HAVERFORDWEST, a sea-port, borough, and market town, and a county
of itself, locally in the hundred of Rhôs, county of
PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 10 1/2 miles (N.) from Pembroke, and 250 (W.
by N.) from London, through Gloucester and Monmouth, containing
4328 inhabitants. This town, called by the Welsh Hwlfordd,
of which its present name is supposed to be a corruption, with the
addition of another distinguishing syllable, was originally built
by the Flemings, who, driven from their native country by an
inundation of the sea, which laid waste a great part of Flanders,
obtained from Henry I. an asylum in England, and were subsequently
settled by that monarch in this part of Wales, in order to serve in
some degree as a check upon the movements of the native
inhabitants, who were constantly endeavouring to recover the
territories of which they had been dispossessed by the English. The
Flemings, who were equally expert in husbandry and in war,
maintained possession of the district which had been assigned to
them, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Welsh to regain their
ancient possessions; and their descendants, who are easily
distinguished from those of the aboriginal inhabitants by their
language and manners, still constitute a distinct class among the
inhabitants of the principality. The district in which these
strangers thus settled, and of which Haverfordwest became the
metropolis, obtained, from the similarity which subsisted, between
the Flemings and the English, both in manners and in language, the
appellation of "Little England beyond Wales." The town was
fortified with a strong castle, erected on a commanding eminence
above the Western Cleddau river, and surrounded by an embattled
wall having four principal gates, three of which remained in nearly
a perfect state till within a very recent period, but have been.
subsequently removed. The erection of the castle is by most writers
attributed to Gilbert de Clare, first Earl of Pembroke, who
appointed Richard Fitz-Tancred his castellan, upon whom he also
conferred the lordship of Haverfordwest, in which he was succeeded
by his son Robert, called also Robert de HwIfordd, who founded on
the bank of the river, at a short distance from the town, a priory
of Black canons, in which he afterwards passed the remainder of his
days. The lordship, upon this, devolved to the crown, and was
granted by King John to Walter Marshall, or le Mareschal, from
whose descendants it again reverted to the crown in the reign of
Henry VII., and since that time has continued to form part of the
royal demesnes. In 1220, Llewelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of North
Wales, taking advantage of the absence of the Earl of Pembroke, who
had been appointed by Henry III. to the command of his forces in
Ireland, laid waste the territories of that nobleman in Wales, and
extended his ravages to this place, but was unable to make any
impression on the castle. Richard II. honoured the town with his
presence, and conferred upon it many valuable privileges: during
his stay he confirmed a grant made by Robert Niger of a burgage in
Haverfordwest, to the Friars Preachers, which was the last public
act of his reign. In that of Henry IV., the command of this
fortress was entrusted to the Earl of Arundel, who valiantly
defended it against the assaults of the French auxiliaries whom
Charles VII. of France had sent over to the aid of Owain Glyndwr.
These forces, immediately after landing at Milford, advanced to
this place and laid siege to the castle, but they experienced so
formidable a resistance from the garrison, and sustained so
considerable a loss in their numbers, that, after setting fire to
the town and suburbs, they were compelled to abandon their attempt
to reduce it. During the civil war in the seventeenth century, the
castle was garrisoned for the King by Sir John Stepney, but was
never regularly besieged: the garrison, apprized of the rapid
successes of the parliamentarians in the surrounding country,
hastily withdrew, leaving behind them their ordnance and all their
military stores and ammunition.
The town, which may be regarded as the modern capital of
Pembrokeshire, is finely situated at one of the inland extremities
of Milford Haven, upon the declivities, and at the base, of very
steep hills, round which the Western Cleddau flows: it consists of
numerous streets, some of which are regularly built, and contain
the town residences of many of the neighbouring gentry, others are
steep and narrow, and, from the inequalities of the ground, which
prevail throughout the town, travelling is attended with much
inconvenience. The streets are but indifferently paved, and the
town is partially supplied with water from the "Fountain Head," on
the road to Milford, which is brought by pipes into a public
conduit; and also to private houses, on the payment of a small
annual rate to the lessee of the corporation, by whom this plan for
supplying the town was carried into effect about a century ago.
Considerable alterations are at present contemplated under the
provisions of an act of parliament, about to be obtained, for
removing nuisances and widening the streets and bridges. The plan
embraces the removal of certain obstructions in the line of a new
street, to be formed in continuation of the High-street, to Cartlet
bridge, on the other side of the river, a distance of a quarter of
a mile; the erection of a new bridge across the Cleddau, and the
improvement of the other approaches; lighting the town with gas,
the supply of the upper part of it with water, and the construction
of a common sewer. These alterations, which are to be carried into
effect under the superintendence of Messrs. W. and J. Owen,
architects of this place, will materially contribute to the
improvement of the town, and render it in every respect worthy of
the distinguished rank which it holds among the chief towns in the
principality. The views from the higher grounds are extensive; and
along the summit of the castle hill is a public walk, overlooking
the river and the ruins of the ancient priory, and commanding an
extensive prospect of the surrounding country. Theatrical
performances occasionally take place by itinerant companies, but no
particular building is appropriated to that use; and meetings are
held at the assembly-rooms, which, though possessing no exterior
attractions, are considered as the best ball-rooms in South Wales.
The Pembrokeshire races take place annually in the Autumn, and are
held on "Poor-field," commonly called Portfield, an unenclosed and
spacious common adjoining the town. They were originally
established about sixty years ago, but afterwards partially
abandoned: in 1829 they were re-established, and are liberally
supported, and in general well attended: the members for the county
and the borough each give a plate of £50; and a £50
plate is also given by the tradesmen of the town, exclusively of
sweepstakes, contingent on the amount of subscriptions. The
Pembrokeshire Hunt, established in the year 1813, and which is
supported by the principal gentry of the county, has its meetings
at this town, where a pack of fox-hounds is kept. The hounds go out
twice every week during the season; but in the second week in
November, called the "Hunt Week," the members assemble in the town,
and the hounds are out three days, namely, Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday, on the evenings of which days a ball is held at the
assembly-rooms.
The port is dependent on that of Milford, to which it is a creek,
having a custom-house subordinate to the establishment there; but
from its central situation it attracts considerable trade, chiefly
coastwise: the exports are principally oats and butter, with a
small quantity of leather and bark; the imports are chiefly
groceries, manufactured goods, and other miscellaneous articles,
for the supply of the shops. Coal is brought by water from Newport
in Monmouthshire, and from Liverpool; but the poorer inhabitants
principally use culm, which is brought from a distance of about
three miles: the hard or stone coal, for malting, procured about
five or six miles off, is here shipped to the southern coast of
England, and even to London. A great quantity of native cattle is
sent from the neighbouring district for sale to the English market.
The river is navigable to the bridge for barges, to a lower part of
the town for larger vessels, and to a place immediately below the
town for ships of two hundred and fifty tons' burden. According to
the official returns, one hundred and thirty vessels (including
different arrivals of the same) entered inwards, and fifty-nine
(reckoning as above) cleared outwards, at this port, in the year
ending January 5th, 1831; and in the course of the same year five
hundred and thirty-eight quarters of wheat, six hundred and
thirty-eight quarters of barley, and seven thousand seven hundred
and thirty one quarters of oats, were shipped coastwise. The trade
of the town consists chiefly in the supply of the inhabitants and
the neighbourhood with various articles of home consumption, and
its commercial intercourse is greatly facilitated by its situation
on the mail-coach road from London to Ireland, by way of Milford.
The markets are held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, the last
of which is for corn; and during the three winter months an
additional market is held, every Thursday, for the sale of cattle.
Fairs, at which tolls are taken, for the sale of horses, cattle,
sheep, and pigs, are held annually on May 12th, June 12th, July
18th, September 23rd, and October 18th; and another, which is
toll-free, has been recently established. A very commodious
market-house has lately been erected; it is a spacious
quadrilateral building, containing covered shambles for eighty
butchers, with ample accommodations for the sale of poultry,
butter, vegetables, and hardware: there are also convenient
market-places for the sale of corn and fish.
This town, which had received divers privileges from Richard II.,
was, by charter of Edward IV., constituted a county of itself, and
invested with additional immunities, which were afterwards
confirmed by the 27th of Henry VIII., which conferred corporate
rights and the privilege of returning a member to parliament. A
subsequent charter of incorporation was granted by James I.,
confirming the previous grant, and enacting, amongst other
important things, that the sites of the priory and house of Friars
Preachers, the hill called Prior's Hill, the prior's marshes, and
the friars' gardens, situated within the limits of the town, should
for the future be esteemed part of the said town and county of the
town of Haverfordwest. Under this last charter the corporation
consists of a mayor, sheriff, two bailiffs, and twenty-four
common-councilmen, of whom fifteen are styled aldermen, assisted by
a town clerk, chamber-reeve, two serjeants at mace, and other
officers. By an ancient grant of the crown, made while
Pembrokeshire was a county palatine, this town enjoys the privilege
of having a lord-lieutenant of the town and county of the town,
which is possessed by no other town in Great Britain. The mayor,
who is also admiral of the port, coroner, escheator, and clerk of
the market, is annually elected from the common councilmen at the
first hundred-days' court held after the festival of St. Michael:
the sheriff is chosen from the same body, or from among the
burgesses at large; and the bailiffs are elected from among the
latter only. The borough first received the elective franchise in
the 27th of Henry VIII., when its superior importance caused it to
be endowed with this privilege in lieu of its being conferred on
the Merionethshire boroughs, and since that time it has continued
to return one member to parliament. The right of election was
formerly vested in freeholders of forty shillings a year,
inhabitants paying scot and lot, and the burgesses; but the late
act for amending the representation of the people has vested it in
freeholders in fee or fee tail of forty shillings per annum, in the
present freeholders for life or lives of forty shillings, in after
freeholders for life or lives of ten pounds, in resident burgesses
and those within seven miles, in male householders occupying
premises of the annual value of ten pounds, and in scot and lot
inhabitants for their lives, provided they be capable of
registering as the act demands. The towns of Fishguard and
Narberth, and the villages of Prendergast and Uzmaston, are now
entitled to share in the representation. The present number of
houses of the annual value of ten pounds within the limits of the
borough, which have been enlarged by the late Boundary Act, and are
minutely described in the Appendix to this work, is three hundred
and ninety-six; and the number of resident burgesses is one hundred
and forty-two, and of those within seven miles, fifty-six: the
sheriff of Haverfordwest is the returning officer. The freedom of
the borough is obtained by birth, being inherited by all the sons
of a freeman; by servitude of seven years to a resident freeman;
and by election of the burgesses at large, on the presentation of
the mayor and common-council. The mayor for the time being, and his
immediate predecessor for one year only after the expiration of his
mayoralty, are justices of the peace within the limits of the town
and county of the town, within which the magistrates of the county
of Pembroke have no concurrent jurisdiction: the other magistrates
of the town are appointed in the same manner as in counties at
large. The corporation hold courts of assize and quarter session,
at which the mayor presides, for the trial of all offenders not
accused of capital crimes; a court of record every month, for the
recovery of debts to any amount exceeding forty shillings; a
fourteen-days' court, for the recovery of debts under that amount;
and a mayor's, or, as it is generally called, a hundred-days'
court, for swearing in burgesses, and transacting other business
relating to the corporation. The assizes for the county of Pembroke
are also held at Haverfordwest, which by the late act has been made
one of the polling-places in county elections. The guildhall,
situated at the extremity of High-street, (and obstructing a fine
view of the venerable church of St. Mary, of which the tower, when
surmounted by its delicate spire, must have formed a fine object
terminating the view,) is a plain structure, comprising only, in
the upper story, the court in which the assizes and sessions are
held: there is no room for the accommodation of the grand jury, who
consequently sit at one of the principal inns: the lower part was
formerly appropriated to the use of the market, previously to the
erection of the new market place. The borough gaol and house of
correction, a modern building situated on St. Thomas' Green, in the
upper part of the town, is now, by a recent act of parliament,
devoted to a lunatic asylum, as well for Pembrokeshire as for
Haverfordwest; and by the same act the common gaol and house of
correction for Pembrokeshire, to the purposes of which the remains
of the ancient castle have been assigned, are appropriated for the
reception of prisoners both for Pembrokeshire and Haverfordwest:
the buildings are well calculated for the classification of
prisoners, and comprise eight wards; two work-rooms, one for males
and one for females; eight day-rooms and eight airing-yards, in one
of which is a tread-mill.
The town and county of the town comprise the whole of the parish of
St. Mary, and part of the parishes of St. Thomas and St. Martin,
together with a very small part of the parish of Prendergast, and a
large extra-parochial area called "Poor-field;" the parishes of St.
Thomas and St. Martin also comprise divisions respectively called
the hamlets of St. Thomas and St. Martin, which are within the
hundred of Rhôs: the hamlet of St. Thomas separately
maintains its own poor, independently of that part of the parish
which is within the borough. The living of St. Mary's is a
perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's,
endowed with £20 per annum chargeable on the tithes of the
parish of Tremaen, in the county of Cardigan, under the will of Mr.
Laugharne, dated in 1714, for reading daily prayers; with
£200 private benefaction, £200 royal bounty, and
£200 parliamentary grant, and in the patronage of the
Corporation, who are impropriators of the tithes, and pay the
incumbent a stipend of £100 per annum. The church, situated
at the upper end of High-street, is a spacious and venerable
structure, in the early style of English architecture, with a low
tower, which was anciently surmounted by a spire of elegant
proportion. The interior consists of a nave, chancel, and north
aisle: the nave is lofty, and ceiled with panelled oak, richly
ornamented with carving; it is lighted on each side by a range of
clerestory windows, of various character, and is separated from the
chancel by a lofty pointed arch, supported by clustered columns,
and from the north aisle by a series of similar arches of lower
elevation, resting on clustered columns having capitals richly
ornamented with sculpture. The east windows of the chancel are
lofty, and highly enriched with tracery; and the windows of the
north aisle, which are similarly embellished, are of good
proportion and elegant design. There are several good monuments,
and in the chancel are some of splendid character, to the memory of
various members of the family inheriting the neighbouring seat of
Picton Castle. The living of St. Thomas' is a rectory not in
charge, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's, and in the
patronage of the King, as Prince of Wales. The church is situated
on the summit of a hill, and in the centre of an extensive
cemetery, overlooking the ruins of the priory: according to some
records preserved at St. David's, it appears to have been built in
the year 1225; but these most probably refer to the ancient church
of the priory, which was also dedicated to St. Thomas, for there is
nothing in the style of architecture which corroborates that
testimony: it is a plain building, with a square tower crowned with
a projecting battlement. The living of St. Martin's is a perpetual
curacy, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's, endowed
with £1200 royal bounty, and £1200 parliamentary grant,
and in the patronage of Hugh Webb Bowen, Esq. The church, supposed
to be the most ancient in the town, is a venerable structure,
displaying portions in the early style of English architecture,
with a low tower surmounted by an elegant spire: it consists of a
nave, chancel, and south aisle, but has suffered so extensively by
the insertion of windows and other alterations, that little of its
original character remains: the nave and chancel are long and
lofty, and are separated by a fine old arch, which reaches to the
roof; in the chancel, on the southern side, are some ancient stalls
in recesses. There are places of worship for Baptists,
Independents, Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, Moravians, and
Presbyterians.
The free grammar school was founded by Thomas Lloyd, of Kîl
Kifith, Esq., who, by will dated November 22nd, 1612, endowed it
with dwelling-houses, lands, and fee-farm rents, in the parish of
St. Martin, Pembrokeshire, and in the parishes of St. Mary, St.
Thomas, and St. Martin, in the town and county of Haverfordwest,
producing at present an income of £144. 15. 4.: to this, Mr.
John Milward, late of this town, added a third part of certain
houses and lands near Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, giving
the other two portions respectively to the master of the Birmingham
free grammar school, and the Principal and Fellows of Brasenose
College, Oxford, for the foundation of a scholarship in that
college for a boy from each of those schools alternately. The
portion of the estate assigned to the school of this town, having
been let by the corporation, who are trustees, upon a lease of
ninety-nine years, produces only £18 per annum, and the other
two portions being injudiciously let on leases for twenty one
years, subject to large fines on renewal, produce only £8. 6.
8. per annum each; consequently, the scholarship is not sufficient
to induce any young man from either of those schools to enter at
that college: the mastership of the Haverfordwest school is in the
gift of the mayor and corporation, who also nominate the boys to be
educated in it. Sir John Perrot, in 1579, by deed gave certain
houses, lands, and fee-farm rents, in the parish of Camrhôs,
in Pembrokeshire, and in the parishes of Haverfordwest, now
producing £173. 16. 4. per annum, for the repair of the
roads, walls, bridges, and quays, and for the general improvement
of the town, and supplying it with water. James Howard bequeathed
an annuity of £22, payable out of an estate in the parish of
Merton, in the county of Surrey, for the augmentation of
Haverfordwest hospital, which annuity, as no such hospital has
existed for many years in the town, is divided by the corporation
among the poor. William Vawer, by deed in 1607, gave houses, lands,
and fee farm rents, in the parish of St. Mary, Haverfordwest, and
in the city of Bristol, now producing £161. 14. 4. per annum,
towards the support of six decayed burgesses of this town; and Anne
Laugharne bequeathed an annuity of £6, payable out of an
estate at Boulston, near this place, for the relief of aged women
of honest fame in the parishes of St. Mary and St. Thomas: to the
poor of the latter parish the late Captain Parr, of this town, also
bequeathed £5 per annum, to be distributed in bread. Mary
Tasker, otherwise Howard, bequeathed certain farms and lands in the
parish of Camrhôs, now producing £133. 14. 4. per
annum, for the erection of an almshouse, and for the education of
poor children of both sexes, in the parishes of Rudbaxton,
Steynton, and Haverfordwest. The same benefactress also bequeathed,
in 1634, an annuity of £20 for the maintenance of poor
children; and William Middleton gave £100 for apprenticing
four poor children of the town: the former of these benefactions
does not appear to have been ever paid. In addition to these
several charities, for the appropriation of which the corporation
are trustees, are numerous others, of which the greater part, also
in their patronage, have been lost by failure of securities in
their investment, or by other accidents. Of these may be noticed, a
bequest of £265 by Richard Howell and Owen Phillips, for the
use of the poor; £200 bequeathed by Rebecca Flaerton, in
1744, for the relief of aged widows, on the nomination of Robert
Prust; £100 by William Middleton, for apprenticing poor
children; £80, given in 1739, by Mary Llewelyn, for such
charitable purpose as should be recommended by Robert Prust;
£100 by a person unknown, for the relief of insolvent debtors
in the gaol of this town; £100 given by William Fortune, in
1764, to the poor of this town; a rent-charge of £10 by
William Wheeler, for the poor; an annuity of £3. 10. given by
Thomas Roch, in 1707; and various other donations which appear to
have been for a considerable time unavailable to the purposes for
which they were originally given.
The priory of Black canons, originally founded, as before observed,
by Robert de HwIfordd, and situated in a meadow on the western bank
of the river Cleddau, continued to flourish till the dissolution,
at which time its revenue was estimated at £135. 6. 1. and
the site was granted to Roger and Thomas Barlow. The present
remains, consisting chiefly of the skeleton of the church and some
foundations of ancient buildings, afford indications of an
establishment originally of considerable extent: the church was a
spacious cruciform structure, apparently in the early style of
English architecture, with a lofty central tower, supported on four
noble arches, of which portions are still remaining: it appears to
have been one hundred and sixty feet in length from east to west,
and eighty feet in breadth along the transepts, and was no less
elegant than spacious, the windows being composed of lancet-shaped
lights. The house of the Friars Preachers originally occupied the
site on which the Black Horse Inn, in Bridge-street, was
subsequently built: its founder, and the exact time of its
erection, are unknown, but it was in existence prior to the time of
Richard ll., in whose reign, as before noticed, the grant of a
burgage for the enlargement of the house was confirmed. To this
establishment Bishop Hoton left £10, and his successor,
Bishop John Gilbert bequeathed £100, with vestments, desiring
also to be interred within its walls. The castle, from the
discovery at various times of foundations of buildings and portions
of ruined walls, appears to have occupied the whole of a rocky
ridge on the northern declivity of the eminence on which the town
is situated; and from its commanding site, as well as from its
extent and massive walls, it forms a conspicuous and imposing
object, towering above all the surrounding buildings, and
overlooking the town. The remains consist principally of the keep,
a spacious quadrangular pile, with lofty and massive walls, and
which, from the elegance of its pointed windows and other
architectural embellishments, especially on the eastern side facing
the river, appears to have comprised the chapel and the state
apartments, and conveys an idea of its original grandeur and
magnificence. This venerable portion of the remains has been
converted into the county gaol, without in any degree detracting
from its interest as a noble relic of ancient baronial splendour.
In the suburb of Prendergast, on the opposite side of the river,
are the remains of an ancient mansion, formerly inhabited by a
family of that name; and about a mile and a half below the town is
the ancient seat of the family of Haroldston, now in ruins. Skomar,
an islet off the coast of Pembrokeshire, near the mouth of the
Bristol channel, forms part of the parish of St. Martin: it
consists principally of limestone rock, and comprises an extent of
about seven hundred acres, of which a considerable portion is let
to a resident tenant, and in a state of cultivation: it is
plentifully supplied with water, and abounds with rabbits. This
islet, which forms the northern limit of St. Bride's bay, is
separated by a strait about a mile and a half in breadth, called
Broad Sound, from the islet of Skokham, which is about three miles
from the main land, and about five miles west by south from the
mouth of Milford haven. The average annual expenditure for the
support of the poor amounts to £1082. 7. for the whole town,
of which the proportion for the parish of St. Martin is £402.
3., for that of St. Mary £510. 9., and for St. Thomas'
£169. 15.
Haverfordwest 
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