250 px, Location of the cantref of Penfro within ancient Dyfed The Cantref of Penfro was one of the seven

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divided into ''cantrefi'', which were ...

i of the Kingdom of Dyfed. It subsequently became part of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House of ...

in around 950. It consisted of the long peninsular part of Dyfed south of the Eastern Cleddau and the Daugleddau estuary, and bordered on its landward side by Cantref Gwarthaf. The name, meaning "land's end", derives from ''Pen'' ("end", literally "head") and "fro" ("populated area"). Its area was approximately . It was divided into two

commotes A commote (Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales ...

: Cwmwd Penfro in the southwest and Cwmwd Coedrath in the northeast, as shown in the map. The eastern part of Cwmwd Penfro was sometimes called Cwmwd Maenorbier, and the northern part of Cwmwd Coedrath was sometimes called Cwmwd Arberth, but both these were post-Norman lordships, and were probably not genuine commotes. Its civil headquarters were at Pembroke:

Rhoscrowther Rhoscrowther ( cy, Rhoscrowdder) was a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales on the south shore of the Milford Haven Waterway. The placename is Welsh and perhaps means "crwth-player's moor". It is part of the com ...

Penally Penally ( cy, Penalun) coastal village, parish and community southwest of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey (a Gothic style country house), the neighbouring St. Deiniol's Well, WWI Practice ...

might have been its ecclesiastical centre. The cantref was made part of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

March in the 12th century, and many castles were built, including those of Carew, Manorbier, Narberth, Pembroke, and

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 ...

. The area became English-speaking, as it continues today, except in the northern part of Narberth parish. At the time of the 1535 Acts of Union, the cantref was split between two newly formed hundreds, when Cwmwd Penfro became

Castlemartin Hundred Castlemartin was a hundred in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Initially created by the Marcher Lords of Pembroke in the 14th century from the western part of the pre-Norman cantref of Penfro, it was confirmed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542. The ...

, and Cwmwd Coedrath was merged into Narberth Hundred.

Notes

{{reflist Cantrefs History of Pembrokeshire