Some Captured History of Glanamman and GarnantThe Jolly TarLegend has it that Jolly Road at Garnant was named after an Inn known as the Jolly Tar, which was supposedly sited at the roadside not far from Neuadd Mill. Cwmamman at that time is said to have been a remote valley which lay within a forest that stretched from Brynamman to Pontardulais. The Jolly Tar is said to have been frequented by highwaymen and other villainous types who preyed upon the coaches that travelled from England to Carmarthen, waylaying them at lonely places between Brecon and Llandovery. After relieving the travellers of their money, they would then make their way to the Jolly Tar at Garnant to hide from the king's soldiers. It is said that one winter's night, the Innkeeper and his wife were murdered by being pushed into the wood furnace. The villains who committed the heinous crime then made off with their money and were never found. Today, there is no evidence that the Jolly Tar ever existed and only the name "Jolly Road" serves to remind us of the legend. Information for this page was taken from an article
written by a member of the Amman Valley Historical Society; the name
of the person is unknown. |