AmmanfordWelsh: Rhydaman Stadium

Ammanford (Welsh: Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. the built-up area had a population 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger.

According to the 2001 census, 75.88% of the population were 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. Ammanford 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.

History

The town of Ammanford is a relatively modern settlement. It was originally known as Cross Inn, named after an inn that was located at a location where a number of roads converged. During the nineteenth century, as a result of the growth of both the tinplate and anthracite coal trades, a village grew around the Cross Inn (which later became known as Ammanford Square).

As the settlement expanded, prominent residents came to the view that its name should be changed since there were a number of other places named Cross Inn in Carmarthenshire alone. In 1880, a number of public meetings were held, and in November 1880 it was resolved that the name Ammanford (i.e. "ford of the River Amman") adopted. The meeting was chaired by Watcyn Wyn. It took several years for the new name to be widely adopted, but the decision of the Great Western Railway to change the name of the Cross Inn station to Ammanford in June 1883 was welcomed by residents and tradesmen.