Chairman of Llanelli Rural Council Cllr Dillwyn Bowen recently presented a £1,260 cheque to the Committee of Llanelli Community Heritage for 5 blue plaques for the village of Five Roads. The Chairman of Llanelli Community Heritage Mr John Wynne Hopkins thanked the Rural Council for all its support in this expanding project. The Committee and members of Llanelli Community Heritage in just over two years have worked extremely hard to acquire the sponsorship and funding to install 26 blue plaques in Llanelli and District, commemorating famous buildings such as Hagger’s cinema, Lloyd Street Chapel, Capel Adulam, celebrities such as the actress Rachel Roberts, the Rev John Wesley, the artist James Dickson Innes, and historic events such as the Rebecca Riots and the Railway Strike of 1911. The Five Roads blue plaques celebrate the Rebecca Riots and the Carmarthenshire Railway.

The photo above shows Chairman of Llanelli Rural Council Cllr Dillwyn Bowen with the grant cheque joined by Cllr Jim Jones holding the Stag and Pheasant blue plaque, Hugh Morgan Lewis holding the Plough and Harrow blue plaque, Lyn John holding the Farmers Arms blue plaque, Gwyn Daniel holding one of the Carmarthenshire Railway blue plaques and John Wynne Hopkins with the other Carmarthenshire Railway blue plaque.

Launched on Saint David’s Day 2004, Llanelli Community Heritage’s aim is to consolidate the work of local historians in preserving historic buildings and structures and promoting the community’s rich heritage. It is incredible to think that since its inception it has succeeded in installing 26 blue plaques and 6 interpretive panels in Old Castle, Furnace Village, Felinfoel Village, the former Llanelli Grammar School site and the site of the famous Llanelli Pottery.

This society of dedicated volunteers celebrated its work in September 2006 by holding the first-ever open bus tour of the area and supplements this work by producing framed proofs of the interpretive panels, DVDs, heritage leaflets and booklets for use by schools, organisations and individuals, holding lectures and producing early history models, which can be seen at Llanelli’s Parc Howard Museum.

Llanelli Community Heritage would like to thank all the individual sponsors and funding bodies such as Carmarthenshire County Council, Llanelli Town Council, Llanelli Rural Council, Communities First and 1 Fund who have supported our work.

To find out about the work of the organisation visit our website
www.llanellicommunityheritage.org.

Present at presentation

Chairman - John Wynne Hopkins, Vice Chairman - Lyn John, Secretary - Gwyn Daniel, Treasurer - Hugh Morgan Lewis, Media Coordinator - Dafydd Roberts, Technical Support - Steve Hughes, Membership Secretary - Suzy Curry.