Bancyfelin

Village in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Human settlement in Wales
  • St Clears
Principal area
  • Carmarthenshire
Preserved county
  • Dyfed
CountryWalesSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townCarmarthenPostcode districtSA33Dialling code01267PoliceDyfed-PowysFireMid and West WalesAmbulanceWelsh UK Parliament
  • Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
  • Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
WebsiteVillage website
List of places
UK
Wales
Carmarthenshire
51°50′04″N 4°26′07″W / 51.8345°N 4.4354°W / 51.8345; -4.4354

Bancyfelin is a village, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Carmarthen, Wales. The English translation of the Welsh name is Hillside of the Mill. There is no remnant of the mill today.

The village is known for producing international sporting stars despite having a population of only 300 or so people. These include three British & Irish Lions rugby players from Bancyfelin, Delme Thomas, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies.[1] When The Lions toured Australia in the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour, all 3 of the 23-man squads to play Australia had more players from Bancyfelin than from Scotland.[2][3][4]

Up until the 1980s when the A40 dual carriageway bypass opened, the village was plagued by traffic jams in the summer months due to holidaymakers driving to the West Wales coast. The village is located mainly on the old A40 with the exception of the Council Estate built on a nearby hill. The village has gradually expanded with the building of houses on the outskirts.

There is a small primary school, a post office, a pub, a chapel, a garage and Hafod Bakery, a family run bakery which has been baking bread for 60 years.

Werndale Hospital, run by BMI Healthcare, is located at the western end of the village.

People from Bancyfelin

  • James 'Cubby' Davies – rugby player
  • Charles Lynn Davies – rugby player
  • James Ira Thomas Jones – pilot, buried in Sarnau Chapel[5]
  • Mike Phillips – rugby player
  • Jonathan Davies – rugby player
  • Byron Rogers – journalist and author
  • Delme Thomas – rugby player
  • Gerald Williams – tennis commentator and journalist[6]

References

  1. ^ "Tiny Bancyfelin is Wales' greatest sporting breeding ground... or is it?". Wales Online. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  2. ^ Rees, Paul (20 June 2013). "Lions name team for first Test against Australia in Brisbane". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  3. ^ Rees, Paul (27 June 2013). "Lions make five changes for second Test against Australia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Australia 16-41 British and Irish Lions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Carmarthenshire Heroes". www.wwwmp.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Tributes paid to Welsh tennis commentator Gerald Williams". Carmarthen Journal. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bancyfelin.


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