Dylan Thomas Boathouse
Encyclopedia
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...
, in which the poet Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
lived with his family between 1949 and 1953, the last four years of his life. It was in this house that he wrote many major pieces. It's often thought that he wrote Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
here but more recent research suggests that fewer than 300 lines were written in Laugharne. The house is set in a cliff overlooking the Tâf
River Tâf
The River Tâf is a river that rises in the Preseli Hills of North Pembrokeshire, West Wales, near the village of Crymych and is around 50 km long....
Estuary.
Thomas first visited the village of Laugharne with a friend, the poet Glyn Jones, in 1934 and was attracted to it. He moved there four years later, and the Boat House was later bought for him by Margaret Taylor, first wife of the historian A. J. P. Taylor
A. J. P. Taylor
Alan John Percivale Taylor, FBA was a British historian of the 20th century and renowned academic who became well known to millions through his popular television lectures.-Early life:...
.
It is now owned by the Carmarthenshire County Council
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...
and serves as a museum. It is open to the public for most of the year. It contains Thomas memorabilia and some of the original furniture. Close to the main house is the "writing shed" where Thomas spent much of his time. It receives about 15,000 visitors a year.