Until the late eleventh century, this part of southwestern Wales was part of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth. After the death in 1093 of the king of Deheubarth, Rhys ap Tewdwr, in the Battle of Brecon, the Normans took advantage of the lack of leadership among the Welsh, and Norman forces seized much of South Wales. In 1102, following a failed revolt by many of these Normans against King Henry I of England (in favour of Henry's brother, Robert Curthose), the King re-organised the wider region surrounding the Daugleddau Estuary and Milford Haven, including the Penfro peninsula, as a single Marcher Lordship of Pembroke.
In 1108, the low-lying land of Henry's mother, Flanders, suffered catastrophic flooding, and many of its inhabitants—Flemings—sought assistance from Henry.[1] Henry offered to settle the refugees in the hinterland of the Pembroke Lordship - Haverford (the west of the Daugleddau Estuary) and Dungleddy (the east),[1] thus supplementing his garrison at Pembroke Castle with a compliant and grateful local populace; the number of Flemings so settled far outweighed any local Welsh populace (having a significant genetic impact which lasts to this day[2][3]).
In Dungleddy, the Flemings settled under the leadership of a man named Wizo, who proceeded to build and live at Wiston Castle. Wizo began to grant estates from the land he had been given to his followers, and one such mesne lord was granted the land at Picton, which was three miles to the south of Wiston. This Fleming was not a great historical figure and his name is not recorded. The site chosen for the castle he built may have been on a mound a few hundred yards to the east of the present house, but in any event, the present building was in place by the end of the thirteenth century and was by then in the hands of the Wogan family, who were now the owners of Wiston Castle.[4]
The circumstances under which Picton Castle came to be owned by the Wogans is unclear, but it may have been through a failure to beget male heirs or through the marriage of an heiress to one of the Wogans. As a result of marriage, possibly the same one, the later Wogans also descend from Cadifor ap Collwyn, Lord of Dyfed in the time of Rhys ap Tewdwr;[5] Cadifor (and hence, later Wogans) was male-line descendant of the earlier kings of Dyfed, prior to its amalgamation into Deheubarth by the later House of Dinefwr (from which Rhys ap Tewdwr hailed).[6]
By the 13th century, Wiston Castle seems to have been abandoned and the Wogan family lived at Picton Castle, where their heirs have lived ever since. Picton Castle began as a motte castle and was reconstructed in stone by Sir John Wogan between 1295 and 1308. The design was unusual, there being no courtyard internally, the main building being protected by seven circular towers which projected from the wall. At the east end, two of these towers acted as a gatehouse, and the portcullised-entrance between them led straight into the lower part of the great hall. At this time the windows were narrow slits but these were replaced in about 1400 by large windows and a grand recessed arch with large window was built in the gatehouse.[4]
In 1405, French troops supporting Owain Glyndŵr attacked and seized the Castle, and it was seized again during the English Civil War in 1645 by Parliamentary forces.[7][8]
Picton castle interior
In the 15th century, the male-line of Wogans died out. Their heiress, Katherine, married Owen Dunn (Welsh: Owain Dwnn). Sir Henry Dunn (Welsh: Dwnn), the grandson of Owen and Katherine, only had daughters. The Picton Castle estate thus came into the hands of the Philipps family when Sir Henry's daughter Jane married Sir Thomas ap Philipps of Cilsant in the 1490s.[9] Sir John Philipps, who inherited the castle in the 15th century, remodelled the building and created a new entrance which remained until the 1820s when a new entrance was designed by Thomas Rowlands (who also designed Slebech Church).[10] In 1611, King James I wanted to pay for his army in Ireland and decided to raise the money by selling baronetcies. Sir John Philipps paid £1,095 for his hereditary title.[4]
In June 1672, Cesar Picton, a black child presumably taken from Senegal, travelled with the Phillips family from Norbiton Place in Kingston upon Thames to Picton Castle, but did not return with the family to England in October. Instead he remained at the castle, presumably to be trained as a servant. He later chose his surname possibly on the basis of his short residence here.[11]
19th century engraving of Picton Castle
The estate remained with the Philipps family until the death of Lord Milford in 1823, when it was inherited by his cousin Richard Grant, who assumed the surname Philipps and was created a Baronet in 1828 and Baron Milford in 1847. His heir was his half-brother, the Reverend James Henry Alexander Philipps (formerly Gwyther), who assumed by royal licence the surname and arms of Philipps. On his death the estate passed to his son-in-law, Charles Edward Gregg Philipps, who was created a Baronet, of Picton, in 1887 (see Philipps baronets) then to Sir Richard Foley Foley-Philipps, cousin of Sir John Erasmus, and grandson of Charles Edward Gregg Philipps.[9]
Picton Castle Garden (grade 1 listed) is open to the public everyday. The gardens are protected on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and the beauty of the gardens is recognised by the Royal Horticultural Society, as a Partner Garden. The garden are over 40 acres and include the Walled Garden, the Jungle Garden, Peach House Woods, Peep-In Woods, Dew Pond, Fernery and Apothecary's garden. There is a restaurant and shop and self-catering accommodation is available in the gatehouse lodges. Event, fairs and workshops are held periodically.[14]
Picton Castle is home to the ‘Picton Renoir’ which was featured in BBC's Fake or Fortune? (July 2015). The episode drew attention to differences between art authorities and added to the controversies that have attended the Wildenstein Institute.[15][16] The painting can be viewed when visiting the castle.[17]
Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century. The priory was unusual in having extensive military-style defences and in its state of preservation; the architectural historian John Newman described it as “the most complete and impressive Norman ecclesiastical building in Glamorgan”. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, parts of the priory were converted into a private house by Sir Edward Carne, a lawyer and diplomat. This Elizabethan house was demolished between 1803 and 1805 and replaced by a Georgian mansion, Ewenny Priory House. The house is still owned by the Turbervill family, descendants of Sir Edward. The priory is not open to the public apart from the Church of St Michael, the western part of the priory building, which continues to serve as the parish church for the village. The priory is in the care of Cadw and is a Grade I listed building.
Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, with 12,042 people, after Milford Haven. The suburbs include the former parish of Prendergast, Albert Town and the residential and industrial areas of Withybush.
Nevern is both a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The community includes the settlements of Felindre Farchog, Monington, Moylgrove and Bayvil. The small village lies in the Nevern valley near the Preseli Hills of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park 2 miles (3 km) east of Newport on the B4582 road.
Wiston is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the United Kingdom. It was once a marcher borough. George Owen, in 1603, described it as one of nine Pembrokeshire "boroughs in decay". It continued as a constituent parliamentary borough until the end of the 19th century.
Wiston Castle is a motte and bailey castle in the Pembrokeshire village of Wiston in south west Wales and is one of the best examples of its type in Wales. The castle and village were founded by Wizo, a Flemish settler who was granted the land by Henry I of England after he had wrested control from the previous owner, Arnulf de Montgomery. The castle was captured by the Welsh on several occasions but on each occasion it was retaken. It was abandoned during the thirteenth century when the then owner moved to nearby Picton Castle.
Laugharne Castle is in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The castle, located on the estuary of the River Tâf, was originally established in 1116. It was rebuilt as a Norman stronghold. There have been many alterations since then, including becoming a Tudor fortified manor house in the sixteenth century. It changed hands twice during the English Civil War, being eventually captured by Parliamentary forces in 1644.
Llawhaden Castle is a ruined castle in Llawhaden, Pembrokeshire, Wales, 10 miles (16 km) east of Haverfordwest. A motte-and-bailey castle is thought to have previously occupied the site and the present structure was built by the bishops of the Diocese of St David in the 13th century. The castle was abandoned in the 16th century and some of the stone was removed for local building projects. The site is privately owned by the Lord of the Manor of Llawhaden and managed by Cadw.
Walton East is a small rural village and parish established around a church at least as early as Norman times. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Llys y Fran and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) north of Clarbeston Road and in Wiston community in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Llawhaden is a village, parish and community in mid-Pembrokeshire, West Wales, historically in the Hundred of Dungleddy. The community of Llawhaden includes the parish of Robeston Wathen, part of Narberth and the hamlet of Gelli, and had a population of 634 in 2001, increasing to 688 at the 2011 Census.
Cemais was an ancient cantref of the Kingdom of Dyfed, from the 11th century a Norman Marcher Lordship, from the 16th century a Hundred, and is now part of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It occupied the coastal area between the Teifi estuary and Fishguard, and the northern and southern slopes of the Preseli Hills, covering an area of approximately 140 square miles (360 km2). The Afon Nyfer divided it into two commotes: Cemais Is Nyfer to the north and Cemais Uwch Nyfer to the south.
Gerald de Windsor, aliasGerald FitzWalter, was an Cymro-Norman lord who was the first Castellan of Pembroke Castle in Pembrokeshire. Son of the first Norman-French Constable of Windsor Castle, and married to a Welsh Princess daughter of the King of Deheubarth, he was in charge of the Norman forces in south-west Wales. He was also steward and governor for the Norman magnate Arnulf de Montgomery. His descendants were the FitzGerald dynasty, as well as the FitzMaurice, De Barry, and Keating dynasties of Ireland, who were elevated to the Peerage of Ireland in the 14th century. He was also the ancestor of the prominent Carew family, of Moulsford in Berkshire, the owners of Carew Castle in Pembrokeshire and of Mohuns Ottery in Devon.
The Hundred of Dewisland was a hundred in northwest Pembrokeshire, Wales. Formerly the pre-Norman cantref of Pebidiog, it included the city and the peninsula of St Davids. It was named after Dewi Sant, the Welsh name for Saint David.
Boulston is a small settlement and former parish on the left bank of the Western Cleddau river in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech.
Emlyn was one of the seven cantrefi of Dyfed, an ancient district of Wales, which became part of Deheubarth in around 950. It consisted of the northern part of Dyfed bordering on the River Teifi. Its southern boundary followed the ridge of the line of hills separating the Teifi valley from the valleys of the Tâf and Tywi.
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Pembrokeshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now largely ceremonial. The High Sheriff is reappointed in March of each year.
Slebech was a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which is now part of the combined community of Uzmaston and Boulston and Slebech, a sparsely populated community on the northern shore of the Eastern River Cleddau. The community shares boundaries with the communities of Wiston and Llawhaden and mainly consists of farmland and woodland. Much of the community is within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Picton Castle's stable block loft is an important breeding roost for the rare Greater Horseshoe Bat.
Einion ap Collwyn, was a Welsh prince and warrior supposed to have existed in the eleventh century. Not mentioned in medieval chronicles, he is the subject of possibly legendary or fictional writings from the sixteenth century onwards, the oldest surviving report being that of the Tudor antiquary John Leland. Some Welsh family genealogies claimed descent from Einion.
Triffyn son of Rhain was an 8th- and 9th-century king of Dyfed.
Newport Castle is a castle located in Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The earliest castle on the site was built in the 13th century, and the present structure was built in the 19th century and is a private residence.
Rudbaxton is a village, parish and a local government community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is 81 miles (130 km) from Cardiff and 208 miles (335 km) from London.
References
1 2 The history of Little England beyond Wales and the non-Kymric colony settled in Pembrokeshire, Edward Laws, London, 1888
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