View source for Crymych

{{Short description|Village and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name               = Crymych
| static_image_name           = Crymych.jpg
| static_image_caption        = Station Road, Crymych
| coordinates                 = {{coord|51.972|-4.648|display=inline,title}}
| population                  = 1,739
| population_ref              = (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11122517&c=SA41+3RU&d=16&e=62&g=6491607&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1429354986968&enc=1 |title=Community population 2011 |work=Neighbourhood Statistics |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>
| os_grid_reference           = SN182337
| community_wales             = Crymych
| unitary_wales               = [[Pembrokeshire]]
| lieutenancy_wales           = [[Dyfed]]
| country                     = Wales
| post_town                   = WHITLAND
| postcode_district           = SA34
| postcode_area               = SA
| post_town1                  = GLOGUE
| postcode_district1          = SA36
| postcode_area1              = SA
| post_town2                  = CRYMYCH
| postcode_district2          = SA41
| postcode_area2              = SA
| dial_code                   = 01239
| constituency_westminster    = [[Preseli Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Preseli Pembrokeshire]]
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Preseli Pembrokeshire (Assembly constituency)|Preseli Pembrokeshire]]
| module= [[File:2024 Wales Pembrokeshire Community Crymych map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
'''Crymych''' ({{pronunciation|Crymych.ogg|Welsh pronunciation|help=no}}) is a village of around 800 inhabitants<ref>{{cite news|work= BBC News |title= Crymych housing scheme prompts fears for Welsh language |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48338460 |date= 21 May 2019 |access-date= 21 May 2019 }}</ref> and a [[Community (Wales)|community]] (population 1,739) in the northeast of [[Pembrokeshire]], [[Wales]]. It is situated approximately {{convert|800|ft|m}} above sea level at the eastern end of the [[Preseli Hills|Preseli Mountains]], on the old [[Tenby]] to [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]] [[toll road|turnpike]] road, now the [[A478 road|A478]].

The village developed around  the former [[Crymmych Arms railway station]] on the now-closed [[Whitland and Cardigan Railway|Whitland to Cardigan Railway]], nicknamed ''Cardi Bach'' (Little Cardi).

Crymych, which is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Plomelin]] in [[Brittany]], has an elected [[community council]]. The village has given its name to an [[electoral ward]] of Pembrokeshire that encompasses the villages of Crymych itself and [[Eglwyswrw]]. The community includes [[Hermon, Pembrokeshire|Hermon]], [[Glandwr, Pembrokeshire|Glandwr]], [[Glogue]] and [[Llanfyrnach]].

==History==
{{moresources|section|date=October 2022}}
The name Crymych translates into English as ''crooked stream''  referring to the [[River Taf]] which rises in the high ground above the village and takes a sharp turn in the valley at the north end of the village.

Evidence of prehistoric occupation in the community is the [[Megalithic]] [[burial mound]] known as Crymych Wayside [[Tumulus|Barrow]].

First mentioned in an account of the [[Cemais (Dyfed)|Cemais]] Hundreds of 1468, Crymych has for centuries been an area of livestock farming. 
[[File:Crymych Arms public house, Crymych, Pembrokeshire, 2014.jpg|thumb|Crymych Arms]]
Other than the ''Crymych Arms'' public house, which dates from at least 1861 but possibly as early as 1812, little existed at the spot before the extension of the [[Whitland and Cardigan Railway|Whitland and Taf Vale Railway]] to Crymych in 1874.<ref>{{cite work|author= M. R. C. Price |date= 1991 |title= The Whitland and Cardigan Railway |publisher= Oakwood Library of Railway History, No.39 |isbn= 9780853614098 }}</ref> The community then grew rapidly as a service and transport centre for the surrounding uplands, and acquired a reputation as the "Wild West of West Wales', reflected in the tongue-in-cheek appellation of ''Cowbois Crymych'' by which residents are sometimes known.

The village was sometimes referred to as Crymmych Arms, after the name of the station, for example in a report of an [[Eisteddfod]] in 1876.<ref>{{cite news|title= Crymmych Arms Eisteddfod|work= Western Mail |date= 7 July 1876 |access-date= 10 July 2014 |url= http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/18760707/029/0008 |publisher= [[British Newspaper Archive]] |url-access= subscription }}</ref>

The agricultural show was first held in 1909,<ref>{{cite web|title= History of Crymych |url= http://www.crymych.org.uk/english/hanes.htm |access-date= 20 Nov 2013 }}</ref> and was equally successful in subsequent years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Crymmych Show|work=Western Mail|date=27 August 1914|access-date=10 August 2015|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000104/19140827/190/0008|publisher=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A regional livestock market existed in the village for many years; a new purpose-built site was developed north of the village, also accommodating a number of other traders.

Crymych War Memorial, which covers [[Eglwyswrw]], [[Blaenffos]], [[Llanfyrnach]], Hermon and [[Glogue]], records the names of 50 people who lost their lives in [[World War I]] and 17 in [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|title=West Wales War Memorial Project - Crymych |url=http://www.wwwmp.co.uk/pembrokeshire/crymych-war-memorial/ |access-date=16 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517154706/http://www.wwwmp.co.uk/pembrokeshire/crymych-war-memorial/ |archive-date=17 May 2014 }}</ref>

Crymych Market Hall was opened in 1919; its present capacity is 500 (standing) or 250 (seated). It was built as a result of the formation of the Market Hall Company Ltd in 1911. During World War II it functioned as an evacuee centre, a shooting range for the Home Guard and a social centre for American troops stationed locally while they trained in the Preseli Mountains. In 1944 two [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]] schoolboys were killed near Crymych by unexploded ordnance.<ref>{{cite news|title=Explosion kills two boys|work=Gloucester Citizen|date=1 August 1944|access-date=10 July 2014|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000325/19440801/029/0002|publisher=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

It was announced in July 2023 that the ''Crymych Arms'', which had been closed for 18 months, was to be reopened following a community grant of £210,000 from the UK government.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|title=Pubs to be bought by local communities after funding|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66059824|date=1 July 2023|access-date=1 July 2023}}</ref>

==Education==
{{Unsourced|section|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Ysgol y Preseli.jpg|thumb|180px|Ysgol y Preseli]]
Crymych's status as "capital" of the Preselau was confirmed in 1958, when [[Ysgol y Preseli]], a [[secondary school]] covering a wide district, was opened. In 1996, the school became Pembrokeshire's first [[Welsh language|Welsh-medium]] [[comprehensive school]], and the number of pupils on its roll has doubled since its launch. In spite of a large influx of English immigrants to the area since the 1970s, Crymych retains a strong identity based on the [[Welsh language]] and [[Welsh culture]].

Ysgol y Preseli has about 1,000 pupils. The school had a [[GCSE]] pass rate (based on 5 GCSEs, grades A-C) of 72% in 2002, according to [[Estyn]]. The corresponding figure in 2000 was 75%, which put it in 7th place in the country. It is consistently in the top 10% of secondary schools in Wales. It is also the best performing secondary school in [[Pembrokeshire]].

==Worship==
[[File:Chapel and butcher, Crymych - geograph.org.uk - 481412.jpg|thumb|Chapel and butcher's (the latter now closed) in 2007]]
Crymych stands at the meeting point of three (formerly Anglican) parishes: [[Llanfair-Nant-Gwyn]] to the north, [[Penrydd]] to the east and [[Llanfyrnach]] to the south. Of these, only Llanfyrnach parish (now [[Church in Wales]]) remains active.<ref>{{cite web|title= GENUKI: Parish Maps |url= http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Clydey/ParishMap |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref>

The two chapels in the village are Antioch Welsh Independent Chapel, built in 1845 and restored in 1874 and 1927,<ref>{{Coflein|desc=ANTIOCH WELSH INDEPENDENT CHAPEL, CRYMYCH |num=11069 |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref> and Seion Welsh Baptist Church, built in 1900.<ref>{{Coflein|desc=SEION WELSH BAPTIST CHURCH (ZION MISSION ROOM), CRYMYCH |num=11074 |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref>

==Culture==
Crymych and District Choir<ref>{{cite web|title= History of Crymych: Choir |url= http://www.crymych.org.uk/english/cor.htm |access-date= 20 Nov 2013 }}</ref> performs locally, nationally and internationally. Bois y Frenni is another local [[choir]] whose history dates from World War II. There is a thriving and successful youth activity group in Aelwyd Crymych whose activities range across the whole spectrum of the arts.<ref>{{cite web|title= History of Crymych: Aelwyd |url= http://www.crymych.org.uk/english/aelwyd.htm |access-date= 20 Nov 2013 }}</ref> Crymych is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Plomelin]] in [[Brittany]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Twinning.org |url= http://www.twinning.org.uk/UK%20Twinnings.pdf |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref>

==Sport==
[[File:Auckland Terrace Crymych - geograph.org.uk - 481415.jpg|thumb|Terrace in the main street (2007). The Rugby Club is on the right.]]
Crymych is home to [[Crymych RFC]], a [[rugby union]] team formed in 1984 and a [[cricket]] club which fields sides in the third and sixth divisions of the Pembrokeshire Cricket League. "Ras Frenni"<ref>{{cite web|title= Ras Frenni - Course Measurement |url= http://www.coursemeasurement.org.uk/detail.php?area=Wales&no=2005410 |access-date= 11 July 2014 }}</ref> running road race (over 4 and 8 miles) was held for the 23rd time in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title= Ras Frenni|publisher= Tivyside Advertiser |url= http://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/11333309.Ras_Frenni/?ref=var_0 |date= 10 July 2014 |access-date= 11 July 2014 }}</ref>

Crymych also has a football club, [[Crymych F.C.]], which was formed in 2019.

== Notable people ==
* [[Daniel John Davies]] (1885–1970), an Independent minister and Welsh language poet from [[Pentre Galar]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Daniel John Davies|url=https://biography.wales/article/s2-DAVI-JOH-1885|website=Dictionary of Welsh Biography|publisher=National Library of Wales|last=Jones|first=Iorwerth|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref>
* [[Claire Jones (harpist)|Claire Jones]] (born 1985), a Welsh harpist and [[Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales]] from 2007 to 2011<ref name="Ensemble">{{cite news|publisher=Tivyside Advertiser|url=https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/18137854.claire-jones-harp-ensemble-helps-crymych-cylch-meithrin/|title=Claire Jones harp ensemble helps Crymych Cylch Meithrin|date=4 January 2020|accessdate=5 January 2020}}</ref>
* [[Rhodri Davies (rugby union)|Rhodri Davies]] (born 1991), a Welsh rugby union player, scrum-half for the [[Dragons RFC]]
* [[Garan Croft|Garan]] and [[Ioan Croft]] (born 2001), amateur boxers, reside in the village<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/19748581.crymychs-croft-twins-win-welsh-amateur-boxing-titles/ | title=Crymych's Croft twins win Welsh amateur boxing titles }}</ref>

==Other amenities==
[[File:Crymych Market Hall 140310.jpg|thumb|Crymych Market Hall]]
Aside from the livestock market, Crymych has a veterinary practice, fire and police stations, doctor's surgery, pharmacy, petrol station, post office and numerous other businesses, shops and trade premises.

Crymych Market Hall is used regularly for concerts, eisteddfodau, meetings, fairs and auctions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pembrokeshire Halls|url=http://www.pembrokeshirehalls.org.uk/hall.php?hall_id=21|access-date=13 Apr 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413173033/http://www.pembrokeshirehalls.org.uk/hall.php?hall_id=21|archive-date=13 April 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Crymych Market Hall |url= http://www.crymych.org.uk/english/hanes.htm#MARKETHALL |access-date= 13 Apr 2014 }}</ref>

A major redevelopment of the former market site, ''Bro Preseli'', was completed in 2014 and includes accommodation for the elderly, a medical centre and a day centre serving the wider community.<ref>{{cite news|publisher= Wales Online |title= Cilwendeg House up for sale |url= http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/21-bedroom-mansion-cilwendeg-house-up-2044097 |date= 6 March 2012 |access-date= 1 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513154832/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/21-bedroom-mansion-cilwendeg-house-up-2044097 |archive-date=13 May 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Crymych Extra Care Scheme |url= http://www.fha-wales.com/CrymychExtraCareScheme.html |access-date= 1 July 2014 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715000630/http://www.fha-wales.com/CrymychExtraCareScheme.html|archive-date=15 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher= Tivyside Advertiser |title= Opportunity to view new community care resource centre |date= 25 July 2014 |url= http://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/11367090.Opportunity_to_view_new_community_care_resource_centre/?ref=var_0 |access-date= 5 August 2014}}</ref> The complex is a joint venture between [[Pembrokeshire County Council]], [[Hywel Dda Local Health Board]] and Family Housing Association Wales.<ref>{{cite web|title= Housing Care: Bro Preseli |url= http://www.housingcare.org/housing-care/facility-info-159628-bro-preseli-crymych-wales.aspx |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref>

Since the closure of Crymych's railway station to passengers in 1962, and freight the following year, the nearest station has been at [[Clunderwen railway station|Clunderwen]], {{convert|10|mi}} to the south. There are bus services to destinations in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire.<ref>{{cite web|title= Pembrokeshire County Council: Bus routes NE Pembrokeshire |date= 16 June 2017 |url= https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/bus-routes-and-timetables/north-east-pembrokeshire |access-date= 10 February 2020}}</ref>

==Nearby settlements and structures==
There are 15 [[listed building|listed]] structures in Crymych community, including several places of worship.<ref>{{cite web|title= British Listed Buildings: Crymych |url= https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/crymych-pembrokeshire#.XkAWjFL7RbU |access-date= 9 February 2020 }}</ref>

To the southeast of Crymych, near the hamlet of Glandwr, is [[Lammas Ecovillage]], a [[Low-impact development (UK)|low-impact housing development]]. Other nearby settlements are [[Eglwyswen]], [[Hermon, Pembrokeshire|Hermon]], [[Pentre Galar]] and Hebron.<ref>Ordnance Survey</ref>

The [[Preseli transmitting station|Preseli TV and radio transmitting station]] is about {{convert|1.8|mi|km|0}} SSW of Crymych.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/news/display.asp?searchnews=&year=2006&id=250 |title= The world's largest DAB digital radio network, operated by Digital One, turned on its 100th transmitter at Preseli in southwest Wales today. |work= ukdigitalradio |date= 20 April 2006 |access-date= 29 March 2018 }}</ref> The mast, being {{convert|235|m}} tall and on land which is {{convert|320|m|-1}} above sea level, is visible from a long distance away on a clear day.

==See also==
* [[Crymych (electoral ward)]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Crymych}}
*[http://www.clwbrygbicrymychrfc.co.uk Crymych rugby club]
*[https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=6507303 Photos of Crymych and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk]

{{Communities of Pembrokeshire}}
{{Historical Rail Start}}
{{Rail line|previous=[[Glogue]] |next=[[Boncath]] |route=[[Great Western Railway]]<br /><small>[[Whitland & Cardigan Railway]]</small> |col=000000}}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Villages in Pembrokeshire]]
[[Category:Communities in Pembrokeshire]]