Llanwnda is a rural village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

to the north of the Welsh county of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

and part of the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

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 ...

. It lies some two miles northwest of the port of

Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...

and is inside the boundaries of the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...

History

Ancient and ritualistic remains are scattered about the area of the parish, indicating occupation from prehistoric times. The hamlet of Trefasser, according to topographer Samuel Lewis, was stated to be the birthplace of

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh people, Welsh monk from St David's, Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne (ancient), Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join ...

, the biographer of the 9th-century king of Wessex,

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

. In about 1076, forces of north and south Wales met in battle, with the north Welsh victorious. Lewis also noted that the historian

Gerald of Wales Gerald of Wales (; ; ; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

was incumbent in the parish for a time in the 12th century. Still surviving

To the north of the village is the rocky outcrop of Garnwnda, which was the site of a French soldiers' camp during the

Battle of Fishguard The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22–24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign forc ...

in 1797. A tattered

Welsh Bible Parts of the Bible have been translated into Welsh since at least the 15th century, but the most widely used translation of the Bible into Welsh for several centuries was the 1588 translation by William Morgan, '' Y Beibl cyssegr-lan sef Yr H ...

of 1620, in Llanwnda church, is said to have been rescued from the hands of the French invaders. On the north side of Garnwnda is a prominent

cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being a ...

excavated by John Fenton in 1847.

Parish

The coastal parish of Llanwnda (as ''Llanunda'') appears on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. Included in the parish are numerous small settlements and the town of

Goodwick Goodwick (; ) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Fishguard and Goodwick form a community that wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists of Dyffryn, Stop-and-Call, H ...

as well as the village of Llanwnda. The most northerly point is

Strumble Head Strumble Head () is a rocky headland in the community of Pencaer in Pembrokeshire, Wales, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It marks the southern limit of Cardigan Bay. Three islands lie off the head: ''Ynys Meicel'' – – ''Y ...

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

, in his 1833 ''Topographical Dictionary of Wales'', noted the population of the parish as 1,046. The parish church of St Gwyndaf, situated in a walled churchyard, has mediaeval origins and was extensively restored in the 19th century. It is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Governance

Llanwnda is the name of a community

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 t ...

to Pencaer Community Council, electing 3 of the 6 members of the council.Pencaer Community Council
Pembrokeshore Community Councils. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

In popular culture

Llanwnda came to a degree of national prominence in the summer of 2007 following the purchase of a semi-derelict farmhouse (''Trehilyn'') by the broadcaster

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

and the ensuing BBC television documentary, ''A Pembrokeshire Farm'', which recorded its restoration. A second series followed, and both series were repeated in 2023.

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKITV programme details
* {{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire