Llanarthney (also known as Llanarthne) is situated on the B4300, approximately 19 km (12 miles) east of Carmarthen. The river Gwynon flows through the village before joining the river Towy about half a mile north of the settlement.

The first edition of the six-inch Ordnance Survey map, published in 1887, shows that Llanarthney had a few amenities at the end of the nineteenth century. There was a cloth factory on the banks of the river Gwynon a little to the south of the village, and a corn mill closer to the village centre. The village had two public houses – Golden Grove Arms and Emlyn Arms, in addition to a school and a post office. There were also three places of worship: St. Arthen’s Church (also known as St. David’s Church); Saron Independent chapel and Dol Gwynon Calvinistic Methodist chapel.

The Golden Grove closed in 2010 and in 2012 it became Wrights Food Emporium: a public house, caffe and deli. Llanarthney’s school closed in 2008, although a new village hall was built in Llanarthney in the same year. The Emlyn Arms also remains open and although the Post Office has closed, a mobile service is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. St Arthen or St David’s church remains open, as do both Saron chapel and Dol Gwynon chapel.

Sources: historic OS maps; google maps; BBC article ‘Protest at rural schools closure’ (10 December 2007); http://www.carmarthenshirehalls.org.uk/; Guardian article ‘Wright’s Food Emporium, Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire: review’ (22nd April 2017) https://www.royalmail.com/ and the Welsh Presbyterian Church website – https://www.ebcpcw.cymru/cy/

M. Ryder, RCAHMW, 13th January 2021

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