Timeline of Llanelli history
This article is a timeline of Llanelli history. For a full article on the town, see Llanelli.
600s
St. Ellyw, a child or grandchild of king Brychan and a disciple of Cadoc built a church, and lent his name to the town.
1600s
1682 – Creation of Llanelly Church
1683 – Start of parish records
1700s
1607 – Oldest Map of Wales. Created by William Camden. Llanelly a small Town in South Wales where Machynys is shown to be a separate island called Bach hannis
1772 – John Wesley visits Llanelly.
1779 – Wesley visits again.
1780 – Independent chapel established at Capel Als.
1785 – Calvinist Methodist church established at Gelli On.
1791 – Blast furnace set up in Cwmddyche by Gevers and Ingman.
1795 – Alexander Raby begins to operate mining and melting of metal ores. Llanelly’s population recorded as less than 500.
1800s
1801 – Llanelly’s first census – population 2,972.
1802 – Establishment of foundry and engineering works by Waddle in New Dock.
1803 – Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway opened
1805 – Llanelly’s copper works established by Daniel & Co.
1809 – Llanelly is hit by floods. Jubilee of King George celebrated by townsfolk. Establishment of Capel Newydd.
1810 – Erw Fawr coal pit founded by General Ward.
1813 – Box coal pit opened.
1822 – Sion Chapel founded.
1823 – Part of Parish Church is built.
1828 – Six bells put in tower of the Parish Church. Upper and Lower Markets opened. Wesleyan church built.
1829 – Construction of Hall Street and New Street begin. Railway allowed between St Davids and Machynys. R.J. Nevill buys all coal pits belonging to General Ward.
1830 – Cambrian copper works opened.
1831 – Town population recorded as 7,646.
1832 – Seventeen persons die in Llanelly after the town is hit by cholera.
1835 – New Dock opened in Llanelly, the gas company is formed and the local industrialist Alexander Raby dies.
1839 – Swansea Road workhouse opened.
1840 – The Llanelly Pottery was established. Closed 1923.
1847 - Copperworks School was established, it is the oldest School in Llanelly. Built by Richard Janion Neville, son of Charles Neville of the Copperworks in Llanelly
1850 - St. Elli Parish Church Lynch gates and stocks were removed.
1875 – Llanelli RFC, one of the most storied rugby union clubs in Wales, is formed; though the club itself misidentified its formation date as 1872.
1879 – Stradey Park opens as the home of Llanelli RFC. It remained the home for Llanelli RFC for nearly 130 years, and later for the regional side Scarlets, but closed in November 2008 when the teams' new home, Parc y Scarlets, opened in nearby Pemberton.
1897 - Stamping works opens in Seaside Llanelli.
1898 - Duport Steel works opens in Llanelli.
1895 – Host the National Eisteddfod of Wales
1900s
1903 – Hosts the National Eisteddfod for a second time.
1904 - A train derails as it was over speeding, killing five and injuring 94 people.[1]
1904 - Duport Steel works opens in Llanelli.
1911 – Riots occur as a part of railway strikes during 'the great unrest'. On 17 August, strikers at Llanelli held up trains at one of the level crossings in the town. The army was called in the next day and two bystanders were shot dead. Railway trucks carrying detonators were set on fire, causing an explosion that killed four people.[2]
1911 - Palace Theatre, later called the Vint`s Palace was established.
1912 - St. Elli Parish Church Llanelly. Lych Gates were replaced.
1920 - The Royal Theatre (Haggars) opens in Market Street Llanelli
1930 – Hosts the National Eisteddfod.
1930 - The Regal Cinema opens in Llanell.
1934 - The Ritz Ballroom opens in Llanelli.
1962 – Hosts the National Eisteddfod.
1970 - The first Horse Race Track opened in Machynys. Owner Scrap and Merchant Bobby Bradley of Morfa Ynys Farm Llanelli.
1972 – "The Day the Pubs Ran Dry"—31 October, when Llanelli RFC defeated the touring All Blacks of New Zealand 9-3 (10-3 in today's scoring system) before a crowd of 26,000 at Stradey Park. Pubs throughout the town ran dry serving fans celebrating the win.
2000s
2000 – Hosts the National Eisteddfod.
2008 –
- 24 October—Stradey Park hosts its last match, an EDF Energy Cup contest in which the Scarlets defeat Bristol 27–0.
- 15 November—Parc y Scarlets opens with a match between Llanelli RFC and Cardiff RFC, with the home team comfortably winning 32–3.
2009 –
- 31 January—The official opening ceremony of Parc y Scarlets is held; the main event is a match between the Scarlets and the Barbarians, with the Scarlets winning 40–24.
References
- John Edwards. Llanelli; Hanes Tref. Copy available from Llanelli Central Library.
- Keith Evans. The Secret History of Llanelli Co-operative 1895–2000. Copy available from Llanelli Central Library.