A very large milk stand. Central in the farmyard. Blocks with metal rim. Steps each side. h 78cm w 525cm d 188cm ///static.evaded.directors

This stand was used by Bremenda Uchaf, Bremenda Ganol, Pistyllcelyn, and Danyrallt, Llanarthne.  Built in the 1950s to replace a freestanding stand. 

Pistyll-Celyn was the last farm to use it, finishing on 3 April 1977.  The photo with the milkchurn lorry was the last collection and shows Mr Gerwyn Jones exchanging final words with the lorry driver. 

The positions of the three farms can be seen on the aerial photographs, with Bremenda Uchaf in top left, Bremenda Ganol on the right and Pistyllcelyn on the south side of the B4300.  The aerial photos were taken in 1967 and 1971. 

History of Bremenda Uchaf, Ganol and Pistyllcelyn – written by Mr Eirwyn Bennett in March 2026. 

The two semi-detached 'Bremenda' houses were originally named Abermenda in the 1600's. 

Bremenda Uchaf was originally part of the Cawdor Estate. At the end of the First World War, the County Council arranged to lease the land in order to establish smallholdings for returning soldiers. The farm was then divided into three.

The main holding was split into two to form Bremenda Uchaf and Bremenda Ganol, while buildings across the main road were adapted to create Pistyllcelyn. In time, a new house was built there for the tenants.

My grandparents, newly married, were the first to move to Bremenda Ganol in September 1921. Soon afterwards, the Davies family from Pencader settled next door. The following year, the Jones family from Llangeler came to Pistyllcelyn, though they had to live in part of the farm buildings until their house was completed.

The last of the Jones family left around 1966 or 1967. My mother bought Bremenda Ganol in 1922, and in 1949 she brought my father there when my grandparents retired. I was born on the farm in 1955, and my parents remained there until they retired in October 1983.

What is perhaps remarkable is that Gareth, a grandson of the original Davies family, is still farming Bremenda Uchaf with his wife, Ann. He has also acquired the neighbouring farm and is now considering his next move. In many ways, this marks the end of three generations farming there. He has, in fact, worked both Bremenda farms.

The three farms formed a close and self-reliant community. We shared many happy times, especially at harvest, when we helped one another. They are very fond memories.

Returning to the milk stand—

In August 1968, John Davies, Gareth’s father, installed a herringbone milking parlour at Bremenda Uchaf, which brought an end to the use of churns there.

In 1971, we built a new cowshed for 36 cows and installed a pipeline milking system with a bulk tank. Before that, we had been milking in three separate buildings. My father, however, had no interest in installing a parlour.

At Pistyllcelyn, Mr Gerwyn Jones—who was not related to the original Jones family—installed a pipeline and tank in 1977. He retired to the village in 1989.

As far as I can recall, the surviving milk stand in the photos, was built in the mid-1950s to serve the three farms, as well as a smallholding called Danyrallt in the valley, which supplied two churns each day. The site is now occupied by the Cwtsh y Clôs nursery.

Before the stand was built, each of us had smaller structures made from railway sleepers. I remember them clearly from my childhood, before they were eventually dismantled after standing unused for many years.

My father, Raymond Bennett, won first prize at the Royal Welsh Show at Gelli Aur in 1961 for the tidiest smallholding in the county section. He took immense pride in the farm, particularly in the condition of the machinery—nothing was ever left out in all weathers. He was also the last farmer in the valley to continue growing potatoes and keeping poultry. I remember schoolchildren coming to watch the combine at work.

Farming, however, never appealed to me, much to his disappointment.