0:00:01 > 0:00:02Carmarthen.
0:00:02 > 0:00:07From here it looks a sleepy place, on the curve of a meandering river.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10But for centuries, this was the biggest town in Wales.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Carmarthen was a bustling centre of commerce and culture,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17and the lifeblood of the town was the River Towy,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19once packed with ships.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23As well as a busy trading port, Carmarthen was a holy place,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26a hotbed of rebellion,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30a town that has produced desperate criminals and outstanding sportsmen.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40It is also a place that has spawned mystical tales of sorcerers
0:00:40 > 0:00:42and magic oak trees.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44But the true history of Carmarthen
0:00:44 > 0:00:47is far more fascinating than any myth.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09The story of Carmarthen begins with the Romans. Around 75 AD
0:01:09 > 0:01:13they took one look at this river crossing, eight miles inland,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18overlooked by easily defended high ground, and said, "We'll take it."
0:01:18 > 0:01:21The Romans recognised Carmarthen's strategic importance.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25As the lowest of bridging point on the River Towy
0:01:25 > 0:01:27it was the gateway to West Wales.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And its location at the river's tidal limit meant it
0:01:31 > 0:01:33could also be reached by sea.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37The Romans built a fort here, and later a walled town which
0:01:37 > 0:01:40became a magnet for local traders and craftsmen.
0:01:40 > 0:01:41Along with Caerwent,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45this was one of just two towns the Romans built in Wales.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47They called it Moridunum.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50You may think the name comes from the mystical Myrddin,
0:01:50 > 0:01:51or Merlin in English,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53but there is no wizardry to this.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The Romans simply took the Celtic words for sea - "mor" -
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and fort - "dunos" -
0:01:59 > 0:02:01and made them, with a Latin tweak, "Moridunum".
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Over the years Moridunum becomes Myrddin,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07stick another fort, "Caer", in front, mutate it a bit,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09"Caerfyrddin."
0:02:12 > 0:02:16The Romans also left something else behind, something rather unexpected.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22It is up here, just tucked away off the road to Llandeilo.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28An amphitheatre.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Only one of seven in Britain,
0:02:30 > 0:02:35which shows the importance of this place as a Roman regional centre.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38When it was full this place would have rung with the cheers
0:02:38 > 0:02:41and roars of 4,000 to 5,000 people.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Maybe it is the start of our passion for contact sport.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48After the Romans,
0:02:48 > 0:02:53the next people to stamp their mark on Carmarthen were the Normans.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57In 1109, Henry I of England built a castle here.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01There were others in the area but they belonged to mere barons.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03This was a royal castle.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06And it was put here to show the locals who ran the show
0:03:06 > 0:03:08in this part of the world.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Just as a community had grown up around the Roman fort which
0:03:16 > 0:03:19was now known as the old town, so the Normans created
0:03:19 > 0:03:22a community here, around the castle, the new town.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26The new Norman town thrived economically.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29But the old town was still a rich cultural centre.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Historians believe that it was in the Priory there
0:03:32 > 0:03:36that the Black Book of Carmarthen was transcribed in the 13th century.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39It is now treasured as one of the earliest
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and most important surviving manuscripts in the Welsh language.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49In 1546, the two towns were amalgamated by Royal Charter.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51The newly united Carmarthen was booming.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54500 years ago the River Towy
0:03:54 > 0:03:58would have been busy with ships bringing in goods from the sea,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02picking up fresh cargo, connecting local farmers
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and tradesmen with markets in Bristol, Devon, and France.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08By the 16th century, Carmarthen,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11with its thriving port had become the biggest town in Wales.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Records of what was coming in and out of the port still survive today.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19What have we got here?
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This is a very important transcript of the Welsh port books.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26The Welsh port books were basically the custom returns
0:04:26 > 0:04:28for the whole of Wales.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32What we are looking at here is the returns in the book
0:04:32 > 0:04:37for the period Michaelmas 1556 to Michaelmas 1567.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Let's look at these two vessels.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41There's the Marie John of Carmarthen,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and the Nitingall of Carmarthen. They have both come from France.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46The Marie John has landed salt,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51and the Nitingall has landed Gascony, 24 tonnes of Gascony.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53So it has landed wine.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56That is basically wine from what we would call Bordeaux.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59But for the salt, the salt is going to be used in a number of trades.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Obviously for the farming community it is important for butter, for
0:05:03 > 0:05:05salting hams, but it is also used
0:05:05 > 0:05:08in the sort of woollen industry as well.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10The Michael, the Matthew, the Nitingall,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12does that suggest it is a busy place?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Carmarthen is very, very important
0:05:15 > 0:05:19for the whole economy of the region, so right the
0:05:19 > 0:05:22way up, 20 or 30 miles away, places as far as Llandovery,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25if you are manufacturing wool out to there it is going to
0:05:25 > 0:05:28come down to Carmarthen, a very busy, bustling place.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36And with bustling trade came a thirst for knowledge.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41In 1725, the first press in Wales moved here. Others soon followed,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44making Carmarthen the most bookish town in the country.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Outside Lammas Street meeting house there is a plaque to one
0:05:50 > 0:05:53of the town's most prolific printers,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55John Ross and his collaborator
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Peter Williams did not play by the book when it came to taking on
0:05:58 > 0:06:02the powerful academic establishments of Oxford and Cambridge.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Ross and Williams wanted to publish a Welsh language bible that
0:06:07 > 0:06:11everyone could afford, but there was a snag, only Oxford and Cambridge
0:06:11 > 0:06:16had the authority to publish a bible, as they held the copyright.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Methodist minister Peter Williams had a cunning plan.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Peter Williams discovered a loophole.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28In other words, if a bible was published with explanatory notes,
0:06:28 > 0:06:30he could get away with it.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35The other thing was that people could not afford a bible.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37They were too poor to afford a bible.
0:06:37 > 0:06:43So what he did was to publish this in parts. 15 in all.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47So that you were able, much as you have these days, you know,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51these publications coming out in monthly issues or whatever.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55And it built up into a complete copy of the Bible.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59The Peter Williams Bible was such a success that 18,000 copies
0:06:59 > 0:07:01were printed during his lifetime,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04spreading the scripture through the chapels and homes of Wales.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08And all thanks to a few footnotes.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10The Welsh language has deep roots in Carmarthen.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14The town has played a key part in shaping the modern Eisteddfod.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19The colourful pageantry of the festival can be traced back
0:07:19 > 0:07:24to 1819, when Iolo Morganwg linked his Society of poets,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26known as the Gorsedd of the Bards,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30with the Eisteddfod, for the first time, in Carmarthen.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34But all this ceremony
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and culture only tells half the story of the town.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38It also had a dark side.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42During the 18th and 19th centuries it was notorious as
0:07:42 > 0:07:46one of the most corrupt and violent boroughs in Britain.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The Guildhall, the scene of many clashes between the towns two
0:07:49 > 0:07:52political factions, the Whigs and the Tories.
0:07:52 > 0:07:571831, election year, a mob twice stormed the Guildhall,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01beating up clerks and threatening to kill anyone who dared to
0:08:01 > 0:08:03vote for the Tory candidate.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Carmarthen made history that day is the only town in Wales to have a
0:08:06 > 0:08:11parliamentary election cancelled because of violent disorder.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17And there was more to come.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21A decade later, gangs of men dressed in women's clothing roamed
0:08:21 > 0:08:26Carmarthenshire, destroying toll gates which taxed road users.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29These were the Rebecca Riots.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33But toll houses like this one on the western edge of town were
0:08:33 > 0:08:35only the straw that broke the camel's back.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38The poor in the countryside were already suffering from high
0:08:38 > 0:08:41rents and bad harvests.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Squeezed on all sides, the farmers of South West Wales had had enough.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50They joined forces to fight back,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53rallying to a very unusual clarion call.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00This conch is called "Crag End Becca", or "Rebecca's shell".
0:09:00 > 0:09:03It had been hidden for generations by a local family who feared
0:09:03 > 0:09:07they would he locked up or transported to Tasmania,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11if the authorities ever discovered that it had once been
0:09:11 > 0:09:15blown as a call to arms, during the Rebecca Riots.
0:09:18 > 0:09:19WHEEZING
0:09:23 > 0:09:24I am quite dizzy now!
0:09:24 > 0:09:27BUGLE EFFECT
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Come on, rioters!
0:09:33 > 0:09:37By 19th June 1843, over 1,000 protesters marched
0:09:37 > 0:09:40into Carmarthen, heading for the Guildhall, were they would deliver
0:09:40 > 0:09:44a list of demands and grievances to the mayor and magistrates.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46But they never got there.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50A mob broke away and came straight here, Carmarthen workhouse, having
0:09:50 > 0:09:53forced the master of the workhouse to open the gates,
0:09:53 > 0:09:54they stormed inside.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59They all came in, hundreds of them, by all accounts.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01They began throwing beds out of the window,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04pushing over the furniture, trying to burn the place down.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07And so it was a serious riot.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Why did they choose the workhouse?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Why did they pick on the place that had least?
0:10:11 > 0:10:14The workhouse was very unpopular.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Families were divided, the mothers were taken from their children
0:10:17 > 0:10:20and the husbands and wives weren't allowed to live together,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and the food, apparently, in Carmarthen Prison
0:10:23 > 0:10:25was much better than it was in the workhouse,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29so if you wanted a symbol of oppression and dereliction,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31go for the workhouse.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Those imprisoned for their part in the workhouse riot
0:10:35 > 0:10:37served their time in the county jail,
0:10:37 > 0:10:38which stood on this site,
0:10:38 > 0:10:41now occupied by the council headquarters.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Nothing remains of the jail,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45but a volume known as the Felons Register
0:10:45 > 0:10:49can be found in the Carmarthenshire Archives.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- John, it's a mighty tome. - It is, yes.- What do we have here?
0:10:52 > 0:10:59It is the Felons Register for Carmarthen Gaol from 1844-1870.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02This is the register of all the people that were incarcerated there.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06It comes complete with photographs. Who did all this?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Well, the photographs were taken by the governor of the jail
0:11:09 > 0:11:11at the time, George Stephens.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13He was just interested in photography.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15They do turn out to be some of the earliest,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17if not the earliest, mugshots in Britain.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- 2CMHL.- Yeah, two calendar months' hard labour.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- What was he doing?- Stealing clothes.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26There's a chap there from France.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Stealing a pair of boots.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31- He looks very French. - He does, doesn't he? Yes, yeah.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Does that suggest that Carmarthen offered rich pickings
0:11:34 > 0:11:37- and word got out? - Well, yeah, I mean,
0:11:37 > 0:11:39it was a relatively cosmopolitan place at the time.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42There was more trade going on here, so probably more opportunities
0:11:42 > 0:11:46for people to come up here and steal and rob.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Two favourites of mine -
0:11:48 > 0:11:52John Evans and Daniel McCarthy.
0:11:52 > 0:11:5413 and 14.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Attempting to steal strawberries.
0:11:56 > 0:11:5814 days' hard labour.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And three years in reform school. I mean, they didn't even
0:12:02 > 0:12:04get the pleasure of eating the strawberries.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06They just attempted to eat them.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08There's one very notorious woman
0:12:08 > 0:12:10in Carmarthen who was named Anne Aubrey,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12and from her early twenties
0:12:12 > 0:12:16she was recorded in the census as a "seamstress",
0:12:16 > 0:12:18which is a euphemism for a prostitute,
0:12:18 > 0:12:24but her main crime was permanently drunk and disorderly, and violent.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26And she's so drunk on occasion,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29she was actually unconscious on the streets.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32And in one case, the policeman arrested her
0:12:32 > 0:12:34by borrowing a wheelbarrow
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and wheeling her down King Street to the police station.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42The main crime, I think, in Carmarthen was drunkenness.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44It is now and it was then.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47In its heyday, Carmarthen proudly claimed
0:12:47 > 0:12:50to have more pubs per head than anywhere else in Wales.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55It still enjoys something of a reputation as a boozer's paradise.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57During one 19th century election,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00a prospective Parliamentary candidate plied locals
0:13:00 > 0:13:03with 25,000 gallons of ale,
0:13:03 > 0:13:0711,000 bottles of whisky and 500 bottles of cider.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09They drank the lot.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12And voted in his rival.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17But Carmarthen was changing. During the 19th century,
0:13:17 > 0:13:20the town lost something of its Wild West feel,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24as developers embarked on a programme of civic improvement.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26A number of important landmarks sprang up,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31including Trinity College, St David's Lunatic Asylum,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34as it was called then, and the imposing Picton Monument,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37put up in memory of Sir Thomas Picton,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Governor of Trinidad, and the most senior officer to die at Waterloo.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44And in 1852, the railway came to town.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46This spelled the beginning of the end
0:13:46 > 0:13:48for Carmarthen's life as a port.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Steam power was driving not just trains,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55but an industrial revolution that would leave Carmarthen behind.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58By the end of the 19th century,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01the town that had once been the biggest in Wales
0:14:01 > 0:14:03was now only the 24th largest.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07If the people of Carmarthen were dismayed
0:14:07 > 0:14:09at the changing fortunes of their town,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13they didn't let it show. In 1900, they celebrated
0:14:13 > 0:14:17the dawn of a new century by building this civic park.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20And they fitted it out with a state-of-the-art facility
0:14:20 > 0:14:24for enthusiasts of a new, action-packed high speed sport.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37When this velodrome was built,
0:14:37 > 0:14:41the country was in the grip of cycling fever.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42We still are.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46The bicycle as we know it today, with its chain-driven gears
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and pneumatic tyres, was only invented in the late 19th century.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55By 1900, cycling enthusiasts were pushing this new creation
0:14:55 > 0:14:58to its limits, in competitions held at Carmarthen Park,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01watched by hundreds of spectators.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10But more sombre times were to follow.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Like every other town across Wales, Carmarthen suffered
0:15:13 > 0:15:16losses during the First and Second world wars.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19A snapshot of the town during the Second World War is
0:15:19 > 0:15:21captured in a unique volume
0:15:21 > 0:15:23belonging to the family of Alec Richards.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I have to say, this is one of the most interesting books
0:15:27 > 0:15:31I have ever seen. It's a remarkable record.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34- It is a remarkable book, actually. - Isn't it just?- It is.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Tell me, how did it come about?
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Well, my mother, during the war,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44she kept this diary. She started it at the beginning of the war.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Carmarthen was an important centre for the recruitment
0:15:48 > 0:15:49and training of troops.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52And Alec's family home overlooked Ystrad Playing fields,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55where soldiers were billeted during the war.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Among them were many American GIs.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01We had tremendous fights. The local boys are losing
0:16:01 > 0:16:02all their girlfriends, you see.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05They were young, had their nice uniforms and plenty of money.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10I remember catching my sister in a home-made tent up in the woods.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13There was this Yank she'd got friendly with.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16Rather upset her.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21These sketches, done by a GI. These are extraordinary.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Whoever it was obviously became one of the family,
0:16:24 > 0:16:28as far as my mum was concerned.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30She was artistic as well.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32That's what encouraged it, I think.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37April 1944, so it's two, three months before D-Day,
0:16:37 > 0:16:38so we don't know...
0:16:38 > 0:16:42- Half these guys were probably killed, you see.- Yeah.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53- It's a book out of which the spirit of the age comes.- Truly, it does.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Now, we know Carmarthen had earned its place in the electoral history
0:16:58 > 0:17:01books, thanks to its fondness for a good old riot,
0:17:01 > 0:17:06but in 1966, it rocked the political establishment once again.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10In March of that year, Lady Megan Lloyd George had been
0:17:10 > 0:17:14elected as Labour MP for Carmarthen, with 21,000 votes.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Plaid Cymru candidate Gwynfor Evans had come third,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20with just 7,000 votes.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Plaid had never won a parliamentary seat,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25but Lady Megan's death a few weeks later prompted
0:17:25 > 0:17:28a by-election that would change everything.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33Gwynfor's son, Guto, was roped in to help with the campaign.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35This election was a special election.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40We noticed that there was something happening that people we knew,
0:17:40 > 0:17:44old liberals, old liberal families, were prepared to say,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48"Oh, this time we are considering voting Plaid."
0:17:48 > 0:17:51We knew that we were in for a good chance to become a good second
0:17:51 > 0:17:55- and that's what we were campaigning for.- But only second?
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Yes, and we thought that the Liberals
0:17:58 > 0:18:01were main contenders for second place.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Our tactics were to ensure that the Liberals didn't have much publicity.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09There was a poster war going on between us
0:18:09 > 0:18:13and we caught some liberals taking down our posters in Johnstown
0:18:13 > 0:18:17and we chased them through the town
0:18:17 > 0:18:19and this was at three or four o'clock in the morning.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22On election night, Gwynfor Evans made history
0:18:22 > 0:18:25when he was voted in as Plaid Cymru's first MP,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29with a majority of 2,500 votes.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30They opened those sash windows.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33There isn't a door coming out to the balcony,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36they had to step over the windowsill to come out.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38It was announced from up there.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43The square was full of people.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48The whole place just erupted. It was like a volcano.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51There was a little silence and then, whoosh.
0:18:51 > 0:18:57Everybody started jumping up and down and shouting and laughing and crying.
0:18:57 > 0:19:03A lot of people... My sister just broke down and wept.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06She had to be comforted up in the corner up there by people.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09She just couldn't take it.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14It changed modern Wales. It changed the political scene altogether.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Carmarthen was punching above its weight through the 1960s and 1970s.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22Not only did it transform British politics, it also produced
0:19:22 > 0:19:26more than its fair share of sporting heroes and they were moulded here.
0:19:26 > 0:19:27It's a bit overgrown now,
0:19:27 > 0:19:31but this is the rugby pitch of the old Queen Elizabeth Grammar School.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34The school produced some of the greats of Welsh rugby,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38including Roy Bergiers, who scored the crucial try in Llanelli's
0:19:38 > 0:19:42legendary 1972 victory against the All Blacks.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44The crossbar!
0:19:48 > 0:19:50You did churn out player after player.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Was it the milk of the famous Carmarthenshire countryside?
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Could well be. We had a mixture of
0:19:57 > 0:20:00boys from gwlad and boys from prifddinas -
0:20:00 > 0:20:04boys from the country and boys from the town.
0:20:04 > 0:20:10We had big, stocky farmers and you had the nippy...jinky backs
0:20:10 > 0:20:13who had to run away from the farmers.
0:20:14 > 0:20:1910:30 on a Saturday morning, people were coming down from the residential
0:20:19 > 0:20:24areas around and they would be lying on the banks up at the top there.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27You'd have parents, schoolboys.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30It was a big occasion.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It was like watching first-class rugby.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38You have Ray Gravell and he was, believe it or not, scrum-half
0:20:38 > 0:20:43and I was in the centre then, playing on these fields, watching Gerald.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48When I was in sixth form, Gerald was having his trials and then I found it
0:20:48 > 0:20:52very surreal that, a few years later, I was joining him in the Welsh team.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Carmarthenshire has continued to produce the cream of Welsh rugby.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02We've had five people on the last tour
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and we were with the Welsh Grand Slam team.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08That's Steve Jones, Mike Phillips,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12although Mike Philips was from Whitland Grammar School.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Rhys Priestland, Ken Owens and Jonathan Davies.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20They're all from the Carmarthen area. We're still churning them out.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24But to see it today, overgrown and unkempt,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28it does put a lump in my throat.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Bergiers going for the line. Bergiers it is all the way.
0:21:32 > 0:21:37Aye, the '70s was a magical time for Welsh rugby, but in 1978,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40a different kind of magic was causing concern
0:21:40 > 0:21:41for the people of Carmarthen.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Behind me once stood the town's most mystical object -
0:21:46 > 0:21:52in the eyes of some, the very key to its destiny - Merlin's Oak.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55BBC reporter Vincent Kane visited the spot when the tree,
0:21:55 > 0:21:58or what was left of it, was still standing.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Known to the townspeople as Merlin's Oak.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06And attached to that old stump is a couplet, which reads...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17It turns out the old oak was a tree with a long history.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Well, an oak has stood here since at least the late 1600s,
0:22:20 > 0:22:25although the association with Merlin - or Myrddin - goes back possibly
0:22:25 > 0:22:26another thousand years.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Unfortunately, in the Victorian age, so they say,
0:22:30 > 0:22:36two locals meeting of an evening under the oak, canoodling as it were.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Some local puritan took it into his head to poison the tree.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Within living memory, you had this old withered tree
0:22:43 > 0:22:45in the middle of this major junction
0:22:45 > 0:22:48held up by concrete obstructing the view.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Numerous locals, myself included, had shunts on the junction.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Despite local fears that the felling of the oak would lead to
0:22:55 > 0:23:00the downfall of the town, in 1978, road safety came first.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03It was moved and the junction changed
0:23:03 > 0:23:07and where the old oak used to stand, there is now just
0:23:07 > 0:23:09a romantic mini roundabout.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Today, one fragment of the oak is kept in St Peter's Hall.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18It's displayed in an upright position, of course,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21and so far, so good - the town's still standing.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25The lush Towy valley has long been renowned for its dairy cattle
0:23:25 > 0:23:27and the abundant milk they produce.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31For centuries, the dairy industry was one of Carmarthen's
0:23:31 > 0:23:33great success stories.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37For a town which boasted the biggest dairy cattle market in Britain
0:23:37 > 0:23:41and two creameries, milk was big business.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42SHOUTING
0:23:42 > 0:23:44But in 1984,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48local farmers were furious when the European Union imposed quotas
0:23:48 > 0:23:51limiting the amount of milk they could produce.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55They organised a protest that would bring Carmarthen to a standstill.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58One of them planned to make the event truly epic.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03I phoned my friend, Enid Jones, who was a neighbour and suggested
0:24:03 > 0:24:05that perhaps we could have a theme
0:24:05 > 0:24:08of Cleopatra, who used to bathe in milk.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13The news soon spread and before long we had 11 ladies willing to
0:24:13 > 0:24:15jump into the tubs with us.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18# Walk like an Egyptian... #
0:24:18 > 0:24:20And off we went to Carmarthen.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22It was early May and it was a cold day,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26so you can imagine sitting in a bath with very little clothes on.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29But I have to say, the excitement got us through.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35It was pandemonium.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39In the end, there was about 80 tractors and they completely
0:24:39 > 0:24:44snailed up the town as they started from one end to the other.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49And we were lucky that another kind neighbour, Mrs Marion Davies,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54went into a local pub and got us all a tot of whisky to warm us up.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Perhaps we were the first calendar girls, looking back on things!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01And when news broke a year later that Carmarthen District Council
0:25:01 > 0:25:04was building an underground control centre,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08which many believed would be used as a nuclear bunker reserved for public
0:25:08 > 0:25:11officials, the citizens of Carmarthen showed
0:25:11 > 0:25:13their rebel spirit once again.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15About 40 antinuclear protesters
0:25:15 > 0:25:17moved onto the site earlier this morning,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21settling in for what they say they are prepared to make a long stay.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25To build a bunker would be a provocative act.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27That was Rod Stallard 25 years ago.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31He was one of those who occupied the site for five weeks.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33They put a security fence.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38There were some of us who could climb the security fences quite easily.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41They had dogs there - I was attacked by a dog one day.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43I remember one morning,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46it was dark and I had a pair of overalls on and a flat cap
0:25:46 > 0:25:51and I just walked through the gate, complaining that my employers
0:25:51 > 0:25:54had got me out of bed early.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57The protest grew increasingly bitter,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00but opponents of the so-called bunker were vindicated
0:26:00 > 0:26:03when the local government ombudsman found the council had failed
0:26:03 > 0:26:07to follow its own planning procedures in building it.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Carmarthen had witnessed some truly historic events,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15but in 1997, it still had one surprise up its sleeve.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17On the day of the referendum to determine
0:26:17 > 0:26:21whether Wales should have its own Assembly, it was touch-and-go for
0:26:21 > 0:26:24the Yes camp, right up to the final announcement
0:26:24 > 0:26:25in Carmarthen Guildhall.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28HE SPEAKS WELSH
0:26:28 > 0:26:3326,000. So, I think that's a yes all round.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38It was the moment, which clinched the night for the yes campaign,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and which will ensure yet another place in the political history books
0:26:41 > 0:26:43for Carmarthen.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47The times were changing and Carmarthen was changing with them.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50For centuries, farmers had descended on Carmarthen on market day
0:26:50 > 0:26:55to buy and sell livestock, visit the shops, catch up with old friends.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59But market-day traffic had made the town's notorious
0:26:59 > 0:27:01congestion problems even worse.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Carmarthen's position as the lowest bridging point
0:27:04 > 0:27:08on the Towy meant the town was a bottleneck, particularly in summer.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11If you've ever motored down to South Wales on your holiday,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13you will know all about Carmarthen.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17Almost inevitably, you'll spend some time here stuck in a traffic jam.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Really, for most motorists, the main concern is getting
0:27:19 > 0:27:22out of Carmarthen, rather than hanging around.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25But people DID want to hang around, and in November 2000,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29to ease congestion, the mart was moved out of town.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33Many fear that the move has taken the heart out of Carmarthen.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Some of those keen to restore the town's vitality
0:27:38 > 0:27:43are pinning their hopes on Carmarthen's most mystical son.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46There are moves afoot now in Carmarthen to take more
0:27:46 > 0:27:49advantage of the Merlin brand, to hold a pageant here
0:27:49 > 0:27:52celebrating the legend of Merlin
0:27:52 > 0:27:57and to possibly have a massive lookalike event with perhaps
0:27:57 > 0:28:02thousands of people dressed up as Merlin, walking through this town.
0:28:02 > 0:28:03Only time will tell
0:28:03 > 0:28:07whether Carmarthen can ever conjure up a thousand Merlins.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10The old wizard may be more myth than man,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14but Carmarthen's historical legacy is very real.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18The town the Romans built here 2,000 years ago became the economic,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22administrative and cultural capital of South West Wales
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and two millennia later, that remains the case.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28But more than that, Carmarthen is a town
0:28:28 > 0:28:31with a fierce independent spirit.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32And a magic all of its own.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd