Furnace, Carmarthenshire

Furnace (Welsh: Ffwrnes) is a village near the town of Llanelli in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales.[2] Furnace is named after the furnace built by Alexander Raby before the village was established. The main furnace remains but is neglected and in ruin.

Furnace
Village
An old, brick furnace with overgrown vegetation.
Raby’s Furnace
Furnace is located in Carmarthenshire
Furnace
Furnace
Location within Carmarthenshire
OS grid referenceSN503013
Community
  • Llanelli Rural
Principal area
Preserved county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLLANELLI
Postcode districtSA15
Dialling code01554[1]
PoliceDyfed-Powys
FireMid and West Wales
AmbulanceWelsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament

Before the name 'Ffwrnes' or 'Furnace' was evident, the small hamlet was called 'Cwmddyche' which consisted of a few farmsteads and Bryn-y-môr house, which is Stradey Park hotel today. The village is at the mouth of a valley in which the Afon Cille flows. Llyn Trebeddrod or Furnace Pond is also within the village boundaries, and was constructed as a reservoir to serve the furnaces.[3]

It is under the authority of Carmarthenshire County Council and Llanelli Rural Council.[4]

Stradey Park hotel controversy

In 2023 the village came under the limelight when plans were announced that its 4-star Stradey Park Hotel would be used to accommodate asylum seekers. These plans led to the dismissal of 95 staff from the hotel.[5] ‘Furnace Action Committee’ formed to oppose the plans, leading protests outside of the site. Counter protests have been led by the Llanelli branch of Stand Up to Racism with support from TUC Cymru.[6] Incidents at some protests on the site have led to arrests and charges.[7] Some reports have linked far-right groups with the protests.[8]

References
  1. "Llanelli – UK Codes – The Phone Book from BT". Thephonebook.bt.com. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  2. Carmarthenshire County Council: Area and density of Community Wards Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Llanelli Community Heritage on Furnace and its furnace. Archived 15 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Llanelli Rural Council
  5. "Stradey Park Hotel: Ninety-five staff to be made redundant". BBC News. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. Harries, Robert (12 July 2023). "'There is no racism here' - neighbours of asylum seekers hotel". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  7. Jones, Branwen (11 July 2023). "Four charged after protest at hotel set to home asylum seekers". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. "Stradey Park asylum seeker uncertainty fuels fear in Furnace". BBC News. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.