St. Mary's

St Mary’s, the Parish Church of Burry Port, is the finest building in the town and a landmark for miles around. It was a gift to the people of Burry Port by the Elkington Family of Birmingham who came to the town in the mid nineteenth century to establish a copperworks industry near the harbour. The growing town needed a new church to serve both an exploding population in this area of the ancient parish of Pembrey and also a workforce who had moved to the area and who could not speak Welsh. The completed large and well proportioned Church, built in a beautiful French gothic style, was opened on 9 December 1877. Its Architect was Wilson, Wilcox & Wilson of Bath and the job cost just £7,000! The Church remained a ‘Chapel of Ease’ of the parish of Pembrey until it became the Parish Church of the newly created parish of Burry Port with Pwll in 1959. Today, Burry Port is one of the largest parishes in the St David’s Diocese and continues to grow.

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity Church serves the nearby village of Pwll on the eastern side of Burry Port. Also originally part of the parish of Pembrey, this Edwardian mission church was built in 1904 following the use of both the Police Station and School Room for worship in this part of the parish – over three miles from the Parish Church of St Illtud in Pembrey. The land for the Church (on Elgin Road) was given by Arengo Jones, the Squire of Cilymaenllwyd, who was also the architect for the Church. The chancel and porch were added in 1925. For a large part of its existence, Holy Trinity has been cared for by a curate of Burry Port, resident in Pwll, one of whom was the infamous John Richards who later became Bishop of St Davids (and returned to preside over the first Confirmation service ever to be held in Holy Trinity on 21 March 1965). The view from the top of the churchyard in Pwll, overlooking the Loughour Esturay and Gower Peninsula, is outstanding and well worth the climb!