Furnace, Carmarthenshire

Village in Carmarthenshire, Wales

Village in Wales

Furnace

* Welsh: Ffwrnes

Village

Raby’s Furnace

Furnace

Location within Carmarthenshire

OS grid reference| SN503013
Community|

* Llanelli Rural

Principal area|

* Carmarthenshire

Preserved county|

* Dyfed

Country| Wales
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Post town| LLANELLI
Postcode district| SA15
Dialling code| 01554[1]
Police| Dyfed-Powys
Fire| Mid and West Wales
Ambulance| Welsh
UK Parliament|

* Llanelli

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament|

* Llanelli

List of places

Wales
Carmarthenshire

51°41′24″N 4°10′01″W﻿ / ﻿51.690°N 4.167°W﻿ / 51.690; -4.167

Furnace (Welsh: Ffwrnes) is a village near the town of Llanelli in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales.[2] It is named after the furnace built by Alexander Raby before the village was established. The main furnace remains but is neglected and in ruin.

Before the name 'Ffwrnes' or 'Furnace' was evident, the small hamlet was called 'Cwmddyche'; this consisted of a few farmsteads and Bryn-y-môr house, which is Stradey Park Hotel today. The village is at the mouth of a valley in which the Afon Cille flows. Llyn Trebeddrod or Furnace Pond is also within the village boundaries, and was constructed as a reservoir to serve the furnaces.[3]

It is under the authority of Carmarthenshire County Council and Llanelli Rural Council.[4]

## Stradey Park hotel controversy

[edit]

In 2023 the village came under the limelight when plans were announced that its 4-star Stradey Park Hotel would be used to accommodate asylum seekers. These plans led to the dismissal of 95 staff from the hotel.[5] The Furnace Action Committee was formed to oppose the plans and led protests outside the site. Counter-protests were led by the Llanelli branch of Stand Up to Racism with support from TUC Cymru.[6] Incidents at some protests on the site led to arrests and charges.[7] Some reports linked far-right groups with the protests.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Llanelli – UK Codes – The Phone Book from BT". Thephonebook.bt.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
2. ^ Carmarthenshire County Council: Area and density of Community Wards Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Llanelli Community Heritage on Furnace and its furnace. Archived 15 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Llanelli Rural Council
5. ^ "Stradey Park Hotel: Ninety-five staff to be made redundant". BBC News. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
6. ^ Harries, Robert (12 July 2023). "'There is no racism here' - neighbours of asylum seekers hotel". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
7. ^ Jones, Branwen (11 July 2023). "Four charged after protest at hotel set to home asylum seekers". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
8. ^ "Stradey Park asylum seeker uncertainty fuels fear in Furnace". BBC News. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.