My Personal History of Pembrokeshire (part 9)

Hello again, this week the "Landsker Line". This is reputedly, the imaginary line that separated the Welsh speaking community from the non-Welsh speakers in South West Wales, and stretched from St Brides Bay in the West to Laugharne in the East with villages and towns such as St Clears, Lampeter Velfrey, Narberth, Llawahaden, Wiston, Great Rudbaxton, Wolfescastle, Hayscastle and Roch all within the vicinity of this line. The English-speaking areas, known as Little England beyond Wales, are notable for having been English linguistically and culturally for many centuries despite being far from the border with England. During the 11th and 12th centuries both invaders and defenders built more than fifty castles during a complex period of conflict, effectively to consolidate the line. The southernmost was Laugharne; others included Wiston, Camrose, Narberth, and Roch. These are often referred to as "frontier castles" but they were in fact set back a considerable distance from the frontier itself. In the heart of the Normanised colony, the two great fortresses were at Pembroke and Haverfordwest. There were other fortresses within the colony as well, including Manorbier, Carew and Tenby. The Landsker line has changed position many times, first moving north into the foothills of Mynydd Preseli during the military campaigns of the Early Middle Ages, and then moving southwards again in more peaceful times, as the English colonists found that farming and feudalism were difficult to maintain on exposed hillsides. As mentioned above, the frontier moved between 1600 and today. Historic data on personal names also shows that it also moved between 1200 and 1600. There were attempts to set up a number of Norman/English “planned villages” (e.g. Letterston and New Moat) north of the current frontier in the medieval period. These subsequently failed, and were re-occupied by Welsh speakers in the post Black Death period. In more modern times, the enclosure of commons allowed a substantial southward spread of Welsh speakers, particularly in Carmarthenshire. These are quite rare examples of Welsh-speaking areas expanding at the expense of English-speaking areas; in the central part of Pembrokeshire the shift of the Landsker southwards between 1600 and 1900 was in excess of 10 km. Now many people think that the word "Landsker" is a Viking word, but it is in fact of Anglo-Saxon origin and means "a permanent, visible boundary between two tracts of land, and may be a natural feature (e.g. a river) or an artificial feature (e.g. a hedge or a line of marker stones)." The castles and features along this line are worth visiting as well as the areas to the South and North of the Landsker, FBM Holidays (www.fbmholidays.co.uk) have many self catering properties within easy reach of all the Castles and villages mentioned, so whatever your nationality, give both you and your children a history lesson and discover the rich historical heritage here in West Wales. DS

My Personal History of Pembrokeshire (part 8)..

The next part in this occasional series is St Marys Church in Tenby, which is apt, as this year the church celebrates its 800th birthday. Reputedly the largest parish church in Wales, St Marys is located in the centre of the town of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The church is in the Diocese of Saint David's within the Church in Wales, and members of the Anglican Communion.
There is believed to have been a church on the site since Norman times, but most of what remains dates from the 13th century building and subsequent additions in the 14th and 15th centuries. The 13th century chancel has a 'wagon' roof and the panelled ceiling has 75 bosses carved with a variety of foliage designs, grotesques, fishes and a mermaid. St. Thomas' Chapel was added in the mid-15th century, and the St. Nicholas Chapel was added in c. 1485. The spire was also a 15th century addition. Inside the church is a 15th century font and a 15th century bell with the letters 'Sancta Anna'. The tower is positioned to one side of the chancel and dates from the late 13th century. The first floor served as a chapel, and still has a stone altar and piscina (a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessel) in place. The church contains several memorials, including the tombs of Thomas and John White, both Mayors of Tenby in the fifteenth century. Thomas White was famous for hiding a young Henry Tudor from King Richard III. in a cellar, under “Boots” and to this day Tenby schoolchildren are given the chance to enter this cellar and traverse the secret passage that leads from "Boots" to the church. There is also a wall tablet in memory of Robert Recorde, (See my earlier blogs), who introduced the equals sign ( = ) to mathematical calculation. During the first civil war, Tenby was besieged by Cromwells' Roundheads and musket ball holes can still be seen in the church to this day. The gardens of remembrance to to the rear of the church are a magnificent oasis of calm in the bustling centre of Tenby and are overflowing with roses during the Summer. Words alone cannot describe the beauty of this church and FBM Holidays, www.fbmholidays.co.uk, have accommodation in the centre of Tenby for you to enjoy this historic building at your leisure. DS

My Personal History of Pembrokeshire (part 8)

This week, Bosherston Lily Ponds. Believe it or not these are artificial and were created between 1780 and 1860 by The Earls of Cawdor out of three limestone valleys that used to have surface water that drained naturally into the sea. The Earls of Cawdor hired a canal engineer by the name of James Cockshutt who managed to overcome the problems of the water draining through the limestone. They only did this to show off their mansion. You may ask what a Scottish Earl was doing in Pembrokeshire and one version I have heard of was that he won the lands in a card game. How true this is, I have no idea, however there are a multitude of "Cawdor" links around Pembrokeshire with various public houses etc named after them. Of course, nowadays, there would be an almighty protest about someone damming up valleys for their own use and gratification. What is evident now is that Bosherston Lily Ponds is an area of outstanding beauty and teems with wildlife such as otters, dragonflies, fish (fishing is permitted with licence) water birds and bats etc. This area is now administered by The National Trust and when the lilies are out, is an outstanding sight. There are walks around the ponds with access to Broad Haven beach and other coastal paths. One nice legend about the original water filled valleys is that this was where the Lady of the Lake gave Arthur his magical sword Excalibur. Sir Gawain one of the knights of the round table is also rumoured to have resided in the hermitage at St Govans Head, only a mile away from the Lily Ponds. As many parts of Britain claim to be associated with King Arthur, this claim may be slightly fanciful, but who am I to decry these rumours. Whatever you think, Bosherston Lily Ponds are magnificent and should you wish to visit this beautiful part of Pembrokeshire and find out more about the possible links to King Arthur, FBM Holidays (www.fbmholidays.co.uk) have the ideal self catering accommodation for you to explore this truly wonderful part of Wales. DS.