Laugharne, St Martin

The parish church of Laugharne is a large cruciform building with a huge square tower supported by pointed arches. It has been a place of worship since Norman time, and it was restored in the 15th century and again in 1873. Within the church is a Celtic cross-slab, painted nave ceiling, brass chandelier, and many memorials. The church also owns a 15th century Italian brocade cope, though this is not on display.

Dylan Thomas Grave

Poet Dylan Thomas, who made Laugharne his home from 1949 until his death in 1953, is buried outside St Martin's church. It took us a bit of a search to find Thomas's grave, which is not signposted in any way that we could see. The grave is in the upper churchyard, to the right of the main path to the church, where all the gravestones appear modern.

The Thomas grave stands out amid a sea of stone grave markers, for its simplicity. The grave is marked only by a wooden cross, painted white, upon which is inscribed the name of Dylan Thomas and the year of his birth and death on one side, and on the other the name and dates for his wife Caitlin, who outlived him by some 40 years. It is interesting to see that visitors to the grave have placed coins and shells on the arms of the cross.