Ammanford, Carmarthenshire

Ammanford is a town and community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population 5, 293 according to the Office for National Statistics, increasing to 5, 411 at the 2011 census. Located at the end of the Amman Valley, Ammanford is a former coal mining town and serves as the main shopping centre for many villages in the surrounding area. According to the 2001 census, 75. 88% of the population are competent in the Welsh language, compared to roughly 61% in Carmarthenshire as a whole and 21. 8% in Wales as a whole. Ammanford is served by the A483 and A474 roads and Ammanford local railway station is a stop on the Heart of Wales Line with trains to Llanelli and Swansea to the south and Shrewsbury to the north. Ammanford is twinned with Breuillet, Essonne. HistoryAmmanford took its current name on 20 November 1880. The community that existed then and now known as Ammanford dates back to around the early 19th century. At that time the main highways went through the area, not to it. The north-south road from Llandeilo and Llandybïe went to Betws, and the east-west road from the Amman Valley went to Penybanc and Tycroes, and further afield, both converging at a crossroads (now Ammanford Square). This in turn led to the development of coaching inns or staging inns and taverns catering for the needs of the traveller. The area eventually became identified by the name of one of these hostelries — Cross Inn.

Ammanford is a town and community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population 5, 293 according to the Office for National Statistics, increasing to 5, 411 at the 2011 census. Located at the end of the Amman Valley, Ammanford is a former coal mining town and serves as the main shopping centre for many villages in the surrounding area. According to the 2001 census, 75. 88% of the population are competent in the Welsh language, compared to roughly 61% in Carmarthenshire as a whole and 21. 8% in Wales as a whole. Ammanford is served by the A483 and A474 roads and Ammanford local railway station is a stop on the Heart of Wales Line with trains to Llanelli and Swansea to the south and Shrewsbury to the north. Ammanford is twinned with Breuillet, Essonne. HistoryAmmanford took its current name on 20 November 1880. The community that existed then and now known as Ammanford dates back to around the early 19th century. At that time the main highways went through the area, not to it. The north-south road from Llandeilo and Llandybïe went to Betws, and the east-west road from the Amman Valley went to Penybanc and Tycroes, and further afield, both converging at a crossroads (now Ammanford Square). This in turn led to the development of coaching inns or staging inns and taverns catering for the needs of the traveller. The area eventually became identified by the name of one of these hostelries — Cross Inn.