LLANELLY (LLAN-ELLI), a parish and market-town and sea-port (incorporated), and the head of a union, in the hundred of
CARNAWLLON, county of CARMARTHEN, SOUTH WALES a. from Carmarthen, on the road to Swansea, and 216 (W. by N.) from
London; containing 11,155 inhabitants, of which number, 7123 ore in the borough hamlet, This place, which App04116 to 'be
of great Atitiprity, derives its name from its ,ch,urqh being dedicated to St. Eiliw: it was probably an ancient British
town of some importance, and remains qf British fortifications may be distinctly traced in the immediate ,neighboorhgod.
The TOWN is situated on the northern beak of the Loughor river, which forms an expansive .estuary, and oonstituteathe
boundary between the counties of Counarthen and Ohl,InWgan; and though formerly described as a einatl and insignificant
place, inhabited .chiefly  by sailors stud .persons .employed in the adjacent ,coal mines, has, from the convenience of
its situation on a navigable river, and from the:richness of the mineral productions 91 its vicinity in iron, ,coal, and
limestone, risen into manufacturing and commercial ins portauce, and is still rapidly increasing in population and extent.
An ,act of parliament was obtained ip 1807, by which an inclosure of the commons of that Fortier' of the pnrish
iminedietely dependent on the town was effected, ,and the land, with the exception of one-fourteenth, allotted to the
owner of the lordr ship of Kidwelly, was vested in trustees chosen by and from the lionesses, to he let on lease, end the
proceeds applied to the improvement of the town and harbour: this ,property now produces 000 per annum, and is capable of
being much increased in value. Respectable homes have been erected in almost every. direction; as Also have numerous
others of inferior character, which Are occupied as soon as they can be finished. The town has been recently paved, and is
amply supplied with water from the river Lliedi, which flows through it, and an act for lighting it with .gos was passed
is 1835. Its prosy perity will be further augmented by a railway to the anthracite distriots nnd floating dock, lately
completed, and by o new turnpike-road from Longhqr to Carmarthen, now in progress, which will pup through it. Llanelly is
supposed ,to-be situatedin or near the centre of the mineral basin of South Wales, which is calqulated to qoutain no fewer
than ortylwo beds of coal, incumbent upon each other, with intervening strew of .stone, gic.: upon these beds are found
1401per048 fossil remains. The ,abundance of excellentooal, anthracite and bituminous, in the vicinity, has already caused
the establishment here of two extensive sapper-warks, called the Lhipelly, and the Cambrian, Works; and ,of two large
Aron-foundries: the Lkuielly Copper-Works areremarkable for having an immense chimney, of the extraordinary height of
two hundred and twenty feet, and.gf n pyramidal shape, and which, from tits loftiness, ,forms a conspicuous and imposing
object in the view qf the town. Several large collieries arein full operation, and are equally distinguished for the
quantity and the superior quality of their produce, consisting of bituminous and free burning coal, and cuim. The PORT,
which exercises paramount jurisdiction over those of Carmarthen, St. Clear's, Laugharne, Kid-welly, and Penbrey, as
dependent members, has been greatly improved under the provisions of an act of parliamentdated 1813, prior to which it was
only open beach. In 1812, an act was passed authorizing the formation of a navigable canal, called the Llanelly canal, to
connect the port and town with the Kidwelly canal, at Spudder's Bridge, and of a line of railway from the upper end of the
Kidwelly canal to the coal and limestone works in the Great Mountain, with several other branches of canal or railroad;
which designs have been accordingly carried into execution. In 1828, the Llanelly Railway and Dock Company obtained an act
enabling them to make a railway from the Llangennech collieries to Llanelly harbour, and to construct a floating-dock at
the latter place. The railway was completed in 1833, and, including the branches, is about four miles in length; and at
its termination to the eastward of the harbour, an extensive floating-dock, with other works, was commenced, which,
notwithstanding the difficulties that presented themselves, arising from quicksands and other obstacles, was opened in
July, 1t334. The dock consists of a basin capable of holding fifty sail of ships, and is always kept full of water by
means of a pair of lofty stop-gates, of African oak: the entrance is formed by wing and entrance walls, substantially
composed of ashlar masonry, and secured by inverted arches, permitting a vessel of 1000 tons' burthen to pass in with
perfect safety; the depth of water upon the silt during neap tides is 16, d'uring ordinary spring tides 22, and during
high spring tides 26, feet. It communicates with the sea by an outer tide basin, and' an entrance channel, or ship canal,
about half a mile in length: the outer basin was constructed with a view to avoid the inconvenience and delay of crowding
the canal with vessels, and in it light vessels wait until the loaded ships have passed out of the dock into the entrance
canal, which is itself an artificial eut through the beach. Owing to its peculiar position, and the protection afforded to
the estuary by the projecting coast of Glamorganshire, vessels can enter or leave the dock in almost any state of the
weather. At the eastern side of the dock is a large reservoir, so situated as to be filled by the sea when required; by
means of a sea-sluice it is made available for scouring out the mud and silt from the entrance canal and outer basin. The
facilities for shipping coal in this dock, tide-basin, and canal, are very great, and there is abundant accommodation for
any increase of the trade of this improving district. The principal article of import is copper-ore, the produce of which,
after having been here manufactured, is shipped off to the value of X300 000 per annum: more than a hundred thousand tons
of coal and cuhn are also annually exported, some of the coal, owing to its peculiarly fine quality, being shipped to
France, Spain, India, and the West Indies, for the use of the steamboats. Besides the large dock previously described,
there are three other docks, one of which is a floating basin, capable of admitting fifty vessels of five hundred tons'
burthen. The improvement of the navigation of the rivers Burry, Loughor, and Lliedi, is regulated by the act of 1813, by
which commissioners are empowered to scour, enlarge, and deepen them, to erect buoys and lights, and to regulate the
pilotage and mooring of vessels, for which a small tonnage-rate is paid by such vessels as enter the bar of Burry. A small
impost is also levied on all goods imported into, and exported from, the harbour of Llanelly. The markets, which are
abundantly supplied with provisions of every kind, are held on Thursday and Saturday, and are much frequented: the fairs
are on Holy Thursday and September 30th, and are in general numerously attended. Llanelly is a BOROUGH by prescription,
and most probably received its corporate privileges from its ancient lords, though no evidence of ffny regular charter
having been granted to it has yet been discovered. Two courts leet are held annually, one in the spring and the other in
the autumn, by the steward of the lordship of Kidwelly, within which the borough is comprised: at these courts the jury,
who are selected by the steward from among the burgesses, present to him whomsoever they think fit for admission to the
freedom; and at the court which takes place in the spring they nominate a burgess to serve as portreeve, who is sworn in
for the ensuing year: thus the government of the town is vested in a portreeve and an indefinite number of freemen. By the
act of 1832, for "Amending the representation of the People," the borough was united with Carmarthen in the return of a
member to parliament: the right of voting is vested in every male person of full age occupying, either as owner or as
tenant under the same landlord, a house or other premises of the annual value of at least ten pounds, provided he be
capable of registering as the act directs: the number of tenements of this value, within the limits of the borough, which
are minutely defined in the Appendix to this work, is above 200. A court for the lordship is held every alternate Monday,
before the lord's officers, for the recovery of debts under forty shillings, contracted within the. liberty. By the
Boundary Act, Llanelly was made a polling-place in-the election of the knights for the shire. The parish, which is bounded
on the north by those of Llangendeirn, Llannon, and Llandarog, on the east by Liangennech, and on the west by Penbrey,
contains about twenty thousand acres, and is divided into five hamlets, called the Borough, Berwick, Glyn, Hengoed, and
Westoac; about one-third part of the land is arable, under the cultivation of wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes, and the
remainder pasture and wood; the surface for the most part is uneven, and the scenery, which is of a varied character, and
interspersed with fine plantations of fir and other kinds of timber, is in many situations highly picturesque: among the
principal mansions are Stradey, Great House, Llundain Wich, and Glanmor. The LIVING, which is rated in the king's books at
£6. 6. 8., as a discharged vicarage, is really a perpetual curacy, with a net income of £96; and in the patronage of Rees
Goring Thomas, Esq., who is owner of both the great and small tithes, which have been commuted for a rent-charge of £270,
and attached to which is a glebe of forty acres, worth £80 per annum: the vicar has also a glebe of nine acres, with a
house, the whole valued at £20. Previously to the Reformation, when the tithes were alienated from the church, there was a
chapel in each of the five hamlets into which the parish is divided: of these; the chapel in the borough, the only one
remaining entire, at present forms the chancel of the parish church, to which two transepts have been added, and other
additions made; the whole constituting an irregular edifice, having a tower surmounted by an embattled parapet. There are
foar services in the church on Sunday, two in Welsh and two in English; and two lectures in the week, one in each
language. The patron, Mr. Thomas, has recently rebuilt the chapel of St. John or Capel Juan, and made provision for the
maintenance of a clergyman; and other small chapels in connexion with the Church have just been erected. There are three
places of worship for Baptists, and one each for Independents and Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. A National school,
in which are about 100 boys and as many girls, is supported by endowment and subscription; there are fourteen other day
schools in the parish, in which about 420 children are taught at the expense of the parents; and eleven Sunday schools
contain about 1500 persons, who receive gratuitous instruction. The sum of £4 per annum was bequeathed by Mr. Allen, of
the parish, to be expended in the purchase of Bibles for the poor, which was for some years regularly applied to that
purpose; but the payment of it has lately been discontinued, under the operation of the Mortmain Act. The poor law union,
of which this town is the head, was formed Oct. 24th, 1836, and comprises the seven parishes of Llanelly, Llannon,
Penbrey, Llangennech, Llanedy, and Kidwelly, in the county of Carmarthen; and Loughor, in the county of Glamorgan: it is
under the superintendence of 16 guardians, and contains a population of 20,178. On a small promontory projecting into the
Loughor river, a little below the town, which was formerly an island, a monastery is supposed to have been erected by St.
Peiro, about the year 513; this saint constituted himself first abbot, and was succeeded by Samson, a disciple of St.
Illtyd: the farm-house of Machynis, the name of which is thought to be a contraction of Mynach Ynys, or 44 Monk Island,"
is conjectured to occupy the site of this ancient religious house. Pen Castell, in the immediate neighbourhood of the
town, is considered to be the vestige of an old British fortification. Near the church is Great House, a fine old mansion,
formerly belonging to Sir John Stepney, Bart., who for many years, during the reign of George III. was ambassador at the
courts of Dresden and Florence: after being for more than sixty years deserted by the family, during which time it was
let out in different tenements, and the conservatory converted into a market-house, it came into the possession of William
Chambers, of Bicknor, in the county of Kent, Esq., who at considerable expense has restored it, and who has also erected a
market-place for the accommodation of the town. The seat Stradey, prior to its becoming the property of the father of the
present owner, belonged to the Mansels, who had extensive possessions in this and the adjoining parishes: two of this
ancient family were created baronets in 1621, but one of the titles is extinct, the other being enjoyed by the present Sir
John Mengel,