the ending -bury found in many English place names), referring to the small fort at North Hill Tor, or as it does elsewhere on the south Wales coast, to sand dunes, especially those associated with rabbit warrens (cf.

[5] Burry Port is a modern settlement, but the nearby village of Pembrey dates from the Middle Ages, as shown by the medieval tower of the Church of St Illtud.

People made a living in Burry Port from farming and fishing before the Industrial Revolution brought the railways and collieries to the area.

As Pembrey Burrows was a hazard to shipping, local people would also salvage what they could from boats wrecked in storms while navigating the Bristol Channel.

Pembrey sands have proved the final resting place of many ships, some by mishap, others it is said lured to their doom deliberately to provide plunder for the wreckers known as "Gwyr-y-Bwelli Bach" or "The Men of Little Hatchets".

They were named after the locally made tool, a hatchet incorporating a claw for ripping open cargo and equally useful for dispatching unwanted witnesses to the wreckers' activities.

[7] From the late 18th century a network of canals and then tramways grew up to carry coal from inland mines to the sea.

The canal cut through the marshes allowing boats to travel upstream far enough to reach solid ground where quays could be built.

Fed by a series of chaotic canals and wagonways it finally offered a way to ship Gwendraeth coal out by sea.

By 1840, the canals feeding Burry Port and their tramways fed coal from the entire Gwendraeth valley down to the sea.

The canal network was now unable to handle the loads from the Gwendraeth valley mines and part of the canal network was converted into the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway by the late 1860s with the port continuing to grow in importance and shipping volumes.

In 1848 a copper works was opened on a site adjacent to the harbour, and became a major employer and a key feature in the growth of the town.

[11] Carmarthen Bay Power Station was built on the north shore of the Burry Estuary, occupying some 220 acres.

Pembrey and Burry Port railway station remains, with regular services east via Swansea and Cardiff to London and west into Pembrokeshire.

[14] As a result of the rapid growth of the town, in 1903 Burry Port was made its own urban district and civil parish.

[22] On 17 June 1928, Amelia Earhart flew to Newfoundland as a passenger, with pilots Wilmer "Bill" Stultz and Louis "Slim" Gordon in a Fokker F.VIIa/3m named Friendship, a type of seaplane known as a floatplane.

She then flew the aircraft, arriving safely after 20 hours 40 minutes in Burry Port, making her the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic.

[23] An Amelia Earhart festival was held in June 2003 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the landing, and the event is commemorated by engraved flagstones and a plaque in the harbour.