Creepy Carmarthen

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

O straeon rhyfedd a syfrdanol i chwedlau tywyll sy'n codi ofn, mae hanesion Nick Brunger o orffennol Caerfyrddin yn datgelu gwirionedd dychrynllyd y dref hynafol hon a'r sir o'i chwmpas. Mae'r straeon hyn yn gwneud darllen tywyll, gan gynnwys dyn a gafodd ei grogi ddwywaith, esgob a gafodd ei losgi ac uchelwr twyllodrus.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

From the weird and wonderful to the macabre and frightening, Nick Brunger's tales of Carmarthen's past reveal the spine-chilling truths about this ancient town and the surrounding county. The man who was hung twice, a bishop burnt at the stake and a traitorous nobleman. Their dark stories provide grim reading.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

In-stock items will be dispatched within 3 business days, usually by Royal Mail Tracked 48. For pre-orders, we’ll dispatch within 3 business days of receiving the item from our supplier.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

As a St. Peter’s boy, born within earshot of the parish church bells, I was very pleased to be asked to review this work. I have always taken an interest in the history of the town, in particular its printing industry. My awareness of Carmarthen’s colourful historical background was first raised at Ysgol Gymraeg in the mid-1950s, when our teacher often took us on walking tours around the town, pointing out historical landmarks such as the plaque where Bishop Ferrar was burnt at the stake and Sir Rhys ap Thomas’s tomb in St. Peter’s Church. My late father also instilled in me an appreciation of Carmarthen’s history, and for many years he compiled a popular local history quiz in the local press. As a result many, if not all, the stories related in this book were familiar. My schoolteacher’s guided walks tended to ignore Carmarthen’s less savoury past, and rather concentrated on the good people of the town. We were not told about the drinking culture, murders, prostitution and executions! Nick Brunger began to tell his rather more colourful tales in his version of a guided walk, entitled ‘The Creepy Carmarthen Tour’, and these form the basis of this fascinating book. The town was certainly rather a wild place, especially in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and mob violence and public hangings were not infrequent occurrences. The town’s 150 public houses rather fuelled many of the troubles. During my teenage years in the 1960s, it certainly remained more than lively on Saturday nights, as the townies and the country boys we called boskins often fought in Lammas Street, or outside the dances in the barracks. But the local bobby, the legendary late PC Ronw James, had his inimitable way of dealing with any troublemakers. Brunger writes passionately about his adopted town, and how earlier troublemakers were far less fortunate in their treatment by the authorities. But he writes sympathetically and is often very understanding of what drove many residents to commit relatively minor crimes for which the punishment was often severe and terminal; and he provides explanatory historical context to the riots and unrest that frequently occurred. He also deals with several less savoury characters, such as General Sir Thomas Picton, who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo and remains commemorated by an impressive monument and street names. Creepy Carmarthen will appeal not only to the residents of Carmarthen, but also to a much wider audience. But it is not recommended that it is read at bedtime, unless you enjoy serious nightmares!