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NEW MOAT - from Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Wales (1833)

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NEW MOTE, or NEW MOAT, a parish in the hundred of DUNGLEDDY, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 10 miles (N.E.) from Haverfordwest, containing 331 inhabitants. This place derives its name from an artificial mount, which is within a short distance of the church, and is entirely surrounded by a deep moat, which may be easily filled with water. It is supposed to have been originally constructed by the Flemings who settled in this part of the principality, in the reign of Henry II., and obtained by force the hundreds of Castlemartin and Rhôs, together with a considerable portion of that of Dungleddy. The parish is pleasantly situated on a branch of the river Cleddy, and comprises a considerable portion of meadow, arable, and pasture land, which is all enclosed and in a good state of cultivation. The surrounding country is pleasingly diversified, and displays some interesting features of mountain scenery. The ancient mansion of the Scourfields, who resided in this parish from the reign of Edward I. till within the last sixty years, when they removed to Robeston Hall, near Milford, has been taken down, and the proprietor is now erecting a spacious and elegant mansion on the same site, to which the family will remove when it is completed: the house, which is surrounded with thriving plantations and with groves of ancient timber, is delightfully situated at the foot of the southern declivity of the Precelly range of mountains, and commands a fine view over the whole of the lower part of the county. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of St. David's, rated in the king's books at £2. 4. 7., and in the patronage of W.H. Scourfield, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, is an ancient and venerable structure, consisting of a nave, chancel, and one aisle, with a square embattled tower at the west end: the chancel appears to have been very richly embellished at no very distant period, but has of late been very much neglected; it contains several handsome monuments to the Scourfield family, of which some are of great antiquity. Near the mount above noticed are the remains of a very extensive Roman camp, enclosing a quadrilateral area three hundred yards in diameter, and situated on a gentle declivity towards the south: a considerable portion of the northern rampart has been dug up but the remains are sufficient to mark out the four sides of the camp with tolerable accuracy: the road from Narberth to Fishguard passes through its centre. The average annual expenditure for the maintenance of the poor amounts to £146. 2.

 

Gareth Hicks, 30 Dec 1999