, photographed by
John Thomas in about 1885 Llanboidy is a scenic village in West Carmarthenshire, Wales. Its history goes back to the
Iron Age where the site of a timber built fort can be seen near the village centre. 'Llanboidy' may mean church (Llan) of the cowshed () and its name probably is linked to
St. Brynach. Brynach was a wandering 5th century Irish
saint who got shipwrecked off the
South Wales coast, returning to
Ireland from a tour to
Brittany. He founded several
West Wales churches and the village church is named after and dedicated to him. Another notable church he founded is at the village of
Nevern. This is approximately 20 miles north west of Llanboidy and is overlooked by
Carn Ingli (said by some to mean Mountain of Angels). Llanboidy then became an important
drovers road route in the
Middle Ages and once had four
taverns. It has a sports and social club and a
football (soccer) team. There is a village
post office and the school has recently been re-built. The church
graveyard holds a very precious statue, called "the Grief", by the
Cardiff-born sculptor Sir William
Goscombe John. It was slowly deteriorating, until it was restored and brought indoors, in order to preserve it. It was a funerary monument to the
Victorian era MP
Walter Rice Howell Powell. Powell was a Haverfordwest-born 1819
philanthropist who brought money and jobs to the village and his legacy can be seen at the Market Hall, Piccadilly Square and other fine buildings in the village. The seat of the Powells was the mansion of Maesgwynne, north of the village. ==References==