Amroth is both a village, a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

northeast of

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Located on

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay ( cy, Bae Caerfyrddin) is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conserva ...

, Amroth is noted for its long sandy beach which stretches the length of the village. It regularly earns a Blue Flag award. and is the south-to-north start of the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at ...

. Amroth is within the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others bei ...

. The name is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, and probably means "on (the brook called) Rhath".

History

The beach stretches the whole length of the village and at extreme low tide, the petrified forest, destroyed when sea levels rose 7,000 years ago, can still be seen. Fossilised

antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

, nuts and animal bones and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

s have been discovered. The

, which appeared as ''Amrath'' on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire, was an important

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

area until the end of the 19th century. Slight remains of mines and tramways are still visible. Ruins of Amroth Castle still remain, and one mile inland is the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Elidyr, which is a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Amroth Castle

Amroth Castle stands on the north side of the unclassified coast road east of the village of Amroth. It is surrounded by a high wall with an entrance archway at the south-western corner. The present building is a 19th-century country house built in the style of a

mock castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

which possibly replaced a small stone castle dating from the 12th century. The gatehouse is much restored. The ruinous remains of the house are a grade I listed building. After passing through several hands the castle was used as a lunatic asylum in the 1850s. Converted back to a private house in the 1880s it was later owned and occupied by Owen Colby Philipps, the shipping magnate who bought the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

and was created

Baron Kylsant Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of Carmarthen and Amroth in 1923. It passed to his daughter Nesta, who had married George Coventry, grandson of the 9th Earl of Coventry. They moved out in 1930 when George inherited the Coventry title and estates.

Walking trails

The

runs west along the coast from its start at Amroth. This

national trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, a statutory agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales (successor body to the Countryside Council for Wa ...

has since 2012 also formed a part of the

Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the wor ...

which continues eastwards from Amroth over the headland of Telpyn Point towards

Pendine Pendine ( cy, Pentywyn, "end of the dunes") is a village and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Situated on the northern shore of Carmarthen Bay and bordered by the communities of Eglwyscummin and Llanddowror, the population at the 2011 censu ...

. Amroth is also the southern terminus of the Knights' Way, which runs north to

St Davids Cathedral St Davids Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Tyddewi) is situated in St DavidsBritain's smallest city in the county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales. Early history The monastic community was founded by Saint David, Abbot ...

. A section of the Cistercian Way also passes through.

Governance

Amroth is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

and a

in Pembrokeshire, which includes Amroth,

Crunwere Crunwere ( cy, Cronwern - also written Crunwear and Cronwere) is a hamlet and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated 3 km north of the Carmarthen Bay coast, 8 km north-east of Saundersfoot. The parish includes the village of ...

Summerhill Summerhill or Summer Hill may refer to the following places: Australia * Summer Hill, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney *Summerhill, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston * Summerhill (Mount Duneed), a prefabricated iron cottage in Victoria Canada * ...

, Stepaside, Pleasant Valley,

Wisemans Bridge Wisemans Bridge (Welsh; Pont-yr-ŵr) is a coastal hamlet between Amroth and Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The small beachfront community, which is part of the parish of Amroth, was once an important centre for the mineral industry in Wes ...

, Llanteg and Llanteglos. The ward elects a councillor to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authorit ...

and up to twelve community councillors to Amroth Community Council.

Amenities

The beach which stretches the length of the village earned a Blue Flag award in 2020 and the eastern end has had a lifeguard for part of the summer. Public toilets are available at either ends of the village. The main car park is managed by

Authority.

References

External links

Amroth Castle

Pictures of Amroth Area on Geograph
*
The Amroth War Memorial
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Villages in Pembrokeshire Carmarthen Bay Communities in Pembrokeshire Coast of Pembrokeshire