Pembroke

History

Pembroke Castle, the substantial remains of a stone medieval fortress founded by the Normans in 1093, stands at the western tip of a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides. The castle was the seat of the powerful Earls of Pembroke and the birthplace of King Henry VII of England. Gerald de Windsor was the first recorded Constable of Pembroke. Pembroke town and castle and its surroundings are linked with the early Christian church. Following the final extension of the castle about 1254 the town was extended and defensive perimeter walls erected around the edge of the town. The walls survive on their medieval foundations, although much rebuilt over the centuries. A great many of the town's original medieval burgage plots survive and are divided by early stone walls that are of significant national importance. Monkton Priory, sited on a hill across the river from the castle, founded in 1098 by Arnulf de Montgomery and granted by him to the Benedictine order, has very early foundations and retains much of the Norman walls of the nave. The choir and sanctuary were renovated in the nineteenth century. Monkton Hall, close by the Priory church, is regarded as the oldest domestic building in Pembrokeshire and possibly Wales and is thought to have been the guesthouse for visitors to the Priory. The first stone building in the town was a defensive tower, now known as the Medieval Chapel, at 69a Main Street and built on a cliff edge. There are the remains of a great hall to the north and recently filled-in arched cellars. The building was thought to have been later used as an early church as the layout is the same as St. Govan's Chapel and was used by John Wesley in 1764 to preach Methodism. In 1866 it became the brewery for the York Tavern which was briefly Oliver…

Geography

Pembroke town stands on the South Pembrokeshire limestone peninsula by the estuary of the River Cleddau, flanked on all sides by woodland and arable farmland. The town is south of the county town of Haverfordwest. The town is centred on Main Street, which is the only street that is inside the original Pembroke town walls. Outside the walls, residential estates have been built to the north towards Pembroke Dock, to the east towards Lamphey, and to the south. To the west of the town lies the village of Monkton, which is included as part of the community of Pembroke. At the 2001 census, the community had a population of 7,214. The conurbation of Pembroke Dock and Pembroke has a combined population of 15,890 and as such is one of the major population centres of West Wales.

Most-observed species

• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  2,091
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,586
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,550
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,534
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,393
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  1,345
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,229
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,085

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2018-02-17
  5 km NE of Clydach, United Kingdom
• M 4.1 — 2014-02-20
  17 km NNW of Ilfracombe, United Kingdom