Laugharne Castle

Castle House in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, is a Grade II*–listed Georgian mansion. Described by Dylan Thomas as “the best of houses in the best of places”, it is one of many buildings of note in the medieval township. The house was built around 1730, although remodelled inside and out in the Regency period. It features a three-storey, five-bay facade, with the central three bays projecting slightly. The central doorway is surmounted by a pediment; above it are tripartite windows, with the uppermost one in the Venetian style. A broad cornice on the facade conceals the slate roof. Several wings, lower than the main body of the house, project to the rear, one of which dates to the original 18th-century construction. The interiors are mainly of the Regency period and later but include the only example in Carmarthenshire of a Chinese Chippendale staircase.There were formerly a number of outbuildings to the rear of the house, as can be seen in the first-edition Ordnance Survey County Series map (Carmarthen, XLV.14, 1889), and the grounds of Laugharne Castle were formerly landscaped to serve as the house's garden. Two of the surviving outbuildings have been converted to a bed and breakfast and a restaurant. Although the castle is now in the guardianship of Cadw, its title is still with the house. Until recently Castle House was in the ownership of the Starke family, who had held it since the early 19th century, although it is now the private residence of David Thomas and Abi Thomas, daughter of the local artist David Petersen. The house has long had artistic links, as Richard Hughes wrote In Hazard (1938) while living there, and Dylan Thomas wrote Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog (1940) while staying with Hughes.

Laugharne Town Hall (Welsh: Neuadd y Dref Talacharn) is a municipal building in Market Street in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The structure, which is the meeting place of Laugharne Corporation, is a Grade II* listed building.

Laugharne (Welsh: Talacharn) is a town on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tâf. The ancient borough of Laugharne Township (Welsh: Treflan Lacharn) with its Corporation and Charter is a unique survival in Wales. In a predominantly English-speaking area, just on the Landsker Line, the community is bordered by those of Llanddowror, St Clears, Llangynog and Llansteffan. It had a population at the 2011 census of 1,222.Laugharne Township electoral ward also includes the communities of Eglwyscummin, Pendine and Llanddowror.Dylan Thomas, who lived in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953, famously described it as a "timeless, mild, beguiling island of a town". It is generally accepted as the inspiration for the fictional town of Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. Thomas confirmed on two occasions that his play was based on Laugharne although topographically it is also similar to New Quay where he briefly lived.

Island House is a Grade II* listed, partly Tudor, sub-medieval townhouse located in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, in southwest Wales. It sits below the castle between the two mouths by which the River Corran enters the Tâf estuary, known locally as "Earth Lake" and "Mill Orange". The frontage now ranges along Wogan Street but was formerly set in a walled garden. Built principally of stone, the earliest parts date from the 15th century, with additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The grading status signifies a building of exceptional interest and it is the oldest residence in the township. The historic importance of whole site is shown by separate listings of its garden, walls and outbuildings.Laugharne was a seaport from the early Middle Ages and the first owners of Island House traded goods from the adjoining Gosport Harbour at the head of the Corran navigation. It could then shelter 350-ton vessels but capability slowly declined as the inlet's tidal prism was reduced by siltation at the basin entrance. Eventually an extensive saltmarsh developed across the foreshore and by 1950 the ancient channels were no longer passable and now only provide moorings for recreational craft.

The Great House in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, is a Grade II*–listed early eighteenth century gentry residence in the Queen Anne style and is one of many buildings of note in the medieval township. The property was originally built with a central 'dog-leg' passage to the Double Pile plan with gable chimneys under two saddle roofs. Its interesting features include two carved round arches to the landing at first floor level, a small inset square-headed window to the central gable and an exceptional Baroque doorcase. The history of the house and that of its surroundings up to 1878 was chronicled by Mary Curtis.

The River Cywyn (Welsh: Afon Cywyn) is a river that flows through Carmarthenshire, south Wales. It rises some seven miles west-north-west of Carmarthen and flows in a southerly direction to join the River Tâf near its estuary.

St Odoceus' Church, Llandawke, is a redundant church situated in a hollow near the road between Llandawke and Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It has been designated by Cadw as a Grade II listed building, and is under the care of the Friends of Friendless Churches.

Coygan Cave was an ossiferous cave near Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, Wales. The cave was about a mile from the sea and located in a limestone hillside, but has been destroyed by quarrying.Although prehistoric handaxes were found in the cave, there were no human bones. Three triangular handaxes (bout coupé) suggested that the cave had been used by Neanderthals some time between 64,000 and 38,000 years BCE. These axes were made of local materials. The cave was subsequently a den for hyenas, and was described by zoologist George Rolleston, prior to his death in 1881, as "the most perfect instance of a hyena den" he had seen. Rev G N Smith, a correspondent of Charles Darwin, collected many of the bone samples from the cave. Some of the finds are now held by the National Museum of Wales and others by Carmarthenshire County Museum.

Llandawke is a small settlement in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated roughly 1 mile from Laugharne, toward Tenby.It contains the now redunandant 13th century church of St Odoceus, which lay within the parish toward nearby Laugharne.

Whitehill Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales.

The River Taf (Welsh: Afon Taf) is a river in West Wales. It rises in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, and continues through Carmarthenshire to Laugharne. It is one of the three rivers to enter the sea on the east side of Carmarthen Bay. The other two are the River Gwendraeth and River Tywi.