Although Laugharne is dominated by the Tāf estuary, the much smaller Corran river runs though the township and was probably originally know as Abercorran (mouth of the river Corran), though Talacharn had also been used in early references.

The earliest indications of human habitation in the area are the Beaker graves of bronze age times, which were found at Orchard Park and Coygan.

Traces of roman pottery have been uncovered during archiological excavations at Glan-y-mor and the castle, given there was a Roman fort at Carmarthen some Roman contact was likely.

Norman Influence

The Normans certainly left there mark on Laugharne in the form of a castle, one of a series that was built at strategic spots along South Wales. More importantly for Laugharne its castle formed part of the Landsker line streching across the southern half of Pembrokeshire, made up of Roch, Wiston, Haverford, Llawhaden, Narbeth and Laugharne. This influenced the language and architecture of the township which is english speaking in a predominantly welsh speaking part of Wales.

St. Martin's church is essentially a 13th century building, though its origin is in the 11th century.

The Corporation

In 1291, Sir Guy de Brian created a Corporation in Laugharne. which was administered by a portreeve and his court of aldermen and burgesses.

The term portreeve is derived from the Saxon word for market town 'Port' and 'Gerefa' meaning official. Dating back to 820 AD, the office is the only one now held by Act of Parliament although the office still exists in another eight towns in England. The chief duty of a Saxon Portreeve was to represent the King in legal transactions and he was often the only person who could read and write, especially when all legal documents were in Latin.

The Corporation is still in operation to this date, with court meeting every two weeks. The most senior 76 burgesses get a strang of land on Hugden for life, to be used in a form of mediaeval strip farming. The title of portreeve is conferred annually, with the Portreeve being sworn in on the first Monday after Michaelmas at the Big Court. The portreeve's chain of office is made up of solid gold cockle shells, one added by each portreeve, with his name and date of tenure on the reverse.

Another custom associated with the Corporation is the Common Walk (also known as beating the bounds), which occurs on Whit Monday every three years. This involves a sizable proportion of the local population walking around the boundaries of Laugharne Corporation as detailed in the charter of 1291. At strategic spots, someone is chosen and if they are unable to name the location, they are turned upside down and ceremonially beaten three times on the backside, in an effort to get the local population to be familiar with the boundaries of Laugharne I presume.

Laugharne has had a long association with the cockle industry, the cockles being harvested from the estuary mud flats. Its prominence seen in the cockle shell symbol being incorporated in the portreeves chain of office. A cockle factory once stood where there are now gardens beside the Strand.

The Castle

A castle is likely to have been built in Laugharne by the early 12th century. The existing castle can only be traced to the de Brian family who then owned the lordship of Laugharne in the late 13th century.

In 1488 the earls of Northumberland took over the ownership of the lordship and castle from the de Brians. In 1584, Elizabeth I granted Laugharne to Sir John Perrott, said to have been the illegitimate son of Henry VIII.

King Henry II visited Laugharne in 1172, King Street named in honour of his visit. His visit was to conduct negotiations with Lord Rhys, who controlled much of West Wales, getting him to acknowledge his client status to the English Crown, this probably occurred at the castle.

Laugharne may be the castle mentioned in about 1116 as the castle of Robert Courtemain, but the first definite reference to the Norman castle is in 1189 when, after the death of King Henry II, it was seized by the Lord Rhys, prince of Deheubarth. It attracted further hostility from the Welsh in 1215 when it was destroyed by Llywelyn the Great and later, in 1257, when it was again taken and burnt.

During the Civil War, Laugharne was captured by Royalists in 1644, but was quickly re-taken by besieging Roundheads. The castle was partially destroyed soon afterwards and gradually fell into decay.

The picture above shows the castle as it was before the restoration began in 1973.

Industry & Trade

In Elizabethan times Laugharne was considered quite large with over 90 houses, it was one of the six most important towns in Wales, far bigger than Cardiff and Llanelli, but things changed soon after the industrial revolution.

Flemish weavers settled in the lower part of the town during the 17th century, they possibly had a connection to the old cloth mill at the Lacques. Fishing and cockling were also major sources of livlihood for the township.

Before improved transport communications, Laugharne had been a thriving port, with trade to and from Bristol. At one stage Laugharne is reputed to have had 57 pubs and ale houses catering for the traders, mariners and fishermen, many of the houses in Laugharne still bear the names of these drinking places.