Llanedi

Llanedy (Llan-Edi) - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849)
LLANEDY (LLAN-EDI), a parish, in the poor-law union of Llanelly, hundred of Carnawllon, county of Carmarthen, South Wales, 10 miles (S.) from Llandilo-Vawr; containing 1098 inhabitants. This parish is situated on the river Loughor, by which it is separated from the county of Glamorgan; and is intersected by the turnpike-road from Swansea to Llandilo-Vawr. It is bounded on the south-west by the parishes of Llandeilo-Tàlybont and Llangennech, on the north-west by those of Llandebie and Llannon, and on the north-east by Bettws and Llangyvelach; and extends nearly eight miles in length, and one mile and a quarter in breadth, comprising by measurement 5200 acres, of which about 1800 are arable, 2000 pasture, 700 wood, and between 600 and 700 common and waste. The surface is elevated and hilly, the soil generally dry and light, and on the tillage lands very fertile, producing good crops of wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. The scenery is extensive, varied, and picturesque, and beautified by the meandering of the river Loughor along a rich and narrow vale on the south; the Gwilly, an inferior stream, passing to the north. There are mines of excellent anthracite coal, which until lately were worked only for the supply of the immediate neighbourhood; they are now in operation on a larger scale, and the coal is exported in considerable quantity: a poorer kind is found in almost every part of the parish, but the principal mines lie at the northern extremity, where numerous hands now find employment. Iron-ore exists, but no works are carried on; and there is a quarry of excellent stone for building and other purposes. The Llanelly railway passes on the other side of the Loughor. An annual fair is held on the 8th of November.

The living is a rectory, rated in the king's books at £8, and given by George IV., together with the patronage of several other crown livings in the diocese, to St. David's College, Lampeter; present net income, £360. The church, dedicated to St. Edith, is pleasantly situated on an elevated hill, overlooking the Loughor, and commanding an extensive view of great variety and beauty; it has been enlarged by the erection of a gallery at the west end, affording an addition of 120 free sittings, towards the expense of which the Incorporated Society contributed the sum of £100. There are places of worship for Calvinistic Methodists, Particular Baptists, and Independents; a National school; and four Sunday schools, one of them in connexion with the Established Church. In the hamlet of Gwilly, about 200 yards from the church, is a rock, with a curious recess, naturally formed, and traditionally called Gwely Edi, or "St. Edith's bed;" it is superstitiously thought to have been occasionally used for repose by that saint. At a cottage near Forest Hall, a deserted mansion in the parish, was born, in 1721, the Rev. John Walters, M.A., the learned author of Dissertations on the Welsh Language, a Welsh and English Dictionary, and other works.