Whitland (Welsh: Hendy-gwyn, lit.'Old White House', or Hendy-gwyn ar Daf, lit.'Old White House on the River Taf', from the medieval Ty Gwyn ar Daf) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
According to the 2011 census the population was 1,792.[1]
Despite losing its dairy and remaining high street bank, Whitland has an estimated 125 small businesses as well as Whitland Engineering, which services the dairy industry and in 2019 employed 90 people.[2]
History
Traditionally, Whitland is seen as the site of an assembly of lawyers and churchmen, sometimes described as the first Welshparliament, called in 930 by King Hywel Dda to codify the native Welsh laws.
Whitland takes its name from its medieval Cistercianabbey. The monastery pre-dates Tintern but now is very much a ruin. The "white land" of the name (Latin: Albalanda) may refer to the famous Ty Gwyn (English: White House) where Hywel's parliament met, to the monks' unstained woollen cloaks, or to the abbey's limestone. Whitland was dissolved during Henry VIII's conversion to a reformed church. Much of its limestone was taken and used for other buildings. The limestone itself may have been from quarries in the Cotswolds as there is no quarry of this ' White' stone in the area.[citation needed] The country setting of the ruin and the Abbey's layout can still be viewed just north of the A40 roundabout and turning immediately left.
Whitland has had a strong milk industry and, when the railway arrived in the 19th century, exported milk to London. Its dairy, run by Dairy Crest, eventually closed in 1994 with the loss of 100 jobs.[2]
Hywel Dda Centre
The Hywel Dda Interpretive Centre is a publicly funded culture centre. It has a garden using reclaimed stone. Hywel Dda is considered[by whom?] one of the most accomplished of Welsh rulers, minting his own coins, codifying the traditional Welsh Laws, and using his diplomacy to secure Wales at a particularly turbulent period.
Whitland also has a town council, consisting of elected or co-opted town councillors.[5] The town council elects a mayor annually, who acts as chair of the council.[6]
