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From The Cambrian 4th March 1892
LLANGYFELACH FAIR. WHAT A FALLING OFF WAS THERE ! AND ITS CAUSES. [BY "GADABOUT."] I have again patronised Llangyfelach Fair, and am more convinced than ever that in the course of another ten years or so it will either have had its day and ceased to exist, or be as small, un- interesting and unimportant as it was once great. The march of progress and civilisation is telling a tale upon Llangyfelach Fair, once so famous for its figs, flannel, beer and mud—commodities without which this annual event never seemed complete especially with regard to the mud! Time was, and not very long ago either, when people from Carmarthenshire, Breckonshire and all the country round flocked to Llangyfelach on the 1st and 2nd of March. They thought naught of its inaccessible and awkward position, and of the cold winds which blow so freshly and fiercely and bitingly over the mountains. It was to them the Fair of the year. To miss it was to miss a great gathering of South Wales country-folk and an inquisitive lot of "townies;" to lose the bargains so profusely and temptingly offered in flannels and figs, and the "sights "so common to every fair with any pretensions to importance and popularity. But cheap and quick railway travelling, by which we can visit towns and cities, and witness great sights, all in one day, and the formation of smaller fairs in almost every village above the average size, are seriously affecting the "turn-out." Gowerton can now boast of a Fair where real Welsh flannel can be bought at a fair price where horses and cattle are sold, and where showmen congregate in goodly numbers. Now, what comparison is there between Gowerton and Llangyfelach? One is easily and quickly get-at-able by two important railways it is one of the chief centres of a large and increasingly populous district, and is not exposed in any way to the wintry blasts. The other is on the top of a bleak mountain; away from the "rush of the madding crowd," out of the reach of the noise and bustle of industry, without the slightest communication by railway with anywhere. In fact, Llangyfelach is a "one-eyed'' place, and how the Fair ever came to be held there is one of those things which "no fellah can understand." Then again there are the Pontardawe and Clydach Fairs, growing year by year, and easy to get at. It is but natural, therefore, that the erstwhile famous Llangyfelach Fair should grow smaller by degrees and beautifully less every time it is held. And this diminishing process was noticeable in a marked degree this year. What a roaring business used to be done ia flannel at Llangyfelach ..... (part extract of a very long article).......