Chapter 4 of my personal history of Pembrokeshire.

Hello again, I'm sorry I didn't blog last week, however vtoday I think I'll talk about Pembroke Castle and the start of the Tudor dynasty. Henry 7th was born here in 1457 and in 1461 when Edward 4th came to the throne Henry's guardian was William Herbert who was given Pembroke Castle by Edward. By 1483, his mother, despite being married to a Yorkist (Lord Stanley), was actively promoting Henry as an alternative to Richard III. At Rennes Cathedral on Christmas Day 1483, Henry pledged to marry Edward IV's eldest daughter, Elizabeth of York, who was also Edward's heir since the presumed death of her brothers, the Princes in the Tower. Henry then received the homage of his supporters. With money and supplies borrowed from his host Francis II, Duke of Brittany, Henry tried to land in England, but his conspiracy unravelled, resulting in the execution of his primary co-conspirator, the Duke of Buckingham. Richard III attempted to extradite Henry from Brittany, but Henry escaped to France. He was welcomed by the French, who readily supplied him with troops and equipment for a second invasion. Having gained the support of the Woodvilles, in-laws of the late Edward IV, he sailed with a small French and Scottish force. Henry landed in Mill Bay, Pembrokeshire, close to his birthplace. He marched towards England accompanied by his uncle Jasper and the Earl of Oxford. Wales was traditionally a Lancastrian stronghold, and Henry owed the support he gathered to his Welsh birth and ancestry, being directly descended, through his father, from Rhys ap Gruffydd. He amassed an army of around 5,000 soldiers. Henry was aware that his best chance to seize the throne was to engage Richard quickly and defeat him immediately, as Richard had reinforcements in Nottingham and Leicester. Richard only needed to avoid being killed in order to keep his throne. Though outnumbered, Henry's Lancastrian forces decisively defeated Richard's Yorkist army at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485. Several of Richard's key allies, such as the Earl of Northumberland and William and Thomas Stanley, crucially switched sides or left the battlefield. Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses, although it was not the last battle Henry had to fight.
Why not stay with FBM Holidays, (http://ping.fm/UA7p3) and visit Pembroke Castle which is still majestically dominating the market town of Pembroke.

Chapter 3 of a personal history of Pembrokeshire

Back again, this week I'm clear across the county at Crymych, where last weekend I watched my grandson, who plays touch rugby for Tenby under 7s, defeat Crymych under 7s. It was a good game enjoyed by all. My grandson, Charlie is looking forward to next year when he'll be learning how to tackle. Why I mentioned this was because as we were driving home, we passed the Preseli Mountains, and of course I thought about the legend of Stonehenge in which Merlin the Magician is reputed to have flown the stones 240 miles from The Preselis to Stonehenge, where, in about 2,000 BC, the first stone circle was set up, but abandoned before completion. The bluestones weigh up to 4 tons each and about 80 stones were used, this is a nice story but I'm not sure I'm a believer. There are two main theories for the Bluestones appearing at Stonehenge and the first speculates that the stones were dragged by roller and sledge from the inland mountains to the headwaters of Milford Haven. There they were loaded onto rafts, barges or boats and sailed along the south coast of Wales, then up the Rivers Avon and Frome to a point near present-day Frome in Somerset. From this point, so the theory goes, the stones were hauled overland, again, to a place near Warminster in Wiltshire, approximately 6 miles away. From there, it's back into the pool for a slow float down the River Wylye to Salisbury, then up the Salisbury Avon to West Amesbury, leaving only a short 2 mile drag from West Amesbury to the Stonehenge site. The second is rather more mundane, in that it is suggested that the Bluestones were deposited in Wiltshire by glacial action, during the ice age. Whatever theory you favour is up to you, but why not come and see the Preseli Mountains for yourself and stay in one of FBM Holidays, http://ping.fm/7ZvCQ, carefully selected properties and not only walk the mountains, but explore the burial chambers, Dolmens and standing stones. See you next week. DS

How is everyone this afternoon?, quick quiz- can anyone name the horse that walks around Tenby Town square?.

Chapter 2 of my personal history of Pembrokeshire

Sorry for the delay of this blog - my grandchildren are on half-term and we've taken advantage of the beautiful weather in Pembrokeshire and have been out and about. One place we visited was Manor House Leisure Park in St Florence, it's now run by Anna Ryder-Richardson who is turning it into a natural wild life refuge. It's a fabulous place to take children, with a walk through Lemur enclosure and of course, Steve the Gibbon and his mate Lisa amongst others. However to get back to the history of Pembrokeshire, Manor House started in the 17th century when land was bought in St Florence by a Robert Williams and the house was known by the name of Ivy Towers in around 1771. St Florence itself is famous for it's Flemish chimneys and was probably taken over by the Normans who encouraged the English to move there with a view to move out the Welsh. In the 12th century, St Florence was occupied by a mixture of Normans. Flemings, and Anglo Saxons, which is why, in common with most of Pembrokeshire, the place names and even family names are anglicised. St Florent was a Saint from the Loire Valley and gave his name to the village and church (parts of which date from the 11th century). Today, it's a lovely floral village and if you look closely you can still see the iron rings that were used to tie up the ships that sailed up the Ritec Valley at high tide. As well as Manor House, http://ping.fm/TNBrG, you can also find Heatherton http://ping.fm/wD2j8 where a variety of activities such as golfing, paintballing, archery and bumper boats to name but a few can be found. If you're looking for self-catering accommodation, FBM Holidays http://ping.fm/r0Xyz is your first choice for the best that West Wales can offer. See you next week.

Easter Monday.

Some of us are working today, the good thing is I've got a great view on to the South Beach in Tenby. Quite a few windsurfers out as it is a bit breezy today, not raining though.

A personal history of Pembrokeshire

I'm sat at my desk looking out on The South Beach in Tenby and thinking to myself, how many people out there have any idea of the history of Pembrokeshire and the surrounding counties? Did you know the founder of modern mathematics, Robert Recorde, came from Pembrokeshire? How many of you know that the Tudor dynasty started in Pembroke Castle? Did you know that the Buestones of Stonehenge came from the Preseli Hills? Although I'm not a native of Pembrokeshire, "commonly known as little England beyond Wales and that's another story", you will have to go a long way to find an area in Britain that has so much to offer from rural to coastal. so I have decided to write every week about some aspect of this area from my personal viewpoint. I'm not a historian, and the information won't be in chronological order, but hopefully you will gain a flavour of this remarkable area and perhaps want to come and see for yourself what it's all about. Of course I have a vested interest in all this as I work for http://ping.fm/xNuPL and I hope you will use our services to holiday in this part of the country. See you next week!