Editing Lampeter

{{Short description|University town in Wales}}
{{about|the town in Wales|the place in the United States|Lampeter, Pennsylvania}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                     = Wales
| static_image_name           = llanbedr1451lg.jpg
| static_image_caption        =
| welsh_name                  = Llanbedr Pont Steffan
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Ceredigion (Assembly constituency)|Ceredigion]]
| map_type                    = 
| official_name               = Lampeter
| community_wales             = Lampeter  <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lampeter-tc.gov.uk/|title=Lampeter Town Council &#124; Cyngor Tref Llanbedr Pont Steffan}}</ref>
| unitary_wales               = [[Ceredigion]]
| population                  = 2970
| population_ref              = (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11125379&c=SA48+7JN&d=16&e=62&g=6491428&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1431358553556&enc=1|title=town and electoral division population 2011|access-date=11 May 2015}}</ref>
| lieutenancy_wales           = [[Dyfed]]
| constituency_westminster    = [[Ceredigion Preseli (UK Parliament constituency)|Ceredigion Preseli]]
| post_town                   = LAMPETER
| postcode_district           = SA48
| postcode_area               = SA
| dial_code                   = 01570
| os_grid_reference           = SN578478
| coordinates                 = {{coord|52.1202|-4.0821|display=inline,title}} 
| module=  {{Collapsible list
| framestyle=border:none;text-align:center; padding:0; |title=Community map
|1=[[File:Wales Ceredigion Community Lampeter map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
}}
}}
'''Lampeter''' ({{IPAc-en|'|l|æ|m|p|ə|t|ər}}; {{langx|cy|Llanbedr Pont Steffan}} (formal); ''Llambed'' ([[colloquial]])) is a town, [[Community (Wales)|community]] and [[electoral ward]] in [[Ceredigion]], [[Wales]], at the confluence of the [[River Dulas|Afon Dulas]] with the [[River Teifi]]. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after [[Aberystwyth]] and [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]], and has a campus of the [[University of Wales Trinity Saint David]]. At the 2011 Census, the population was 2,970. Lampeter is the smallest [[college town|university town]] in the United Kingdom. The university adds approximately 1,000 people to the town's population during term time.

== Etymology ==
The Welsh name of the town, ''{{lang|cy|Llanbedr Pont Steffan}}'', means "Peter's church [at] Stephen's bridge" in reference to its church and castle. Its English name derives from this, as does the colloquial Welsh name ''{{lang|cy|Llambed}}''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mills|first=A. D.|title=A Dictionary of British Place-Names|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|isbn=9780198527589|location=Oxford|pages=}}</ref> An alternative English spelling occurs as "Thlampetre" in 1433.<ref> Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; CP40/689, year: 1433; image seen on the website of the Anglo-American Legal Tradition: http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no689/aCP40no689fronts/IMG_0739.htm ; second entry, line 2</ref>

==History==
[[File:Town Hall - High Street (geograph 3455223).jpg|thumb|left|[[Lampeter Town Hall]]]]
The [[Norman architecture|Norman]] timber castle of ''Pont Steffan'' ("Stephen's bridge" in English) occupying a strategic position beside the River Teifi was destroyed in 1187 after it had been conquered by [[Owain Gwynedd]] and was not rebuilt.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FhArAAAAMAAJ|page=13|title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica|volume=6|year=1974|publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |isbn=9780852292907 }}</ref>

Cardiganshire was one of the royal counties established by [[Edward I of England|Edward I]] after the defeat of [[Llywelyn ap Gruffudd]] (''Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf'') at [[Cilmeri]] in 1282, when Lampeter fell under direct royal control. But this had little effect on the town, and the [[Welsh language]] and [[Culture of Wales|culture]] continued to thrive. The first [[market charter]] was granted in 1284 to Rhys ap Meredydd who was given the right to hold a weekly market. As many as eight fairs were also held each year under successive charters.<ref name="JGJ">Jenkins, J. Geraint. ''Ceredigion: Interpreting an Ancient County.'' Gwasg Careg Gwalch (2005) pg. 27.</ref>

The town was ruled by a local aristocracy who lived in elegant mansions, including Brynhywel, Maesyfelin and the [[Lloyd baronets]] of Peterwell. As magistrates, they handed out the severest of penalties to offenders. The fairs and markets had become rowdy occasions with violence and drunkenness, and the [[stocks]] and [[whipping post]] in front of [[Lampeter Town Hall]] were frequently put to use in the 18th century.<ref name="JGJ" />

The town developed the crafts, services and industries to cater to the needs of the rural area. There were several woollen mills, one of which in the mid-18th century was already producing the complex double-woven tapestry cloth later to become associated with the [[Welsh woollen industry]]. There were also blacksmiths, a leather tannery, carpenters, saddlers, bootmakers and hatters. The town was one of the main centres on the Welsh [[drovers' road]] which carried cattle and sheep on foot to the markets in England. A large number of inns point to the town's importance as a rural centre.<ref name="JGJ2">Jenkins, J. Geraint. ''Ceredigion: Interpreting an Ancient County.'' Gwasg Careg Gwalch (2005) pg. 29.</ref>

Lampeter's war memorial, sculpted by [[Goscombe John|Sir William Goscombe John]] (1860–1952), was unveiled in September 1921.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/6813|title=Lampeter|publisher=Imperial War Museum|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>

==University==
{{Main|University of Wales Trinity Saint David}}
[[File:View of St. David's College.jpeg|thumb|The college {{circa|1835}}]]
St David's College was founded in Lampeter in 1822 by [[Thomas Burgess (bishop, born 1756)|Thomas Burgess]], Bishop of St David's, to provide training for those wishing to join the Anglican priesthood. It was the first institution of higher education in Wales and the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge. In 1852 it was granted a charter to award the [[Bachelor of Divinity]] (BD) degree, and in 1865 another charter enabled it to confer BA degrees in [[liberal arts]].<ref name="JGJ2" /> Its central building, based on an [[Oxbridge]]-style [[Quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangle]], was designed by [[Charles Robert Cockerell]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_VQEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|title=Redbrick: A Social and Architectural History of Britain's Civic Universities|page=54|first= William|last= Whyte |year= 2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0192513441}}</ref>

In 1971, it became a constituent part of the [[University of Wales]] as St David's University College and was renamed the University of Wales, Lampeter, in 1996. In 2008, the Lampeter institution's original charter was used to reform higher education in West Wales with the integration of Trinity College Carmarthen, further education colleges in Cardigan and Llanelli, and the technical college known as Swansea Metropolitan into the [[University of Wales Trinity Saint David]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uwtsd.ac.uk/about/history/|title=History|publisher= University of Wales Trinity Saint David|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>

In January 2025 Trinity St David finalised plans to stop using the Lampeter campus for university teaching and relocate its courses, staff and students to Carmarthen.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78x4l9lk43o|first=Bruce|last=Sinclair|title=University education at Wales’ oldest campus ends|work=[[BBC Wales]]|date=23 January 2025|access-date=24 January 2025}}</ref>

The university's [[Rugby Union]] team was the first in Wales. It was formed in the 1850s by [[Rowland Williams (theologian)|Rowland Williams]] who introduced the game from Cambridge.<ref>{{cite web |title=Celebrating the roots of Welsh rugby |url=https://www.wru.wales/2016/03/celebrating-the-roots-of-welsh-rugby/ |website=[[Welsh Rugby Union]] |date=22 March 2016}}</ref>

==Governance==
There are two tiers of local government covering Lampeter, at [[Community (Wales)|community]] (town) and [[Principal areas of Wales|county]] level: Lampeter Town Council (Cyngor Tref Llanbedr Pont Steffan) and [[Ceredigion County Council]] (Cyngor Sir Ceredigion). The town council meets at the Creuddyn Building on Pontfaen Road.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meetings of the Council |url=https://lampeter-tc.org.uk/index.php/en/town-council/documents-forms#174-197-2024 |website=Lampeter Town Council |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Lampeter was an [[ancient parish]], which included rural areas as well as the town itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lampeter Ancient Parish / Civil Parish |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10199797 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref> The town was administered as a [[Ancient borough|borough]] from at least the time of [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] (reigned 1307–1327).<ref name=Kelly>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Monmouthshire and South Wales |date=1895 |page=352 |url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/337714/rec/7 |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref> A [[Municipal borough#Municipal Corporations Act 1835|government survey of boroughs in 1835]] found that the borough corporation had very few powers. The borough was therefore [[Unreformed boroughs in England and Wales 1835–1886|left unreformed]] when the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] reformed most ancient boroughs across the country into [[municipal borough]]s.<ref>{{cite book |title=First Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Part 1 |date=1835 |page=283 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/First_Report_of_the_Commissioners_Appoin/7pNRAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=RA1-PA283&printsec=frontcover |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

The old corporation continued to operate, but was ineligible to take on any further functions. In order to provide more modern forms of local government, a [[Local board of health#Local Government Act 1858|local government district]] was created in 1866 with an elected local board.<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into Municipal Corporations not subject to the Municipal Corporations Acts |date=1880 |page=54 |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Report_of_the_Commissioners_Appointed_to/iHMvAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA54&printsec=frontcover |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23108|page=2704|date=1866}}</ref> The local board and old borough corporation then existed alongside each other until 1884, when the town was issued a new [[municipal charter]] formally incorporating it as a municipal borough. The reformed borough council took on the functions of the abolished local board.<ref name=Kelly/> The [[Local Government Act 1894]] directed that parishes were no longer allowed to straddle borough boundaries, and so the parts of Lampeter parish outside the borough became a separate parish called Lampeter Rural.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cardiganshire: Diagram showing administrative boundaries, 1971 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/241241647 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref> Lampeter Rural was abolished in 1987 and divided between several neighbouring communities.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Langston |first1=Brett |title=Cardiganshire Central Registration District |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/cardiganshire%20central.html |website=UKBMD |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>

The borough of Lampeter was abolished in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]]. A community called Lampeter was created instead, covering the area of the abolished borough. District-level functions passed to [[Ceredigion District Council]], which was in turn replaced in 1996 by Ceredigion County Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|accessdate=6 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government (Wales) Act 1994|year=1994|chapter=19|accessdate=9 October 2022}}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Theatr Felinfach.JPG|thumb|[[Theatr Felinfach]]]]
* Lampeter's local Eisteddfod, ''Eisteddfod Rhys Thomas James Pantyfedwen'', is held annually over the August bank holiday.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eisteddfod Rhys Thomas James Panyfedwen|url=http://www.lampeter-tc.gov.uk/community/rtj-eisteddfod|website=Lampeter Town Council}}</ref> It is particularly noteworthy for its competition for singers under the age of 30, colloquially known as ''Llais Llwyfan Llambed'' ('the voice of Lampeter's stage').<ref>{{cite web|last1=Evans|first1=Janet|title=Llais Llwyfan Llambed|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru/canolbarth/safle/llambed/pages/llais_llwyfan_llambed.shtml|website=bbc.co.uk/cymru}}</ref>
* [[Lampeter Museum]] covers the cultural and agricultural development of the town as well as the history of the college.<ref>{{cite web|title=Museum celebrates Lampeter's rich history|url=http://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/news/press-releases/press-releases-2014/museum-celebrates-lampeters-rich-history-.html|website=uwtsd.ac.uk|accessdate=12 February 2017|archive-date=13 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213090342/http://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/news/press-releases/press-releases-2014/museum-celebrates-lampeters-rich-history-.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Theatr Felinfach]], a small regional theatre located outside the village of [[Ystrad Aeron]] in Dyffryn Aeron, about 7 miles from Lampeter.<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 December 2018|title=Public to get say on £4.5m theatre plan|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-46642557|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref>
* During the [[Second World War]], [[Dylan Thomas]] and his wife Caitlin lived at Plas Gelli, a secluded mansion just outside [[Talsarn, Ceredigion|Talsarn]].<ref>D. N. Thomas, ''Dylan Thomas: a Farm, Two Mansions and a Bungalow'', Seren, 2000.</ref> The [[Dylan Thomas Trail]] links Talsarn and Lampeter with the other places in Ceredigion associated with the poet, such as [[Aberaeron]] and [[New Quay]].<ref>The Dylan town trail is described clearly in the following bi-lingual booklet, available at Tourist Information Centres in Ceredigion and online at [https://www.discoverdylanthomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Dylan-Thomas-Trail-Leaflet.pdf town trail] There's also a photographic guide to the town trail at [http://www.newquay-westwales.co.uk/trail.htm  The Dylan Thomas Trail in New Quay.] S. W. Rhydderch's ''Rock Climbing in Silk''  includes work that provides a poetic introduction to the town (Seren 2001).</ref>
* In 1968, [[Julian Cayo-Evans|William Julian Cayo-Evans]] first marched his [[paramilitary]] [[nationalist]] '[[Free Wales Army]]' from Lampeter.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00hdf42|title=Young nationalists of the FWA go on the march|date=6 June 2011|newspaper=BBC|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>
* The [[Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lampeter|Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel]], a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Church, is Grade II listed and is considered a fine example of mid-20th century church architecture.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Attached Presbytery (RC), Lampeter, Ceredigion |url=https://cadwpublic-api.azurewebsites.net/reports/listedbuilding/FullReport?id=10424 |access-date=13 March 2023 |publisher=Cadw}}</ref>

== Notable people ==
[[File:Elin-jones.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Elin Jones]], 2021]]
* [[Eliezer Griffiths]] (1827–1920), a Congregationalist minister, worked in Australia and America
* [[David Thomas (missionary priest)|David Thomas]] (1829–1905), a Welsh clergyman helped found a Welsh church in the [[Welsh settlement in Argentina]].
* [[John Perowne (army officer)|John Perowne]] (1863–1954), a British Army officer and a [[King's Messenger]] 
* [[Watcyn Samuel Jones]] (1877–1964), agricultural administrator and theological college principal.
* [[Glyn Daniel]]  (1914 in Lampeter Velfrey – 1986), a Welsh scientist and archaeologist who taught the European [[Neolithic]] period
* [[Gillian Elisa]] (born 1953), a Welsh actress, singer and comedian.
* [[Elin Jones]] (born 1966), politician, the [[Llywydd of the Senedd]] (presiding officer) since 2016.

==Sport==
Lampeter has a strong sporting community, which includes [[Cwmann]] and [[Llanybydder]]. Many sports are played in the town, with [[rugby union]] being the most popular. Lampeter fielded the first [[rugby union]] team in Wales. The sport is believed to have arrived in the late 1840s, meaning the town has a very long tie and history with the sport. The town is represented by [[Lampeter Town RFC|Lampeter Town Rugby]] which is a member of the [[Welsh Rugby Union]] and is a [[feeder club]] for the [[Scarlets|Llanelli Scarlets]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/3877085.stm |title=Wales' regional rugby map |author=BBC News |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=2004-07-08 |accessdate=2008-05-31}}</ref>

Many other sports are played in the town, including association football, with the town being represented by a football team, their pitch being directly next to the main pitch of Lampeter Rugby Club. The football team has junior teams as well as a 1st and 2nd team. The town is served by a leisure centre, which has a gym, the main hall and modern tennis facilities. The town has a swimming pool and also a [[bowls|bowling green]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dewis.wales/ResourceDirectory/ViewResource.aspx?id=29936|title=Lampeter Bowls Club|publisher=Dewis Cymru|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>

==Transport==
{{Main|Lampeter railway station}}
[[File:Aberayron Light Rly.png|thumb|In 1911, a branch line opened to [[Aberayron railway station|Aberaeron]]]]
In 1866, transport in Lampeter was greatly improved with the opening of the railway linking {{rws|Carmarthen}} and {{rws|Aberystwyth}}. In 1911, a branch line opened to [[Aberayron railway station|Aberaeron]]. Following the nationalisation of the railways, the passenger service to Aberaeron ceased in 1951. Passenger trains on the main line to Carmarthen and Aberystwyth continued until December 1964 when the track was badly damaged by flooding south of Aberystwyth and through trains were suspended. This was the era of the "[[Beeching Axe]]" and it took little political persuasion to decide that the cost of repairs would be unjustified. The remaining passenger services were withdrawn. [[Milk train]]s continued to the processing factories at Pont Llanio until 1970, and Felinfach until 1973. The line was eventually lifted in 1975. However, the section of the old line between [[Bronwydd Arms railway station|Bronwydd Arms]] and [[Danycoed Halt]] still exists and is used by the [[Gwili Railway]], a steam railway preservation society which operates a regular timetable during summer months.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/raib-reports/fatal-accident-at-bronwydd-arms-station-on-the-gwili-railway |title=Fatal accident at Bronwydd Arms station on the Gwili Railway |publisher=Rail Accident Investigation Branch|access-date=25 May 2015}}</ref>

Regular bus services operate through the town, connecting Lampeter to Aberystwyth, Carmarthen and Swansea. Two buses a day continue beyond Swansea, providing a through service to Cardiff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Lampeter-Wales/Cardiff|title=Lampeter to Cardiff|publisher=Rome to Rio|access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>

==Twinning==
Lampeter is [[town twinning|twinned]] with [[Saint-Germain-sur-Moine]], France.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9942 |title=''Lampeter'' and ''St Germain Sur Moine'', 2001, French seal of approval for town, Cambrian News, 15 February 2001 |access-date=6 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609155109/http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9942 |archive-date=9 June 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==See also==

* [[All Saints' Church, Cellan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Lampeter}}
* [http://www.lampeter-tc.gov.uk/ Town website]
* [http://tourism.ceredigion.gov.uk/saesneg/lampeter.htm Tourist information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115084836/http://tourism.ceredigion.gov.uk/saesneg/lampeter.htm |date=15 January 2013 }}
* [https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2756942 Photos of Lampeter and the surrounding area]

{{Ceredigion}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lampeter| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Ceredigion]]
[[Category:Wards of Ceredigion]]
[[Category:Wards of Dyfed]]
[[Category:Market towns in Wales]]
[[Category:Castles in Ceredigion]]