Brechfa
Brechfa is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales,[1][2] that has existed since the 6th century.[3]
Location and amenities
Brechfa is set in countryside [4] managed by the Natural Resources Wales at the top of the Cothi Valley.[5] The village is the site of Brechfa Mountain Biking. A co-operative has been set up to run the village shop,[6] which featured in an article in the Daily Telegraph Magazine in 2007.[7] It was chosen as a special stage in the British Rally from 2006 to 2008.
History
In the 1840s, Brechfa featured in the Rebecca Riots when rioters destroyed tollgates on the local turnpike road.[8] During the 1930s Great Depression, 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.
Brechfa FM
Pupils of Bro Myrddin Welsh Comprehensive School, Carmarthen have launched an on demand podcast website on the bebo network called Brechfa FM. The comedy radio 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
Notable residents\former residents
- William Thomas (Gwilym Marles)
- Dan Mitchell (Comedian)
- Canon Patrick Thomas (author and cleric) Rector of Brechfa from 1984 to 2001. Books include Candle in the Darkness: Celtic Spirituality from Wales (Gomer), Celtic Earth, Celtic Heaven (Gomer), Brechfa and Beyond: Peregrinations of a Parish Priest (Carreg Gwalch), From Carmarthen to Karabagh: a Welsh discovery of Armenia (Carreg Gwalch) and Remembering the Armenian Genocide (Carreg Gwalch). His translations of the twentieth century Welsh poet David Gwenallt Jones are included in the volume 'Sensuous Glory' , written with Densil Morgan and Donald Allchin (Canterbury Press).
References
- ↑ 2001 Census
- ↑ Community Web-Site Archived 27 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ A History of Carmarthenshire Lloyd, Sir J: For The Society (Cardiff) 1935 & 1939, Vol I From Prehistoric Times to the Act of Union (1536)
- ↑ Walks around Brecha
- ↑ Scenic tour Archived 4 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Winner of A Welsh Oscar, Newyddion Cymuned 25 May 2007
- ↑ Saturday 31 March 2007
- ↑ Rebecca Riots Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- John Field, "Learning Through Labour: Training, unemployment and the state, 1890-1939", Leeds University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-900960-48-5
External links
- Brechfa Forest - Natural Resources Wales
- Mountain Biking in Brechfa - MBWales
- Photos of Brechfa and surrounding area on Geograph
- Information on community led projects to develop a strong local economy
Coordinates: 51°57′N 4°09′W / 51.950°N 4.150°W