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250px, The cantref of Pebidiog in ancient Dyfed The Hundred of Dewisland (often written "Dewsland") was a
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 des ...
in northwest
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. Formerly the pre- Norman
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 wer ...
of Pebidiog, it included the city and the
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...
of
St Davids St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, ,  "David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint David, W ...
. It was named after ''Dewi Sant'', the
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 peopl ...
name for
Saint David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail a ...
. The
Petty Sessions Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...
for the hundred were held at Solfach.


History


Welsh Bishops

Dewisland was almost identical in area to the pre- Norman
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 wer ...
of Pebidiog, one of the traditional seven cantrefs of
Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed was also the name of the area's county council and the name remains in use f ...
. It was said to be 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 ...
: ''Mynyw'' (Latin: Menevia) and ''Pencaer''. In the later centuries of the first millennium, Dyfed (including Pebidiog) was subsumed into
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 o ...
. Following the
Norman Conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqu ...
, the ruler of Deheubarth,
Rhys ap Tewdwr Rhys ap Tewdwr (c. 1040 – 1093) was a king of Deheubarth in Wales and member of the Dinefwr dynasty, a branch descended from Rhodri the Great. He was born in the area which is now Carmarthenshire and died at the battle of Brecon in April 1 ...
, accepted the suzerainty of the English king,
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, but when William died, Rhys (taking the view that his vassalage was for William's life only.''The history of Wales, descriptive of the government, wars, manners, religion, laws, druids, bards, pedigrees and language of the ancient Britons and modern Welsh, and of the remaining antiquities of the principality'', John Jones, 1824, London, p. 63-64) attacked
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
( in alliance with other magnates) His land in theory forfeit for rebelling against Norman suzerainty Rhys was subsequently killed in battle at Brecon, and Deheubarth was seized by various Norman magnates. The Bishop's rights, however, were respected by the Normans, who left Pebidiog alone, thus sparing it the fierce fighting which took place elsewhere. The disestablishment of Deheubarth around it effectively made the Bishop's lands a sovereign stateDewislandwhich was able to boast of being the only Welsh realm never conquered by a foreign invader. It was not a contiguous realm;
Llawhaden Llawhaden ( cy, Llanhuadain) is a village, parish and community in the Hundred of Dungleddy ( cy, Daugleddyf), Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The community of Llawhaden includes the parish of Robeston Wathen, part of Narberth and the hamlet of Gel ...
, a sizeable possession of the Bishop lying elsewhere in Dyfed, also became part of Dewisland,Judgement in ''Crown Estate Commissioners v (1) Mark Andrew Tudor Roberts (2) Trelleck Estate Ltd: ChD'' (Mr Justice Lewison), 13 June 2008 having received the same treatment by the Normans. Following the incumbency of
Sulien Sulien was an 11th-century Bishop of St David's, for two periods (1073-1078 and 1079/80-1085/6). He died about 1090/1. Sulien is closely associated with the '' clas'' church at Llanbadarn Fawr near Aberystwyth where it appears that he took refuge ...
, the chapter had begun a pattern of appointing his close blood relatives as Bishop of St. Davids (first Rhygyfarch, his eldest son, then Wilfred, his brother. When they elected Daniel, Sulien's younger son, it began to look like a state with hereditary leadership; King Henry I was able to use the Norman presence around Dewisland to prevent Daniel's consecration.


Norman Bishops

The King summoned the chapter of St. David's to London, and persuaded them to choose his wife's chancellor,
Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...
as the Bishop, instead of Daniel.''
Dictionary of Welsh Biography The ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (DWB) (also ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940'' and ''The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970'') is a biographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution t ...
'',
John Edward Lloyd Sir John Edward Lloyd (5 May 1861 – 20 June 1947) was a Welsh historian, He was the author of the first serious history of the country's formative years, ''A History of Wales from the Earliest Times to the Edwardian Conquest'' (1911). Ano ...
, London, 1959, entry for ''Bernard (died 1148), bishop of S. Davids''
Bernard was not even a priest, and following the decision was hurriedly ordained that very day18 September 1115before being consecrated as Bishop the following day at Westminster Cathedral. Bernard, newly Bishop, accepted the King's suzerainty over Dewisland (including Llawhaden), whereupon King Henry I issued a charter formally acknowledging it as a
Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...
ship. As Marcher Lord, the Bishop was almost sovereign - they had judicial powers over all offences (except high treason), could levy tax, issue charters, raise armies, and start wars. Initially, St David's remained its civil and ecclesiastical headquarters, and small English-speaking communities began to settle there (as they did at Abercastle and
Letterston Letterston ( cy, Treletert) is a parish and local government community in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. Situated on the A40, Haverfordwest is to the south and Fishguard is to the north. The name is derived from the medieval owners of the par ...
). However, Llawhaden, being south of the
Preseli Hills The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, ( Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stre ...
, was a more fertile and hospitable region, and later Marcher Bishops came to base the administration of Dewisland at Llawhaden; by the 13th century, the exchequer, chancery and court of Dewisland had moved to Llawhaden.


Pembrokeshire

In the 1530s, King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
began the process of church reform, ultimately along Protestant lines; in 1534, for example, his new Heresy Act made it lawful to criticise the
Pope of Rome The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
(and indeed the other two popes -
Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryph ...
and Gabriel VII). The following year, he passed the first Laws in Wales Act, which abolished the status of Marcher Lordships; Dewisland was merged with the adjacent Lordship of Kemes and surrounding Lordship of Pembroke to form
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...
. Though the main part of Dewisland became a hundred (still named ''Dewisland''), Llawhaden was administratively detached from it, and made part of
Dungleddy 200px, Ancient Dyfed showing Deugleddyf Cantref and its "commotes" 200px, Pembrokeshire showing Dungleddy Hundred The Hundred of Dungleddy was a hundred in the centre of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It had its origins in the pre-Norman cantref of Deugl ...
, to which it was actually adjacent. The Bishop died within the year, and Henry appointed an ardent Protestant, William Barlow, as his replacement. Not content to merely approve these changes to the Bishop's status, Barlow tried to move the see out of St. David's altogether - to
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
. By now, the former English-speaking communities within St David's, Abercastle, and Letterston had become thoroughly Welsh-speaking, and essentially extinct. The local Elizabethan antiquarian George Owen described the hundred of Dewisland as wholly Welsh-speaking.Owen, George, ''The Description of Pembrokeshire'', Dillwyn Miles (Ed), Gomer Press, Llandysul, 1994,


Modern Marcher Lordship claim

In the early 19th century, the Bishop of St. David's established a college (''St David's College''), to which he granted the manor of St. Davids. By the late 20th century, this college had become part of the
University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...
, and then more specifically the
University of Wales, Lampeter University of Wales, Lampeter ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Llanbedr Pont Steffan) was a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822, and incorporated by royal charter in 1828, it was the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales, with limited ...
. At that point, the University sold the Lordship of the Manor to Mark Andrew Tudor Roberts, who persuaded them to change the sale to that of ''The Marcher Lordship of St. Davids''. Later, in attempting to assert a number of rights, some of which were only held by Marcher Lords, he came into conflict with the
Crown Estate Commissioners The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...
, and the matter came to court in 2008. The court concluded that the Marcher Lordship did not exist, having been abolished by the Laws in Wales Acts. Furthermore, even if it had, it was not the University's to sell, and in any case, the sale contract had explicitly spelt out that when using the phrase ''Marcher Lordship of St. Davids'' it was using it as a gloss to refer to the Lordship of the Manor of the City of St David's (rather than, for example, an actual Marcher Lordship). As Lord of the Manor of the City of St. David's, a title to which the court found that Mr Roberts was entitled, he has the right of
moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
of wrecks on the shoreline.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewisland (Hundred) History of Pembrokeshire