME 13/08/1999

A medieval & later borough, associated with the castle (Nprn105023) & Priory (Nprn103852; 275712): the town is first mentioned in 1248, its charter dating to 1392: a rather irregular enclosure circuit has been identified, enfolding an area of about 220m north-south by 150m, including Bridge Street & the castle; investigation of the western side of this circuit showed that it comprised a bank & ditch, & a series of radio-carbon dates from below & within the bank appeared to confirm a medieval construction date, with some earlier, residual material present: OS County series (Carmarthen. XXXVIII.13 1889; XLV.1 1889) shows ribbon developement north of this enclosure, perhaps echoing medieval developement along the High Street beyond the church: reports of settlement features in this area (Nprn301190) describe garden plots, as well as possibly earlier features.

Source: Murphy 1997 (in Edwards (ed.) 'Landscape & Settlement in Medieval Wales'), 139-156 [150-1].

It is possible that more than one borough establishment is represented in these features & arrangements.

J.Wiles 23.03.05