Kidwelly

Kidwelly is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, southwest Wales, approximately northwest of the most populous town in the county, Llanelli. In the 2001 census the community of Kidwelly returned a population of 3,289, increasing to 3,523 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the River Gwendraeth above Carmarthen Bay. The community includes Mynyddgarreg and Llangadog. History The earliest written form of the name, 'Cetgueli', is recorded by the monk, Nennius, writing in the 9th century. One theory is that the name means the land, territory, or kingdom of Cadwal. Another theory is that the name is the combination of the two words Cyd (joint) and Gweli (bed), i.e., the joining of the two river beds Gwendraeth Fawr and Gwendraeth Fach, wherein Cydweli lies. The town itself is ancient and is shrouded in mystery of its founding, but the most popular theory is that it was founded by local warlords since the area was part of the Ystrad Tywi, it was likely invaded by Cunedda and his sons during a campaign to kick the Irish settlers out, but this ultimately failed with Cunedda either surrendering or being killed by the locals with antiquarian sources suggesting his death was at Allt Cunedda.