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100-574: Tregwynt woollen mill ( Melin Tregwynt ) lies in an isolated valley on the coast of Pembrokeshire . It is about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) from the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. The hipped and whitewashed rubble stone building has the date of July 1819 on a roof truss. It was originally a corn mill, and was converted to a woollen mill later in the 19th century. The mill was part of the Tregwynt estate . On

200-483: A borough in 1115, when Bernard , the first Norman Bishop of St Davids, was granted a charter by Henry I designating the lands of Dewisland as a Marcher Lordship . This gave Bernard wide-reaching powers over this realm, with his headquarters remaining initially at St Davids. However, subsequent Marcher Bishops came to base the administration of Dewisland, including the exchequer, chancery and court, in Llawhaden by

300-579: A local authority , whose administrative area is then considered to be the formal borders of the city. By this definition, the whole community area of St Davids and the Cathedral Close, including the settlement of St Davids, its surrounding rural area, and islands off the coast, is considered to be within the city. St Davids contains the lowest population of all the cities of the UK, and has the smallest urban area, at 0.23 sq mi (0.60 km ). However, with

400-536: A community based station. The city is served by the Haverfordwest-based newspaper, Western Telegraph . Ysgol Dewi Sant (St David's School) is the local secondary school covering years 7–13 (aged 11–18). Ysgol Bro Dewi (Dewisland School) is a Voluntary Controlled Primary School, with pupils from Reception to Year 6. The A487 road 's only non-primary section, between Fishguard and Haverfordwest , passes through St Davids. Heading southwest from Fishguard,

500-497: A fine cathedral and the remains of other magnificent religious edifices. The unique nature of the cathedral and the city was evident as late as the twentieth century. Following the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Cathedral Close was allowed to operate as its own civil parish, separate from that of the adjacent city for the next 50 years. With better transport links and

600-662: A flourishing wool industry . There are still working woollen mills at Solva and Tregwynt . One of the last few watermills in Wales producing flour is in St Dogmaels . Pembrokeshire has good soil and benefits from the Gulf Stream , which provides a mild climate and a longer growing season than other parts of Wales. Pembrokeshire's mild climate means that crops such as its new potatoes (which have protected geographical status under European law) often arrive in British shops earlier in

700-457: A mild climate and Tenby shows a similar range of temperatures throughout the year, while at Penycwm, on the west coast and 100m above sea level, temperatures are slightly lower. The county has on average the highest coastal winter temperatures in Wales due to its proximity to the relatively warm Atlantic Ocean. Inland, average temperatures tend to fall 0.5 °C for each 100 metres increase in height. The air pollution rating of Pembrokeshire

800-712: A number of Palaeolithic , Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, archaeological evidence suggests that Pembrokeshire was not heavily occupied by the Romans . As such, only one or two names in Ptolemy 's Geographia have been linked to the whole county. Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain , the area that would become St Davids was known in Ecclesiastical Latin as Meneva or Menevia and in Welsh as Mynyw . Some medieval texts state that

900-504: A petition was presented to the House of Commons concerning the poor state of many of the county's roads, pointing out that repairs could not be made compulsory by the law as it stood. The petition was referred to committee. People applying for poor relief were often put to work mending roads. Workhouses were poorly documented. Under the Poor Laws , costs and provisions were kept to a minimum, but

1000-471: A religious census of Pembrokeshire showed that of 70 per cent of the population, 53 per cent were nonconformists and 17 per cent Church of England (now Church in Wales , in the Diocese of St Davids ). The 2001 census for Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency showed that 74 per cent were Christian and 25 per cent of no religion (or not stated), with other religions totalling less than 1 per cent. This approximated to

1100-533: A six-day period. The Pembrokeshire coastline includes numerous bays and sandy beaches. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park , the only park in the UK established primarily because of its coastline, occupies more than a third of the county. The park contains the Pembrokeshire Coast Path , a near-continuous 186-mile (299 km) long-distance trail from Amroth , by the Carmarthenshire border in

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1200-646: A whole. There was considerable military activity in Pembrokeshire and offshore in the 20th century: a naval base at Milford Haven because German U-boats were active off the coast in World War I and, in World War II , military exercises in the Preseli Mountains and a number of military airfields. The wartime increase in air activity saw a number of aircraft accidents and fatalities, often due to unfamiliarity with

1300-515: Is Foel Cwmcerwyn at 1,759 feet (536 m), which is also the highest point in Pembrokeshire. Elsewhere in the county most of the land (86 per cent according to CORINE ) is used for farming, compared with 60 per cent for Wales as a whole. Pembrokeshire's wildlife is diverse, with marine, estuary, woodland, moorland and farmland habitats. The county has a number of seasonal seabird breeding sites, including for razorbill , guillemot , puffin and Manx shearwater , and rare endemic species such as

1400-531: Is "Good", the lowest rating. The rocks in the county were formed between 600 and 290 million years ago. More recent rock formations were eroded when sea levels rose 80 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period . Around 60 million years ago, the Pembrokeshire landmass emerged through a combination of uplift and falling sea levels; the youngest rocks, from the Carboniferous Period , contain

1500-549: Is 24 miles (39 km) long, of which only 2 miles (3.2 km) are dual carriageway. The Cleddau Bridge , toll-free from 28 March 2019, carries the A477 across the Cleddau Estuary . The A478 traverses eastern Pembrokeshire from Tenby in the south to Cardigan, Ceredigion in the north, a distance of 30 miles (48 km). The A487 is the other major route, running northwest from Haverfordwest to St Davids, then northeast following

1600-411: Is a county in the south-west of Wales . It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshire County Council . The county is generally sparsely populated and rural, with an area of 610 square miles (1,600 km ) and a population of 123,400. After Haverfordwest,

1700-569: Is a feature that has led to the wood being described as "...one of the most magical and special woodlands in the UK." The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales is in the process of restoring a lost temperate rainforest , also known as a Celtic forest, in Trellwyn Fach, near the town of Fishguard . Although temperate rainforests once covered much of western Britain's coasts, they were destroyed over centuries and only remain in fragments. The 59-hectare (150-acre) site will connect with remnants of

1800-499: Is merely an officer of the Manor Court. A belief exists amongst some of the inhabitants that the city was once a corporation; but there are no burgesses, charter, or other vestige of municipal institutions. The belief has probably arisen from the lord's officer being called a mayor. Under this summary, the borough was considered within the report as "municipal in name only", and non-parliamentary. Any remaining legalities pertaining to

1900-407: Is no longer used to power the machinery. The 2008 Guinness Book of Records noted that the mill had woven the world's largest picnic blanket for Waitrose . In 2012, the mill celebrated 100 years as a family business, now weaving for a global market. The looms are still manually warped, the knots are tied by hand and the blankets are finished by hand. Melin Tregwynt operates a cafe at the mill as well as

2000-507: Is not clear whether these belonged to Romans or to a Romanised population. Welsh tradition has it that Magnus Maximus founded Haverfordwest, and took a large force of local men on campaign in Gaul in 383 which, together with the reduction of Roman forces in south Wales, left a defensive vacuum which was filled by incomers from Ireland. Between 350 and 400, an Irish tribe known as the Déisi settled in

2100-558: Is now St Davids Head, but most Roman writers did not mention the area; there may have been a Roman settlement near St Davids and a road from Bath, but this comes from a 14th-century writer. Any evidence for villas or Roman building materials reported by mediaeval or later writers has not been verified, though some remains near Dale were tentatively identified as Roman in character by topographer Richard Fenton in his Historical Tour of 1810. Fenton stated that he had "...reason to be of opinion that they had not colonized Pembrokeshire till near

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2200-471: Is said to have freely given David the ancient Metropolitan See of Caerleon. It is also implied that in transferring the See from Caerleon, David also transferred an important royal court. The Welsh Triads name "Mynyw" as the seat of "one of the three Tribal Thrones of the island of Britain" (the other courts being Celliwig and Pen Rhionydd ). The entry states that the court had Arthur as Chief Prince, "Dewi" as

2300-727: Is served by rail via the West Wales Lines from Swansea . Direct trains from Milford Haven run to Manchester Piccadilly . Branch lines terminate at Pembroke Dock , Milford Haven and Fishguard , linking with ferries to Ireland from Pembroke Dock and Fishguard. Seasonal ferry services operate from Tenby to Caldey Island, from St Justinians (St Davids) to Ramsey Island and Grassholm Island, and from Martin's Haven to Skomer Island. Haverfordwest (Withybush) Airport provides general aviation services. Pembrokeshire's economy now relies heavily on tourism; agriculture, once its most important industry with associated activities such as milling,

2400-608: Is served by the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Dyfed-Powys Police . There are no motorways in Pembrokeshire; the nearest is the M4 motorway from London which terminates at the Pont Abraham services in Carmarthenshire some 46 miles (74 km) from Haverfordwest. The A40 crosses Pembrokeshire from the border with Carmarthenshire westwards to Haverfordwest, then northwards to Fishguard. The A477 from St. Clears to Pembroke Dock

2500-456: Is situate in the manor of Dewisland. The Bishop of St. David's is Lord of the Manor ; and it appears that an officer, called the mayor , is annually appointed by the steward, whose duty is to collect certain chief rents to the bishop. The mayor assumes to take certain small tolls by virtue of his office: his right to do this is disputed, but the tolls being very trifling, are frequently paid. The mayor

2600-496: Is still significant. Mining of slate and coal had largely ceased by the 20th century. Since the 1950s, petrochemical and liquid natural gas industries have developed along the Milford Haven Waterway and the county has attracted other major ventures. In 2016, Stephen Crabb , then Welsh Secretary , commented in a government press release: "...with a buoyant local economy, Pembrokeshire is punching above its weight across

2700-503: Is the City of London ). St Davids was given city status in the 12th century. This does not derive automatically, but in England and Wales was traditionally given to cathedral towns under practices laid down in the early 1540s, when Henry VIII founded dioceses . City status was lost in 1886, but restored in 1994 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II . Although the surrounding landscape is home to

2800-697: Is thought to have founded an earlier community somewhere to the west of modern St Davids, before establishing a new church and monastery at a place then known as "Glyn Rhosyn" on the banks of the Afon Alun (where the current Cathedral now stands). During his life, David gained great fame throughout the Celtic church and was a key figure in the fight against the Pelagian Heresy . At the Synod of Brefi in 545 AD, Saint Dubricius (who held two Bishoprics, Caerleon and Llandaff )

2900-692: The Marcher Lords , such as Cemais in the north of the county. Henry Tudor, born at Pembroke Castle in 1457, landed an army in Pembrokeshire in 1485 and marched to Cardigan via Haverforwest. Rallying support, he continued to Leicestershire and defeated the larger army of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field . As Henry VII , he became the first monarch of the House of Tudor , which ruled England until 1603. The Laws in Wales Act 1535 effectively abolished

3000-522: The Pembrokeshire Coalfield . The landscape was subject to considerable change as a result of ice ages; about 20,000 years ago the area was scraped clean of soil and vegetation by the ice sheet; subsequently, meltwater deepened the existing river valleys. While Pembrokeshire is not usually a seismically active area, in August 1892 there was a series of pronounced activities (maximum intensity: 7) over

3100-514: The River Alun and is part of the community of St Davids and the Cathedral Close . It is the resting place of Saint David , Wales's patron saint , and named after him. St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city by population (number of residents within the wider community was 1,751 in 2021 ) and urban area , however it is not the smallest city by local authority boundary area (which

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3200-402: The red-billed chough ; Grassholm has a large gannet colony. Seals, several species of whales (including rare humpback whale sightings ), dolphins and porpoises can be seen off the Pembrokeshire coast; whale-watching boat trips are frequent, particularly during the summer months. An appeal for otter sightings in 2014 yielded more than 100 responses, and a rare visit by a walrus occurred in

3300-537: The 13th century. King Henry VIII then passed the Laws in Wales Acts , which in 1535 and 1542 abolished the status of Marcher Lordships. Dewisland was merged with the adjacent Lordship of Kemes and the surrounding Lordship of Pembroke to form Pembrokeshire , of which Dewisland became a hundred. In 1835 a report from government commissioners investigating municipal corporations determined: THE city and parish of St. David's

3400-413: The 1841 tithe map , it was called Dyffryn Bach, owned by G. J. Harries and occupied by David Evans. The local farmers would sell their fleeces to the mill, which would wash, card, comb, and spin the wool into yarn and then weave it into blankets. The mill was powered by water from the local stream. In an unusual design, the water wheel is inside the building. The large iron overshot wheel probably dates to

3500-518: The 19th century, only the Cathedral itself seemed to retain the city's former glory, as described in the Penny Cyclopaedia : At present its appearance is that of a poor village, the houses, excepting those of the clergy, being in a ruinous state. The locality is lonely, and the neighbouring district wild and unimproved; but it is still an interesting place as the seat of a large episcopal see, with

3600-583: The 2018 heatwave; in the same year, a 1st-century Celtic chariot burial was discovered in Llanstadwell , the first such find in Wales. There may have been dairy farming in Neolithic times. There is little evidence of Roman occupation in what is now Pembrokeshire. Ptolemy 's Geography , written c.  150 , mentioned some coastal places, two of which have been identified as the River Teifi and what

3700-470: The Bishop's chief residence moved to Abergwili , Carmarthenshire in 1542 and St Davids continued to decline. In 1603, the antiquarian George Owen described the city as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a portreeve . The seventeenth century, saw two separate bishops apply for licences to demolish some of the city's ancient buildings, and the Bishop's palace was now considered "beyond repair". By

3800-515: The Chief Bishop, and " Maelgwn Gwynedd " as Chief Elder. Indeed, Geoffrey of Monmouth would describe David as "The pious archbishop of Legions, at the city of Menevia" (Caerleon's name in both Welsh and Latin means "The city of Legions"). The ecclesiastical settlement would become known as Tyddewi (House of David) and was a famous centre of pilgrimage early in its history, attracting both foreign pilgrims of status and numerous Viking attacks by

3900-646: The Eastern Cleddau, and rivers Cresswell and Carew. Since 1975, the estuary has been bridged by the Cleddau Bridge , a toll bridge carrying the A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock. Large bays are Newport Bay, Fishguard Bay, St Bride's Bay and western Carmarthen Bay . There are several small islands off the Pembrokeshire coast, the largest of which are Ramsey , Grassholm , Skokholm , Skomer and Caldey . The seas around Skomer and Skokholm, and some other areas off

4000-610: The Norman castle built in the cantref of Penfro . In 1136, Prince Owain Gwynedd at Crug Mawr near Cardigan met and destroyed a 3,000-strong Norman/Flemish army and incorporated Deheubarth into Gwynedd. Norman/Flemish influence never fully recovered in West Wales. In 1138, the county of Pembrokeshire was named as a county palatine . Rhys ap Gruffydd , the son of Owain Gwynedd's daughter Gwenllian , re-established Welsh control over much of

4100-505: The Northern Irish town of Armagh , "in recognition of their important Christian heritage and their status as cities in the last century". The letters patent conferring city status were issued on 16 September 1994. The following year the Queen visited to formally present the letters patent in a ceremony at St Davids Cathedral on 1 June 1995. The award of city status is typically granted to

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4200-464: The Pembrokeshire coast are Marine protected areas . There are many known shipwrecks off the Pembrokeshire coast with many more undiscovered. A Viking wreck off The Smalls has protected status. The county has six lifeboat stations , the earliest of which was established in 1822; in 2015 a quarter of all Royal National Lifeboat Institution Welsh rescues took place off the Pembrokeshire coast. Pembrokeshire's diverse range of geological features

4300-568: The Senedd (MSs) returned to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) in Cardiff are Paul Davies and Samuel Kurtz respectively, both Conservatives. From 2024, Pembrokeshire was represented by the new UK Parliament constituencies Ceredigion Preseli and Mid and South Pembrokeshire which, in the 2024 General Election , returned Ben Lake ( Plaid Cymru ) and Henry Tufnell ( Labour ) respectively. Pembrokeshire

4400-638: The UK. In 2021, 52.7 per cent of residents identified as "Welsh only", a slight decrease since 2011. Under the Local Government Act 1888 , an elected county council was set up to take over the functions of the Pembrokeshire Quarter Sessions . It was based at the Shire Hall, Haverfordwest . This and the administrative county of Pembrokeshire were abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 , with Pembrokeshire forming two districts of

4500-491: The UK." In August 2019, the Pembrokeshire County Show celebrated 60 years at Haverfordwest Showground. The organisers anticipated 100,000 visitors, the largest three-day such event in Wales at the time. It showcased agriculture, food and drink, a rugby club, entertainment, with the star attraction a motorcycle display team. Until the 12th century, a great extent of Pembrokeshire was virgin woodland. Clearance in

4600-585: The advent of tourism, the city prospered once more in the later twentieth century, with the city's 210 listed buildings making it a destination for walkers, tourists and modern pilgrims. Many of the ancient buildings, including the Bishop's Palace , are today maintained by Cadw and open to the public. The community council area sits at the southern end of the Irish Sea on a peninsula , between Cardigan Bay , St George's Channel and St Brides Bay . It covers not just

4700-451: The area of the county was calculated to be 345,600 acres (1,399 km ) with a population of 81,424. It was not until nearly the end of the 19th century that mains water was provided to rural south Pembrokeshire by means of a reservoir at Rosebush and cast iron water pipes throughout the district. Throughout much of the 20th century (1911 to 1961) the population density in the county remained stable while it rose in England and Wales as

4800-490: The area was home to a cell, church or monastery founded by Saint Patrick around the year 470 AD, years before the birth of Saint David. David is said to have been born to Saint Non around 500 AD, at the place where the Chapel of St Non now stands. He was baptised by Saint Elvis at Porthclais , and was brought up by his mother at Llanon . He may also have been educated at the "Ty Gwyn" , Whitesands by Saint Paulinus . David

4900-411: The area. It is a varied landscape which includes high sea cliffs, wide sandy beaches, the large natural harbour of Milford Haven, and several offshore islands which are home to seabird colonies. Most of it is protected by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park , and can be hiked on the 190-mile (310 km) Pembrokeshire Coast Path . The interior of Pembrokeshire is relatively flat and gently undulating, with

5000-555: The best surfing beach in Pembrokeshire and among the best tourist beaches in the world. Television signals are received from the Preseli TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated west of the city. Radio stations are provided by BBC Radio Wales on 95.9 FM which broadcast the local opt-out from its studios in Carmarthen . Other radio stations including Heart South Wales on 105.7 FM and Radio Pembrokeshire on 102.5 FM,

5100-520: The cathedral and associated church buildings; and St Davids – the rest of the city and rural areas. These were split from the church into civil parishes during 1866, electing secular councillors from 1894, converted to Welsh community administrative areas in 1974, and merged in 1987 to form the present day St Davids and the Cathedral Close. St Davids City Council is the community council body, which has twelve councillors . The City Council employs one City Clerk and one Financial Officer. In June 2020

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5200-529: The city and community include the 14th-century Tower Gate, the Celtic Old Cross and a number of art galleries. St Davids is also a base for walking and water sports . In 2019 Consumers' Association members placed St Davids in the top three best value beach destinations in Britain. Whitesands Bay , about two miles (three kilometres) west of St Davids, is a popular water sports resort. It has been described as

5300-418: The city became a marcher borough, and the new hundred was named " Dewisland ". The cathedral was rebuilt during the Norman era and much of the earliest sections that are still extant, date back to the twelfth century. However, it is thought that this cathedral would have followed the layout of medieval structure and it continued to host its many ancient relics, including the remains of David. At its height,

5400-538: The city was visited by many pilgrims , including noblemen and kings such as William the Conqueror in 1077, Henry II in 1171, and Edward I and Queen Eleanor in 1284. Pope Calixtus II decreed that two pilgrimages to St Davids were equivalent to one to Rome (" Roma semel quantum dat bis Menevia tantum "). This allowed a vast income to be raised from visiting pilgrims in the Middle Ages . The Reformation saw both

5500-467: The city were removed in 1886, when these were abolished by the Municipal Corporations Act 1883 , with its corporation deemed to be long extinct, and the very small population (1,025 residents in 1835) not helping its cause in an age where boroughs with unrepresentative populations were being singled out for reform. This act, in turn, appears to have caused the loss of city status, as there

5600-489: The city when opened in 1943, is in the neighbouring community of Solva . The highest point is Carn Llidi at 181 metres (594 ft). In the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits, along with a royal charter or borough privileges. This link was abolished in 1888, and amid prior borough reorganisation (see Governance below), St Davids lost

5700-787: The coast, through Fishguard and Newport, to the boundary with Ceredigion at Cardigan. Owing to length restrictions in Fishguard, some freight vehicles are not permitted to travel northeast from Fishguard but must take a longer route via Haverfordwest and Narberth. The B4329 former turnpike runs from Eglwyswrw in the north to Haverfordwest across the Preselis. The main towns in the county are covered by regular bus and train services operated by First Cymru (under their "Western Welsh" livery), Transport for Wales Rail and sometimes Great Western Railway respectively, and many villages by local bus services, or community or education transport. Pembrokeshire

5800-502: The council elected its first Sikh mayor, Councillor Bira Sehmi, believed also to be the first Sikh mayor in Wales. The council is based at St Davids City Hall on High Street, which was completed in 1924. The parishes were part of Haverfordwest rural sanitary district from 1872, and when parish and district councils were established in 1894 the two parishes were included in the Haverfordwest Rural District . In 1974

5900-566: The county through an opening up of rural industries, including agriculture, mining and fishing, with exports to England and Ireland, though the formerly staple woollen industry had all but disappeared. During the First English Civil War (1642–1646) the county gave strong support to the Roundheads (Parliamentarians), in contrast to the rest of Wales, which was staunchly Royalist . In spite of this, an incident in Pembrokeshire triggered

6000-483: The county, St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city in terms of both size and population (1,841 in 2011). Saundersfoot is the most populous village (more than 2,500 inhabitants) in Pembrokeshire. Less than 4 per cent of the county, according to CORINE , is built-on or green urban. There are three weather stations in Pembrokeshire: at Tenby, Milford Haven and Penycwm , all on the coast. Milford Haven enjoys

6100-460: The decline of their empire in Britain". Part of a possible Roman road is noted by CADW near Llanddewi Velfrey , and another near Wiston . Wiston is also the location of the first Roman fort discovered in Pembrokeshire, investigated in 2013. A find in north Pembrokeshire in 2024 of the likely remains of a Roman fort adds to the extent of Roman military presence in the area. Some artefacts, including coins and weapons, have been found, but it

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6200-481: The emphasis was often on helping people to be self-employed. While the Poor Laws provided a significant means of support, there were many charitable and benefit societies. After the Battle of Fishguard , the failed French invasion of 1797, 500 French prisoners were held at Golden Hill Farm, Pembroke. From 1820 to 1878 one of the county's prisons, with a capacity of 86, was in the grounds of Haverfordwest Castle. In 1831,

6300-654: The exception of the Preseli Mountains in the north. There are many prehistoric sites in Pembrokeshire, particularly in the Preseli Mountains. During the Middle Ages several castles were built by the Normans, such as Pembroke and Cilgerran , and St David's Cathedral became an important pilgrimage site. During the Industrial Revolution the county remained relatively rural, with the exception of Milford Haven, which

6400-497: The figures for the whole of Wales. By 2021, 43 per cent reported "no religion", while 48.8 per cent described themselves as Christian. 6.6 per cent did not state their religion, and the remainder represented a number of other religions combined. In 2001, Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency was 99 per cent white European, marginally lower than in 1991, compared with 98 per cent for the whole of Wales. 71 per cent identified their place of birth as Wales and 26 per cent as from elsewhere in

6500-416: The first lifeboat was located there in 1869; four lifeboatmen have died while saving others. The Irish Sea includes a large number of offshore rocks and islands and is notorious for strong tides. The entire coastline around St Davids forms part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park . Saint Non's Well overlooks the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and St Brides Bay . St David's Airfield , although named after

6600-480: The formal city area defined by its community council extent of 17.93 sq mi (46.4 km ), this sizeable expanse including offshore islands mean that several UK cities are smaller in area, with the City of London being the smallest at 1.12 sq mi (2.9 km ). In Wales, St Davids is the third smallest after the community areas of St Asaph with 2.49 sq mi (6.4 km ) and Bangor with 2.79 sq mi (7.2 km ). St Davids became

6700-414: The income and importance of St Davids begin to fade as pilgrimages fell out of favour; this was exacerbated by the appointment of a number of English Bishops who were seemingly less concerned with the welfare of the cathedral or the city. Perhaps most infamously, Bishop William Barlow sold the lead from the roof of the Bishop's Palace in 1536, beginning a long period of neglect for St Davids. Barlow had

6800-725: The land was arable or rough pasture in a ratio of about 1:3. Kelly's Directory of 1910 gave a snapshot of the agriculture of Pembrokeshire: 57,343 acres (23,206 ha) were cropped (almost half under oats and a quarter barley), there were 37,535 acres (15,190 ha) of grass and clover and 213,387 acres (86,355 ha) of permanent pasture (of which a third was for hay). There were 128,865 acres (52,150 ha) of mountain or heathland used for grazing, with 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of managed or unmanaged woodland. Estimates of livestock included 17,810 horses, 92,386 cattle, 157,973 sheep and 31,673 pigs. Of 5,981 agricultural holdings, more than half were between 5 and 50 acres. Pembrokeshire had

6900-418: The largest settlements are Milford Haven (13,907), Pembroke Dock (9,753), and Pembroke (7,552). St Davids (1,841) is a city, the smallest by population in the UK. Welsh is spoken by 17.2 percent of the population, and for historic reasons is more widely spoken in the north of the county than in the south. Pembrokeshire's coast is its most dramatic geographic feature, created by the complex geology of

7000-460: The later part of the 19th century. The water wheel drove hammers that beat the woven cloth to clean and soften it. Later the water wheel drove leather belts that powered the carding engines and looms. This equipment has been preserved in the old section of the mill. The present owner's grandfather bought the mill for £760 in May 1912 and operated it with his son. During World War II the mill devoted most of its capacity to making knitting wool, which

7100-411: The line has been termed " Little England Beyond Wales ". The first objective, statistically based description of this demarcation was made in the 1960s, but the distinction was remarked upon as early as 1603 by George Owen of Henllys . A 21st century introduction of Welsh place names for villages which had previously been known locally only by their English names has caused some controversy. In 1851,

7200-434: The lowland south began under Anglo-Flemish colonisation and under mediaeval tenancies in other areas. Such was the extent of development that by the 16th century there was a shortage of timber in the county. Little is known about mediaeval farming methods, but much arable land was continuously cropped and only occasionally ploughed. By the 18th century, many of the centuries-old open field systems had been enclosed , and much of

7300-663: The mainland area, but also several islands off the coast, of which Ramsey Island is the largest and the only one inhabited, separated by the Ramsey Sound. The most westerly mainland point of Wales is at Pen Dal-aderyn . To the north lie Whitesands Bay and St Davids Head , which are locally notable landscape features. The community includes the former chapelries at St Justinian and Gwrhyd. The mainland contains much area used for farming, but contains very small scattered residences and several campsites. St Davids Lifeboat Station , at St Justinian, has saved an estimated 360 people since

7400-632: The mill exhibited at the Milan Furniture Fair . In 2015, a design by Melin Tregwynt was used as the pattern for a dance choreographed by Angharad Harrop to be performed in the National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru . As of 2016, the mill employed about 30 people. It is a Grade II listed building. Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( / ˈ p ɛ m b r ʊ k ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / PEM -bruuk-sheer, -⁠shər ; Welsh : Sir Benfro [siːr ˈbɛnvrɔ] )

7500-529: The most recent arrangement of communities (the successors to civil parishes) in the county which have their own councils; see the foot of this page for a list of communities. From 2010 to 2024, Pembrokeshire returned two Conservative MPs to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster: Stephen Crabb for Preseli Pembrokeshire and Simon Hart for South Pembrokeshire which is represented jointly with West Carmarthenshire. The corresponding Members of

7600-472: The names of 1,200 of those that perished in World War I. In 1972, a second reservoir for south Pembrokeshire, at Llys y Fran , was completed. Pembrokeshire's population was 122,439 at the 2011 census, increasing marginally to 123,400 at the 2021 census. 66.4 per cent of residents were born in Wales, while 27.5 per cent were born in England. The 2021 census recorded that Welsh is spoken by 17.2 per cent of

7700-489: The new county of Dyfed : South Pembrokeshire and Preseli – the split being made at the request of local authorities in the area. Under the same Act, civil parishes were replaced by communities across the whole of Wales. In 1996, under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 , the county of Dyfed was broken up into its constituent parts, and Pembrokeshire has been a unitary authority since then. A new County Hall

7800-522: The new realm of Deheubarth ("southern district"). Between the Roman and Norman periods, the region was subjected to raids from Vikings , who established settlements and trading posts at Haverfordwest, Fishguard, Caldey Island and elsewhere. Dyfed remained an integral province of Deheubarth, but this was contested by invading Normans and Flemings who arrived between 1067 and 1111. The region became known as Pembroke (sometimes archaic "Penbroke" ), after

7900-578: The ninth century. Its scholastic community was also famous throughout the Celtic world and in Anglo-Saxon England . When Alfred the Great wanted to establish a centre of learning at his court, he requested Asserius Menevensis , (Asser of St Davids) to join them. At that time, Asser had lived all his life at St Davids, being raised, tonsured , trained and ordained there. Yet Alfred's desire to secure his service

8000-744: The opening shots of the Second English Civil War when local units of the New Model Army mutinied. Oliver Cromwell defeated the uprising at the Siege of Pembroke in July 1648. On 13 August 1649, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland began when New Model Army forces sailed from Milford Haven. In 1720, Emmanuel Bowen described Pembrokeshire as having five market towns, 45 parishes and about 4,329 houses, with an area of 420,000 acres (1,700 km ). In 1791

8100-463: The population, a fall from 19.2 per cent in 2011. As a result of differential immigration over hundreds of years, such as the influx of Flemish people, the south of the county has fewer Welsh-speaking inhabitants (about 15 per cent) than the north (about 50 per cent). The rough line that can be drawn between the two regions, illustrated by the map, is known as the Landsker Line , and the area south of

8200-583: The powers of the Marcher Lords and divided the county into seven hundreds , roughly corresponding to the seven pre-Norman cantrefi of Dyfed. The hundreds were (clockwise from the northeast): Cilgerran , Cemais , Dewisland , Roose , Castlemartin , Narberth and Dungleddy and each was divided into civil parishes; a 1578 map by Christopher Saxton is the earliest known to show parishes and chapelries in Pembrokeshire; (see list of hundreds and parishes ). The Elizabethan era brought renewed prosperity to

8300-525: The region and threatened to retake all of Pembrokeshire, but died in 1197. After Deheubarth was split by a dynastic feud, Llywelyn the Great almost succeeded in retaking the region of Pembroke between 1216 and his death in 1240. In 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted to introduce the English common law system to Wales, heralding 100 years of peace, but had little effect on those areas already established under

8400-449: The region known to the Romans as Demetae . The Déisi merged with the local Welsh, with the regional name underlying Demetae evolving into Dyfed , which existed as an independent petty kingdom from the 5th century. In 904, Hywel Dda married Elen (died 943), daughter of the king of Dyfed Llywarch ap Hyfaidd , and merged Dyfed with his own maternal inheritance of Seisyllwg , forming

8500-460: The remaining rainforest in the Gwaun valley . The project is part of a larger, 100-year Atlantic rainforest recovery programme. Human habitation of the region that is now Pembrokeshire extends back to between 125,000 and 70,000 years and there are numerous prehistoric sites such as Pentre Ifan , and neolithic remains (12,000 to 6,500 years ago), more of which were revealed in an aerial survey during

8600-481: The right to call itself a city. In 1991, St Davids town council proposed that a case for city status, which the residents had long considered it to have anyway, should be promoted in connection with the 40th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II , and in 1992 the Home Office agreed to refer the matter to Buckingham Palace . In 1994, at the Queen's request, St Davids was again granted city status along with

8700-630: The shop. In September 2012, Melin Tregwynt was featured at Heal's in London during the London Design Festival . In 2012 the Welsh fashion designer Jayne Pierson created a line of bespoke women's wear for Melin Tregwynt. The mill featured in a BBC Two Wales Made in Wales episode in December 2012. The mill's products have been featured on various TV shows including Big Brother and Doctor Who . In 2013,

8800-560: The southeast, to St Dogmaels just down the River Teifi estuary from Cardigan, Ceredigion , in the north. The National Trust owns 60 miles (97 km) of Pembrokeshire's coast. Nowhere in the county is more than 10 miles (16 km) from tidal water. The large estuary and natural harbour of Milford Haven cuts deep into the coast; this inlet is formed by the confluence of the Western Cleddau (which flows through Haverfordwest),

8900-410: The spring of 2021. Pembrokeshire is one of the few places in the UK that is home to the rare Southern damselfly, Coenagrion mercuriale , which is found at several locations in the county, and whose numbers have been boosted by conservation work over a number of years. Ancient woodland still exists, such as Tŷ Canol Wood , where biofluorescence , seen under ultraviolet light under the dark sky,

9000-571: The terrain. From 1943 to 1944, 5,000 soldiers from the United States Army's 110th Infantry Regiment were based in the county, preparing for D-Day . Military and industrial targets in the county were subjected to bombing during World War II. After the end of the war, German prisoners of war were accommodated in Pembrokeshire, the largest prison being at Haverfordwest, housing 600. The County of Pembroke War Memorial in Haverfordwest carries

9100-576: The two parishes were changed into communities and placed in Preseli district. Preseli was abolished in 1996 under further local government reform and the city presently comes under Pembrokeshire County Council for all principal government services. The electoral ward of St Davids elects a county councillor to Pembrokeshire County Council. The city hosted the National Eisteddfod in 2002. The Archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams ,

9200-492: The year than produce from other parts of the UK. Other principal arable crops are oilseed rape , wheat and barley , while the main non-arable activities are dairy farming for milk and cheese, beef production and sheep farming. St Davids St Davids or St David's ( Welsh : Tyddewi , [tiː ˈðɛwi] , lit.  " David 's house ”) is a cathedral city in Pembrokeshire , Wales . It lies on

9300-515: Was a key factor in the establishment of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and a number of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). In the north of the county are the Preseli Mountains, a wide stretch of high moorland supporting sheep farming and some forestry, with many prehistoric sites and the probable source of the bluestones used in the construction of the inner circle of Stonehenge in England. The highest point

9400-466: Was built in 1999 in Haverfordwest and serves as the county council's headquarters. In 2017 Pembrokeshire County Council had 60 members and no political party in overall control; there were 34 independent councillors. In 2009, the question of county names and Royal Mail postal addresses was raised in the Westminster parliament; it was argued that Royal Mail's continued use of the county address Dyfed

9500-472: Was causing concern and confusion in the Pembrokeshire business community. The Royal Mail subsequently ceased requiring county names to be used in postal addresses. In 2018, Pembrokeshire County Council increased council tax by 12.5 per cent, the largest increase since 2004, but the county's council tax remains the lowest in Wales. In 2023 the council published its corporate strategy document for 2023-28. The Pembrokeshire (Communities) Order 2011 established

9600-408: Was developed as a port and Royal Navy dockyard . It is now the UK's third-largest port, primarily because of its two liquefied natural gas terminals. The economy of the county is now focused on agriculture, oil and gas, and tourism. The county town is Haverfordwest. Other towns include Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Fishguard , Tenby , Narberth , Neyland and Newport . In the west of

9700-531: Was inducted into the Gorsedd of Bards , a historic order of Druids. The St Davids Penknife Club is a group of people dedicated to voluntary fund raising for local groups and charities. St Davids has a rugby union club, St. Davids RFC , which competes in the Welsh Rugby Union League West. In addition to the cathedral and 210 other listed ancient buildings and structures, notable features of

9800-406: Was no corporate body available to petition for a renewal of its charter . The subsequent renewal of the status in 1994 (see City Status above) and the reasons then given conclude that the status was in place until 1886. The borough lay across two parishes, and by the time of the creation of registration districts in 1837 these were: the Cathedral Close of St. David's – the close surrounding

9900-615: Was not rationed. In the 1950s the owners opened a shop at the mill and in St Davids and Fishguard , and started to develop Melin Tregwynt as a brand. The business thrived in the 1960s and 1970s and survived the recession in the 1980s that forced many other Welsh mills to close. The founder's grandson entered the business and started to develop foreign markets. As of 1997 the mill was weaving 2 miles (3.2 km) of cloth each month. Melin Tregwynt now outsources some processes, including carding and spinning. The mill's water wheel still functions but

10000-466: Was such that he acquiesced to a number of delays and requests before finally agreeing that Asser could split his time between Alfred's court and St David's. The cult of Saint David was actively encouraged by the cathedral's pre-Norman Bishops, especially Sulien and Rhigyfarch , who would write Vita sancti Davidis episcopi , the standard Vita of the saint. As the Normans advanced into Pembrokeshire ,

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