Granston ( cy, Treopert) is a hamlet and
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 ...
in
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. The parish was in the
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
Dewisland
250px, The cantref of Pebidiog in ancient Dyfed
The Hundred of Dewisland (often written "Dewsland") was a hundred in northwest Pembrokeshire, Wales. Formerly the pre-Norman cantref of Pebidiog, it included the city and the peninsula of St Davids. ...
and includes the settlements of Llangloffan and Tregwynt, with Tregwynt woollen mill. Granston is in the
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 ...
of
Pencaer
Pencaer is a community which covers an area of dispersed settlement in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the peninsula of Pen Caer and comprises the village of Llanwnda and the smaller settlements of Granston, Llangloffan, St Nicholas (Tremarchog) and T ...
.
Name
The Welsh name of the hamlet, Treopert, suggests an association with a Robert, possibly Robert FitzMartin of
Cemais.
In 1292 the village was referred to (Latin) as "Villa Grandi", and in 1535 as "Grandiston" (Grand's Farm), possibly a reference to a French name, Grand.
History
Prehistoric remains were noted in the parish in 1920.
The earliest church records of the parish are from 1291 and 1326. The parish was attached to the crown after the Dissolution. There was an Episcopal court at Granston.
The size of the parish is .
There are a number of listed buildings in the parish and, following the change from civil parishes to communities, Granston became part of the community of Pencaer.
Population
Granston parish in 1833 had a population of 195.
The population in 1872 was 156 people occupying 31 houses.
Analysis of the 1881 census found that the four most frequently-occurring surnames in the parish (67 of 175 inhabitants) were Davies, Evans, Thomas and Williams.
Places of worship
![Open Air Baptismal Pool, Llangloffan - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Open_Air_Baptismal_Pool%2C_Llangloffan_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1733384.jpg)
The parish was annexed to that of
Mathry
Mathry (Welsh: Mathri) is a village, community and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The hilltop village is southwest of Fishguard, close to the A487 road between Fishguard and St David's.
History
Mathry (formerly Mathrey or Merthyr) was in the h ...
and the church dedicated to St Catherine (sometimes recorded as Katherine), one of only three mediaeval churches in Wales to be dedicated to the saint. When the church was visited by the Royal Commission in 1920 it was found to have been constructed in 1877 with no evidence of the mediaeval structure save an octagonal font probably from the 14th century.
However, the diocesan description notes that the foundations are mediaeval.
The parish includes the hamlet of Llangloffan,
where there is a Baptist chapel.
The original chapel was built in 1706, restored in 1749 and 1791 and rebuilt in 1862. There is no baptismal pool at the chapel, baptisms being performed at a specially constructed site in the Western Cleddau at Pont Llangloffan, south of the hamlet. Llangloffan is the name of a Welsh hymn melody (composer unknown).
Archives for both churches are kept by Dyfed Family History Society.
Tregwynt
![Felin Tregwynt Mill - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Felin_Tregwynt_Mill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_221597.jpg)
Granston includes the estate of Tregwynt, whose papers are held by the Pembrokeshire Record Office. In the 14th century Sir William Horton of Tregwynt married the heiress to
Candleston Castle
Candleston Castle (historically sometimes Candlestone Castle) is a 14th-century fortified manor house, in ruins since the 19th century. It is southwest of Merthyr Mawr, former Glamorgan, Wales, now Bridgend County Borough and just northwest of ...
. The
Tregwynt Hoard
The Tregwynt Hoard is a mid-17th-century hoard of coins found at Tregwynt Mansion near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1996. The hoard is now in National Museum Wales. The treasure consisted of 33 gold coins, 467 silver coins and a gol ...
, from the Civil War, was found at
Tregwynt Mansion
Tregwynt Mansion is a house in the parish of Granston in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Tregwynt Hoard was found during renovations in 1996.
Location
Tregwynt means "place of the winds". The building has an exposed position on the coast above Abermawr ...
in 1996. The present Grade II*-listed manor house and extensions date from the 18th century.
Tregwynt mill
Melin Tregwynt (Tregwynt Mill) is a woollen mill in the hamlet of Tregwynt in the parish of Granston, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
A mill has stood on this site since 1819 taking fleeces from the sheep farms of the area, carding and spinning them into wo ...
(''Melin Tregwynt'') dates back to the 17th century when it served the surrounding area's sheep farming. It is still in operation, employing about 30 people,
and in 2012 celebrated 100 years as a family business, now weaving for a global market. The mill featured in a BBC2 Wales ''Made in Wales'' episode in December 2012.
Llangloffan
Llangloffan hamlet is south of Granston. Close by the source of the
Western Cleddau
The River Cleddau ( cy, Afon 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.
The name of the combined estuary – ...
river, the
Llangloffan Fen includes a
National Nature Reserve and a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI).
Llangloffan lends its name to a range of Welsh farmhouse cheeses; the brand was acquired by Carmarthenshire Cheese Company in 2006.
References
Further reading
*Coggins, Julie. ''The History of Tregwynt Woollen Mill''. Journal of the Pembrokeshire Historical Society 21 (2012): 28-34
*Coggins, Julie. ''Weaving a legacy: The history of Tregwynt Woollen Mill, 100 years old in 2012''. Pembrokeshire Life September 2011: 20-21
External links
{{authority control
Villages in Pembrokeshire