'Pembrokeshire' () is a county in the southwest of
Wales in the
United Kingdom.
Geography
Marloes peninsula, Pembrokeshire coast, Wales, UK
Pembrokeshire is a maritime county, surrounded by the sea on all sides except in the northeast where it is bounded by
Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) and in the east where it is bounded by
Carmarthenshire.
The population is 114,000. The administrative headquarters and historic county town is
Haverfordwest. Other settlements include
Pembroke itself,
Pembroke Dock,
Milford Haven,
Fishguard,
Tenby,
Saundersfoot,
Narberth,
Neyland and
Newport.
St David's, in the west of the county, is the United Kingdom's smallest
city.
The highest point is at
Foel Cwmcerwyn (1759 ft/536 m).
The county boasts 170 miles (≈275 km) of magnificent coastline comprising important seabird breeding sites and numerous bays and sandy beaches. Almost all of the coast is included in the
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. A large estuary and natural harbour known as
Milford Haven cuts deeply into the coast, being formed by the confluence of the
Western Cleddau (which goes through Haverfordwest), the
Eastern Cleddau and rivers
Creswell and
Carew. The estuary is bridged by
Cleddau Bridge as part of the
A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock : the next bridges upstream on the Cleddaus are at Haverfordwest and by
Canaston Bridge.
Major bays include
Newport Bay,
Fishguard Bay and
St Bride's Bay. There are many small islands off the coast of the county, the largest of which are
Ramsey Island,
Skomer Island and
Caldey Island.
In the north are the
Preseli Hills (Mynyddoedd Preseli), a wide stretch of high
moorland with many prehistoric monuments. Elsewhere the county is relatively flat, most of the land being used for lowland farming.
''See the
list of places in Pembrokeshire for villages, towns and cities in Pembrokeshire.''
History
The county was founded as a
county palatine in
1138 with
Gilbert de Clare as the first
Earl of Pembroke. It has long been split between its mainly English-speaking south (known as "
Little England beyond Wales") and its mainly Welsh-speaking north, along an imaginary line called the
Landsker.
Flag
The unofficial flag of Pembrokeshire consists of a yellow cross on a blue field. In the centre of the cross is a green pentagon bearing a red and white
Tudor rose. The rose is divided quarterly and ''counterchanged'': the inner and outer roses have alternating red and white quarters.
[1]
Local government
Under the
Local Government Act 1888, an elected
county council was set up to take over the functions of the Pembrokeshire
Quarter Sessions. This, and the administrative county of Pembrokeshire were abolished under the
Local Government Act 1972, with Pembrokeshire forming two districts of the new county of
Dyfed :
South Pembrokeshire and
Preseli - the split being made at the request of local authorities in the area.
[2]
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.
Agriculture
Pembrokeshire's mild climate means that crops such as its famous new potatoes often arrive in British shops earlier in the year than produce from other parts of the UK. As well as arable crops such as potatoes, the other main agricultural activities are dairy farming of cattle for milk and cheese, sheep farming, beef production and some other arable crops, such as rapeseed. Falling farm incomes have led to diversification into other novel farming and tourism related activities. From 1700 km² of land, about 126,000 (74%) are used by agriculture. The majority of this land (60%) is down to permanent grassland and 26% is arable. Farm revenues are less than the UK average, but agriculture still provides 7,000 jobs.
The former large fishing industry around Milford Haven is now greatly reduced, although limited commercial fishing still takes place.
Historic county
The traditional county of Pembrokeshire is bounded by
Carmarthenshire to the east,
Cardiganshire to the northeast, the
St George's Channel to the northwest and the
Bristol Channel to the south.
Places of interest
References
1. crwflags.com
2. Wood, Bruce. ''The Process of Local Government Reform: 1966-1974. 1976.
External links
★
Pembrokeshire county council
★
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
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