St Clears Town Council

St Clears Town Heritage Trail

Click here to download and Print a Map and Info

Track 4 - The Old Police Station

Heritage Project comes together
Designer Phil Wait, Town Mayor Cllr Jane Rees, Town Clerk Catrin Bradley and Project Co-ordinator Councillor Phil Rogers

St Clears Town Heritage Trail was developed to help promote the rich history and culture of the town and to create a focal point for residents and visitors to learn more about the local environment. The trail follows public highways and footpaths and enables you to visit the main sites of historic interest in St Clears. It takes you on a guided walk of approximately 1.5 miles that links the new and older communities of St Clears in a structured way. This trail leaflet is intended to give you a brief overview of the sites of interest and to provide you with a map of the route that you will follow. There are twelve interpretive panels in all and each panel has a QR code providing a link to additional information on each location. An audio trail has also been created to enhance the experience and headsets are available from the Gate Craft Centre during opening hours.

You can follow this walk through time and trace the story of St Clears, picking out some highlights along the way. The first panel is located at the Old Market square where you will find a wooden sculpture depicting the Rebecca Rioters and an information panel describing the town’s links with their activities in the Nineteenth Century (1). The next two panels are located at the town War Memorial (2/3) where those who were killed in both World Wars are listed along with a plaque to a local hero and noted fighter pilot from the First World War – Captain Ira Jones. An overview and map of the Trail are located in the town car park (4). By following the route under the bridge on the dual carriageway on to Peillac Way, you will find two panels (5/6), one that illustrates the wildlife to be found on this picturesque riverside walk and another that outlines the history of St Clears in Medieval times. Please take care as this section of the path is sometimes liable to flood at high tide.

Designer Phil Wait and Project Co-ordinator Councillor Phil Rogers.

At the southern end of this walk, you will find the Priory Church of St Mary Magdalene (7), a beautiful 12th-century building that has a chancel arch of Norman Romanesque design. Opposite the handsome lychgate is the Town Hall (8), the regular meeting place of the Corporation in the 19th Century and the location of the market in the town in the 1800s. The site of the Norman Motte and Bailey Castle and evidence of the Town’s defences can be found at Banc y Beili (9/10), where the motte or mound rises to 12 metres – one of the tallest in Wales. The trail ends at the town quay where panels (11/12) outline and illustrate the story of St Clears Port, the riverside and Wharves that existed during the 19th and were still active in the early part of the 20th century.

We encourage you to follow the Blue Boar waymarkers to the Town Quay and hope you enjoy the experience. You can return by retracing your original route or, if you wish to return by bus, the 222 service is available - please check times on the timetable located near the map in the Car Park at location 4. If you have an Audio Trail headset, please remember to return this to the Gate Craft Centre.

Special Thanks

St Clears Town Council is greatly indebted to Mr Don Benson for the information and research that was essential to create the Heritage Trail.

We are also very grateful to Steven John for his knowledge about the war memorial in St Clears, for more information please see: http://www.wwwmp.co.uk/carmarthenshire/st-clears-war-memorial/
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