The Protestant Reformation was imposed on Wales by the government of Henry VIII (reigned AD 1509-47). Henry needed to ensure Welsh loyalty because he feared revolt in Ireland, which was very close to Wales, and which remained almost entirely Catholic.

All Welsh abbeys, friaries and religious establishments were dissolved in 1539. In Carmarthenshire, the abbeys of Whitland and Talley, Kidwelly Priory and Carmarthen’s Priory and Friary were closed. The lands of the Knights Templar in Carmarthenshire were also confiscated. The reforming bishop, William Barlow, transferred his palace from St David’s, which he described as ‘a desolate and barbarous corner of Wales’, to Abergwili.

During the short reign of Edward VI (reigned 1547-53), in another wave of Protestant reform, church plate, books and paintings belonging to the religious houses and churches of Carmarthenshire, were looted and destroyed. Only one item of religious plate survives today in Carmarthenshire. In the reign of the Catholic Queen Mary (reigned 1553-8), Robert Ferrer, bishop of St David’s became the most prominent Protestant martyr. He was burned at the stake in Carmarthen in 1555 for heresy.