The Church in Wales parish church is a Grade II* listed building dedicated to St Egwad, a 7th-century bishop in Wales. The tower, probably the earliest part, dates from about 1400. The north aisle was added in the 16th century. The building was restored in 1861, when further windows were added.[2] The only indication of a previous church further up the valley is in the name of a farm: Bryn-Yr-Eglwys ("Hill of the Church").
In 1844 Llanfynydd was a parish of 11,000 acres and 1,358 inhabitants in Cathinog Hundred. By 1929 the population was down to 581.[3]
D. Jones, a local clergyman, established a day school in Llanfynydd in 1738, for 20 children.[3]
The number of pupils at the school had fallen to 11 by September 2013, with a deficit of £50,000, and Carmarthenshire County Council warned that the school would close if numbers fell below 10.[4]
However, in December 2014 the BBC reported that though the school had no pupils, it could not be closed until the county council had held a consultation and a vote on the issue.[5]
In July 2004, in protest over plans to erect a wind farm nearby, the residents of Llanfynydd renamed their village Llanhyfryddawellehynafolybarcudprindanfygythiadtrienusyllafnauole
("lovely silent church, ancient place of the rare kite under wretched threat from misplaced blades") for the space of one week.[6]
The protest went ahead despite assurances from the local council and from the Spanish-owned developers Gamesa Energy UK (part of Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica) that the single wind turbine planned was intended merely as a test to see how suitable the area might be for wind turbines in the future.
John Dyer (1699–1757), a painter and Welsh poet who became a priest in the Church of England
Thomas Rees (1815–1885), Congregational minister and historian of nonconformity, was born at Pen Pontbren, Llanfynydd; twice elected to chair the Union of Welsh Independents.[8]
