History of Kidwelly

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Kidwelly deserves a written history of its own.<br><br>A Tragedy, in five acts, entitled, 'Gwenllian, or The Siege of Kidwelly,' by E. Andrews, published in 1841; a few facts embodied in an 'Appeal' on behalf of the restoration of the parish church, by Hugh Williams, published in 1847; a Paper prepared by George T. Clark for the Cambrian Archaeological Association in 1850, entitled, 'A Description and History of Kidwelly Castle,' published in 'Archaeologia Cambrensis,' and twice reprinted in pamphlet form; and some spasmodic and disjointed notices, mostly unauthentic, published in local newspapers, constitute the literature which appears to have been hitherto printed relative to the history of the ancient town and commote of Kidwelly, whose stirring annals extend back to the dim vista of the ages.<br><br>The historical interest that clusters round the subject, and the perfunctory treatment it has hitherto received, must be my apology for presuming to present the facts which appear in the following pages, trusting, at the same time, that they may be of interest to my readers, and that my effort, however imperfect, may serve as a chronicle of achievements and events which should not be consigned to oblivion.<br><br>I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to Archdeacon W. L. Bevan for several valuable suggestions which he has kindly given me.