The Mail Coach Memorial

The Mail Coach Memorial is a memorial obelisk made of tooled grey limestone. It features a tall pedestal with long inscriptions on the front and right side, a square plinth, and a short obelisk on top. The front inscription states that this pillar is called the Mail Coach Pillar and was erected as a warning to mail coach drivers against intoxication. It commemorates the Gloucester & Carmarthen mail coach driven by Edward Jenkins on December 19, 1833, who was intoxicated and drove on the wrong side of the road at full speed. The coach collided with a cart, went over a 12-foot precipice, and crashed into an ash tree, breaking into several pieces. Notable individuals mentioned include Colonel Gwynn of Glanbrian Park, Daniel Jones Esq. of Penybont, a person named Edwards, David Lloyd Harries Esq. of Llandovery, a lad named Kernick, and John Compton, the guard.

The right side inscription includes a saying about willpower and assistance, noting that the pillar was suggested, designed, and erected by J. Bull, Inspector of mail coaches, with funding of thirteen pounds sixteen shillings and sixpence from forty-one subscribers in 1841. It also states that the work was executed by John Jones, a marble and stone mason from Llanddarog near Carmarthen, and that it was repainted and restored by postal officials in 1930. The memorial is enclosed by wrought iron railings from around 1930. The left side of the pedestal is plain tooled stone, while the rear is left rough.