Brechfa
Encyclopedia
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
that has existed since the 6th century.
Location and amenities
Brechfa is set in countryside managed by the Forestry CommissionForestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
or Forest Enterprise at the top of the Cothi Valley. The village is the site of Brechfa Mountain Biking. A co-operative has been set up to run the village shop, which featured in an article in the Daily Telegraph Magazine in 2007.
History
In the 1840s, Brechfa featured in the Rebecca RiotsRebecca Riots
The Rebecca Riots took place between 1839 and 1843 in South and Mid Wales. They were a series of protests undertaken by local farmers and agricultural workers in response to perceived unfair taxation. The rioters, often men dressed as women, took their actions against toll-gates, as they were...
when rioters destroyed tollgates on the local turnpike road. During the 1930s Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, unemployed men were set to work on the Forestry Commission land, breaking ground, building tracks, and undertaking other heavy labour. The men lived in a work camp in Brechfa, which was one of a number of Instructional Centres run by the Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
.
Brechfa FM
Pupils of Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive SchoolBro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin is a Welsh-medium school in Wales. It is located near Croes-y-Ceiliog, Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire. The name 'Bro Myrddin' means 'Myrddin Borough' in Welsh, since Carmarthen is linked with Myrddin Wyllt...
, Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
have launched an on demand podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
website on the bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
network called Brechfa FM. The comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station portrays the Brechfa residents as very isolated people who have no contact with "outside world" places such as Carmarthen. The radio station has become popular among local bebo network users..
Brechfa Radio Podcast Site
Noteable residents\former residents
- William Thomas (Gwilym Marles)William Thomas (Gwilym Marles)William Thomas , better known by his bardic name of Gwilym Marles, was a Welsh minister and poet, and the great-uncle of Dylan Thomas. Dylan was given his middle name, "Marlais", in honour of William Thomas, who is also believed to have inspired the character of Rev...
- Dan Mitchell (Comedian)Dan Mitchell (comedian)Dan Mitchell is a Welsh-born comedian originally from Brechfa, a village near Carmarthen. In his youth, Dan had a fascination with comics and comedy. Having had his comedy appetite raised by running the local pub quiz , he started his career in comedy in 2005 and ran a regular stand-up night,...