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Around Pembrokeshire

Pembroke and Pembroke Dock

This ancient town is a popular tourist destination. Its history can be traced back to 1093 when the Normans, led by Roger de Montgomery arrived and established a wooden fortress. The present castle was mainly the work of William Marshall and his five sons during 1189-1245.

The town was fortified and walled, and parts of the ancient walls are still visible from the one-way traffic system.

The castle was the home of the earls of Pembroke and was the birthplace of Henry VII in 1457.

The streets of the town still follow their medieval lines, although the houses were rebuilt in stone in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the early houses remain, along with the castle, on Westgate hill as do the town’s two churches and much of the original town wall.

Before Cromwell’s time several battles took place and since then Pembroke’s fortunes have waxed and waned throughout the centuries.

In 1977 Pembroke was designated an Outstanding Conservation Area.

Pembroke is largely unspoiled and there are a great deal of attractions.

Visit the popular town trail, the museum of the home, or the daily indoor market and numerous small craft, gift and specialist shops.

There’s a superb children’s playground, with picnic and barbecue areas adjacent to plentiful parking on the commons road.

There are enough takeaways and restaurants to cater for all tastes, along with the many pubs, bars and nightclubs.
Transport is good with a regular bus and train service serving the town

Pembroke has many shops based mainly along main street which starts at the Castle and continues to a roundabout on the east end.

There are few major outlets such or superstores, but plenty of smaller shops from which to buy the essentials. The chief supermarket stands in the main street as it has for many years. In this town almost all the shops are in the one street.

This is an industrial town situated on a sheltered area of land on the southern part of the Cleddau River. The town was established in 1814 and relied heavily on industry generated by the Dockyard. On 10th February 1816, the first two ships, the Valorous and Ariadne were launched and Pembroke Dock’s history of shipbuilding began.
Rapid expansion took place over the next 30 years and by 1855 almost 1,000 men were employed. 1860 saw the launch of The Warrior, an iron warship.

The Dockyard became obsolete with the coming of the iron ships as there was no nearby ironworks.

Closure of the Dockyard was averted partly by its railway link but communication between the town and other parts of the country remained very slow.
The 20th century brought modern warfare and the Dockyard closed in 1926.

The town was devastated during World War II when the Pennar oil tanks burnt continuously for 18 days. At the time it was Britain’s biggest blaze since the Great Fire of London. In 1941 bombing claimed many lives and approximately 1,000 homes were destroyed.
Since then, many developments have taken place in the town. A bridge replaced the Pembroke Dock - Neyland ferry and in 1988 the route to Ireland reopened.

The Cleddau Business Park brought some prosperity and enabled two call centres to be established, creating jobs for local people.

Pembroke Dock being the newer town has succeeded in bringing supermarkets to the area such as Tesco, Cooperative (Co-op), Kwiksave and Lidl.

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