Treffgarne
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![]() Church of St Michael | |
Location within Pembrokeshire | |
OS grid reference | SM956237 |
Community | |
Principal area | |
Preserved county | |
Country | Wales |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | HAVERFORDWEST |
Postcode district | SA62 |
Dialling code | 01437 |
Police | Dyfed-Powys |
Fire | Mid and West Wales |
Ambulance | Welsh |
UK Parliament | |
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Treffgarne (Welsh : Trefgarn, or town of the rock) is a small village and parish in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It lies to the south of the Preseli Hills close to the Western Cleddau river, and close to the main A40 road from Fishguard to Haverfordwest. The area has an interesting local geology and evidence of mineral extraction at least as far back as Roman times. The present village is medieval in origin.
The village name is derived from the Welsh-language words tref ("town") and carn ("cairn, mound, rock"). The reference in this case is to the Treffgarne Rocks, a series of ancient Ordovician rhyolite volcanic plugs, [1] now exposed, that form the Roche Rhyolite Group. A number of interesting minerals have been recorded including brookite crystals (titanium dioxide) [2] and possibly tin. [3] Small regular cavities can be found in the rocks where crystals of at least 1 cm (½") width once resided. Gold has also been found at the rocks from drillcores and placer gold in the local Western Cleddau below the village. [4] There is also an old legend of old gold workings near Treffgarne (possibly towards the farm Mount Pleasant) from the Roman period. [5] Roman activity is certainly attested in the region with at least two Romano-British settlements nearby at Ambleston (Castle Flemming) and Wolfscastle and a possible extension of the Roman road from Carmarthen into Pembrokeshire.
The site of the village itself goes back to at least the medieval period. Evidence for this is in the form of a nearby medieval strip lynchet field system to the north of the village. The current parish church, dedicated to St Michael, stands in a roughly, rectangular churchyard near the centre of the village. The church was totally rebuilt in 1881, [6] though the 14th-15th century font and water stoup date from the 11th century. [7] The church was mentioned in the Taxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291. Inside it are some ornate and colorful stained glass windows originally made in Munich and which were allegedly transported by horse and cart from St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. [8] The church may sit on an even older monastic site although this may be more likely located at Little Treffgarne Farm. [9] In the 19th century, ruins were found near the church including arches and walls. [10] It was thought that this was the remains of a Cistercian monastery but is more likely to have been the site of a hospitium serving pilgrims on the road to St David's.
There was evidence of earlier encampments near Treffarne, but these had been leveled by the 19th century. [11]
Now bypassed by the modern A40 trunk road from Fishguard to Haverfordwest, the village originally sat on the turnpike that ran between these two towns. [11] Until the 1970s the village was quite small with no more than 120 inhabitants but has since grown with the development of a modern estate to the west of the church. Close to the village to the west is Treffgarne Hall, erected in 1842 by Dr. Evans. It was converted into a restaurant in 1979 by executive chef Derek Stenson and his partner John Neville, former sous chef at the Dorchester Hotel, but this endeavour did not last.
Close to the village to the northeast is the disused Treffgarne Quarry which provided roadstone.
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshire County Council.
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 as of the 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lower Fishguard and the "Main Town". Fishguard and Goodwick are twin towns with a joint Town Council.
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.
Wolfscastle, also spelt Wolf's Castle, is a village and community in Pembrokeshire, between Haverfordwest and Fishguard, in southwest Wales. It was historically in the parish of St Dogwells.
Spittal is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the A40 trunk road, approximately halfway between Haverfordwest and Fishguard. It had a population of 494 as of the 2011 census.
The River Cleddau consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the important harbour of Milford Haven.
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.
Mathry is a village, community and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The hilltop village is 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Fishguard, close to the A487 road between Fishguard and St David's.
Llangwm is a small village, parish and community of around 450 properties situated on the Llangwm Pill off the River Cleddau estuary near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It has a history of mining and fishing and is in the largely English-speaking south of the county.
Canaston Bridge is the location in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales where the A40 trunk road crosses the Eastern Cleddau. It is on the edge of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, 14 miles (23 km) northeast of Pembroke, and close to Oakwood Theme Park and Blue Lagoon waterpark. It is about half a mile upstream of Blackpool Mill, at the normal tidal limit of the river.
Letterston is a parish and local government community in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. Situated on the A40, Haverfordwest is 10 miles (16 km) to the south and Fishguard is 7 miles (11 km) to the north.
Uzmaston is a small parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Haverfordwest. The village, to the northwest of Boulston, forms part of the community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, and lies near the bank of the Western Cleddau. It contains the Grade II-listed St. Ismael's Parish Church which has existed since at least 1230, was extensively rebuilt in 1870-73, and restored in the 1990s.
Hayscastle or Hays-Castle is a village, parish and community of Pembrokeshire in West Wales, 7½ miles from Haverfordwest on the B4330 road.
Trecwn is a village in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) east of the A40 road in the community of Scleddau. It is in the parish of Llanstinan.
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.
Scleddau is a village and a community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and is 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Fishguard on the main A40 road. The Western Cleddau river which lends its name to the village flows under the main road. There are several springs in the village.
The B4329 is a scenic route and a former turnpike in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It links Eglwyswrw in the north of the county to Haverfordwest, the county town in the south, in an approximately southwesterly direction, crossing the Preseli Mountains. It links to the A487 trunk road at both its northern and southern ends.
Haroldston St Issells is a former parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the upper reaches of the Western Cleddau, 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Haverfordwest. Its area is 1,104 acres (447 ha); Haroldston church is co-located with Lower Haroldston and is a small attractive building. Haroldston ruins and Lower Haroldston can both be viewed from a circular walk along the banks of the Cleddau. Haroldston and other places in the parish are preserved as historic place names by the Royal Commission.
Prendergast is a former village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, now a suburb of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire's county town. The name survives as an electoral ward of Haverfordwest. The Western Cleddau forms the parish's western boundary, and the Hiog, a tributary of the Cleddau, the eastern boundary.
St Michael's Church is a Grade I listed building and parish church in the community and parish of Rudbaxton in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The building dates from the 15th century, and has a 12th-century font. It was listed on 1 March 1963 as a fine example of a substantial mediaeval double-nave church with important memorials.