Caggle Street, near Llanvetherine
Caggle Street, near Llanvetherine
Caggle Street is a tiny hamlet near Llanvetherine (Llanwytherin in Welsh), c.10km north west of Abergavenny.
Today the Old Ross Road (the B4521) here is always neat, but the name Caggle Street is thought to mean “road littered with sheep-dung”. It contains the Welsh word cagl or cagal – meaning “dung, especially of sheep or goats”. The same word is found in other place-names such as Tre-gagle (Pen-allt, near Monmouth) and Pentre-cagal (Coychurch), near Bridgend.
The English word street was once often applied to important highways and agricultural lanes. The Offa’s Dyke Path follows the road for a short distance through Caggle Street.
With thanks to Richard Morgan, of the Welsh Place-Name Society