Carew ( cy, Caeriw) is a village,

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

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 ...

on an

inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

in the former

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

of Narberth,

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 ...

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheuba ...

, east of Pembroke. The eastern part of the parish is in 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 b ...

Description

The meaning of the name is unclear. In Welsh it could mean "fort on a hill" (Caer-rhiw), "fort by yews" (Caer-yw) or simply "forts" (Caerau). The village grew up to serve the nearby

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 ...

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 ...

. The parish includes several other villages and hamlets, including Carew Cheriton (around the parish church), Carew Newton, Milton, West Williamston, Sageston and Whitehill. Textile mills gave Milton its name. In the 19th century, there was a

carding Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...

mill downstream, a weaving mill by the bridge, and a

fulling Fulling, also known as felting, tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelled waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven or knitted cloth (particularly wool) to elimin ...

mill upstream. West Williamston had an industrial history:

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

was quarried in the area for centuries; stone was cut from slot-shaped flooded quarries communicating with the haven, known locally as "docks". See examples at . These allowed stone to be dropped from the quarry faces directly into barges at the bottom. From there, stone was shipped to

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is :Calcium carbonate, Ca ...

s all around the coast of North Pembrokeshire and

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

. A small quarry still operates north of Carew village. Besides limestone,

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 ...

was mined on a small scale for local consumption at Minnis Pit on the northeastern edge of the parish. Typical of

South Pembrokeshire South Pembrokeshire ( cy, De Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed, Wales from 1974 to 1996. Creation The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, from the following parts of the administra ...

, the parish has been predominantly English-speaking since the 12th century.

Governance

The village has its own elected

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...

and gives its name to 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 ...

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 ...

Architectural heritage

The 13th century Norman castle is west of the village.

Carew Cross Carew Cross ( cy, Croes Caeriw) is an 11th-century Grade I listed monument in the village of Carew, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Description The cross is an important example of an 11th-century memorial Celtic cross and is believed to commemorate the ...

is at the roadside in the village, and is an important example of an 11th-century memorial

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

, commemorating King Maredudd ab Edwin 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 ...

(died 1035). The cross, tall, is made from the local limestone. Similar to the

Nevern Nevern ( cy, Nanhyfer) 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 t ...

cross, it consists of two parts, connected with a tenon joint. It is possibly inscribed, on the west face: The parish church of

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

is a Grade I listed building, dating from the 14th century. In the churchyard is the Old Mortuary Chapel, also Grade I listed. The French Mill is a rare example of a tidal flour mill on a dam across the Carew inlet. The present building dates from the 18th century, but the French Mill was mentioned in 1476. The mill has not functioned since the 1930s, but its equipment is all still in place. It has two large undershot

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

s, driving seven sets of

mill stone Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones. Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...

s. A number of other structures in Carew are noted by

Coflein The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW; cy, Comisiwn Brenhinol Henebion Cymru; ), established in 1908, is a Welsh Government sponsored body concerned with some aspects of the archaeological, architectura ...

, including cottages and the bridge.

Sport

In 2017, Carew Cricket Club controversially declared in their final match against local rivals

Cresselly Jeffreyston (also known as Jeffreston) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire. Jeffreyston lies on the B4586 road about northwest of the main A477 St Clears to Pembroke road; the nearest town is Tenby about to the southeast. C ...

to win the Pembroke County Cricket Club championship. Carew were subsequently demoted to a lower division as PCCC decided that they had not broken the rules but had not played within the spirit of cricket.

References

External links