Crymych

Crymych
Station Road, Crymych
Crymych is located in Pembrokeshire Crymych  Crymych shown within Pembrokeshire
Population	1,739 (2011)
Principal area	Pembrokeshire
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Crymych
Postcode district	SA41
Dialling code	01239
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
EU Parliament	Wales
UK Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
Welsh Assembly	Preseli Pembrokeshire
List of places UK Wales Pembrokeshire

Crymych is a community, and a village of around 400 inhabitants in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, situated approximately 800 feet (240 m) above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains. It stands astride the old Tenby to Cardigan turnpike road, now the A478.

The village developed around the former Crymmych Arms railway station on the now-closed Whitland to Cardigan Railway, nicknamed Cardi Bach (Little Cardi).

Crymych, which is twinned with Plomelin in Brittany, has its own elected community council. The village has given its name to an electoral ward of Pembrokeshire that encompasses the villages of Crymych itself and Eglwyswrw, as well as to the Megalithic burial mound knowns as Crymych Wayside Barrow.

About 1.8 miles (2.9 km) SSW of Crymych stands a TV mast which, at 235m tall erected on land which itself is some 350m above sea level, can be seen from several counties away on a clear day.

History

The name Crymych translates into English as crooked stream, referring to the River Taf which rises in the high ground above the village and takes a sharp turn in the valley in the north end of the village.

First mentioned in an account of the Cemais Hundreds of 1468, Crymych has for centuries been an area of livestock farming.

Crymych Arms

Other than the Crymych Arms public house (dating from at least 1861 but possibly as early as 1812), which remains open to this day, little existed at the spot before the extension of the Whitland and Taf Vale Railway to Crymych in 1874. The community then grew rapidly as a service and transport centre for the surrounding uplands and acquired a reputation for being 'the Wild West of West Wales', reflected in the tongue-in-cheek appellation of Cowbois Crymych by which residents are sometimes known.

The village was sometimes referred to as Crymmych Arms, after the name of the station, for example in a report of an Eisteddfod in 1876.

The first agricultural show was in 1909 and was equally successful in subsequent years. A regional livestock market existed in the village for many years; a new purpose-built site was developed north of the village, also accommodating a number of other traders.

Crymych War Memorial, which covers Eglwyswrw, Blaenffos, Llanfyrnach, Hermon and Glogue, records the names of 50 people who lost their lives in World War I and 17 in World War II.

Crymych Market Hall was opened in 1919; with a present seating capacity of 500 (standing) or 250 (seated), it was built as a result of the formation of the Market Hall Company Ltd in 1911. During World War 2 it functioned as an evacuee centre, a shooting range for the Home Guard and a social centre for American troops stationed locally while they trained in the Preseli Mountains. In 1944 two Cardigan School boys were killed near Crymych by unexploded ordnance.

Education

Ysgol y Preseli

Crymych's status as 'capital' of the Preseli was confirmed in 1958, when Ysgol y Preseli, a secondary school covering a wide district was opened. In 1996, the school became Pembrokeshire's first Welsh-medium comprehensive school and the number of pupils on its roll has doubled since its launch. In spite of a large influx of English immigrants to the area since the 1970s, Crymych retains a strong identity based on the Welsh language and Welsh culture.

Ysgol y Preseli is a Welsh language secondary school and has approximately 1000 pupils. The school had a GCSE pass rate (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A-C) of 72% in 2002 - according to Estyn. It is consistently in the top 10% of secondary schools in Wales, in 2000 the school had a pass rate of 75% (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A-C which put it in 7th place in the country. It is also the best performing secondary school in Pembrokeshire.

Sport

Crymych is home to Crymych RFC, a rugby union team formed in 1984 and a cricket club which fields sides in the third and sixth divisions of the Pembrokeshire Cricket League. "Ras Frenni" running road race (over 4 and 8 miles) was held for the 23rd time in July 2014.

Culture

Crymych and District Choir performs locally, nationally and internationally. Bois y Frenni is another local choir whose history dates from World War 2. There is a thriving and successful youth activity group in Aelwyd Crymych whose activities range across the whole spectrum of the arts.

Amenities

Crymych Market Hall

Aside from the livestock market, Crymych has a Post Office, fire and police stations, doctor's surgery, pharmacy, petrol station and numerous other businesses, shops and trade premises.

Crymych Market Hall is used regularly for concerts, eistedfoddau, meetings, fairs and auctions.

A major redevelopment of the former market site was completed in 2014 and includes accommodation for the elderly, and a new medical centre and day centre to serve the wider community.

The nearest railway station is at Clunderwen, 10 miles (16 km) to the south. There are bus services to destinations in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.

Nearby settlements

To the southeast of Crymych, near the hamlet of Glandwr, is the Lammas Ecovillage, a low-impact housing development. Other nearby settlements are Eglwyswen, Hermon, Pentre Galar and Hebron.

External links

• Crymych rugby club
• Photos of Crymych and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Glogue		Great Western Railway Whitland & Cardigan Railway		Boncath