Carmarthen Public Rooms

The Carmarthen Public Rooms stand in the centre of Carmarthen on the site of a former town house where Sir Richard Steele died in 1729. The building was designed by James Wilson of Bath and completed in 1854. It replaced The Ivy Bush Inn and later the premises of timber merchants, the Timmins family. Dr David Lloyd first proposed public rooms here in 1839. The front shows a five-bay, two-storey Italianate facade with a balustraded parapet and arched windows. The building became known as the Assembly Rooms and in 1918 the Carmarthen Journal announced it would be called The Lyric. The original first-floor auditorium has been replaced by a larger one built at the rear in 1936. The Lyric is one of the largest theatres in West Wales and presents theatre, touring shows, comedians and music. Since 2005 it has been owned by Carmarthenshire County Council. A trust led by Elizabeth Evans saved the building before this. Visitors enter through the Italianate front block and find the main auditorium to the rear. The 1936 auditorium is still in use today. The Lyric hosts a wide programme of performances throughout the year. The building remains an important cultural venue for the town. Its history reflects changes in Carmarthen’s public life over two centuries.