Penally ( cy, Penalun) coastal 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 ...

southwest of

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 ...

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 village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey (a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style country house), the neighbouring St. Deiniol's Well, WWI Practice trenches, and Penally Training Camp (World War I and World War II). In the community, though nearer to St Florence than Penally, is Carswell Medieval House, a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Archaeological investigations of nearby Hoyles Mouth Cave shows evidence of

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

use. Artifacts found there can be seen at Tenby Museum. ''Trefloyne'' (formerly ''Trellwyn'') is an ancient manor, the seat of the Bowen family, and marked as a separate parish on a 1578 map, but little evidence of the original manor house remains; it was still standing at the beginning of the 19th century, but in ruins by the 1880s. The Black Rock Quarry, between Penally and Tenby, provided

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

in the area during the nineteenth century, particularly after the Pembroke to Tenby railway arrived in 1863. Twelve large limekilns were built on a branch line 1865. Retrieved 28 April 2019. They are the largest surviving

limekiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take pl ...

s in Pembrokeshire. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

heavy industry made way for tourism, with the Kiln Park camping and caravan resort being developed near the old quarry site.

Governance

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 ...

with the same name exists. This ward stretches towards

Saundersfoot Saundersfoot ( cy, Llanusyllt; Old Welsh: ''Llanussyllt'') is a large village and community (and former electoral ward) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is near Tenby, both being holiday destinations. Saundersfoot lies in the Pembrokeshire Coast Natio ...

whilst avoiding

. The total population of this ward at the 2011 census was 1,710.

Amenities

The local

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

is dedicated to St Nicholas & St

Teilo Saint Teilo ( la, Teliarus or '; br, TeliauWainewright, John. in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', Vol. XIV. Robert Appleton Co. (New York), 1912. Accessed 20 July 2013. or '; french: Télo or '; – 9 February ), also known by his C ...

. It was originally called St Nicholas' but was changed at the end of the 19th century; it is suggested that Penally was the birthplace of St Teilo, a Christian leader in the 6th century. The church houses the Penally Celtic cross which was originally located in the graveyard but has since been restored and moved into the church. The village has two

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, ''The Cross Inn'' and ''The Paddock'', a small shop and bus service 349. Views overlook Tenby, Caldey Island, Giltar Point, and Tenby Golf Course, which runs alongside Tenby South Beach to the south of the village. Waymarked public footpaths allow people to walk through the links to the beach and to Tenby. Another golf course lies inland, to the west of the village, at Trefloyne.

Railway

Penally railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Penally Station (geograph 5529336).jpg , borough = Penally, Pembrokeshire , country = Wales , coordinates = , grid_name ...

on the Pembroke Dock branch of the West Wales Line is operated by

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...

, who also manage the station. Trains stop here on request every two hours in each direction, westwards to and eastwards to , , and .

Military installations

The Penally Training Camp is a military facility at the western edge of Penally. The camp was opened in 1860 to provide

musketry A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...

training after the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

and was extensively used in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

. This is a Defence Training Establishment used by regular, reserve and cadet forces. Penally Gallery Range is a small Ministry of Defence firing range adjacent to Giltar Point. The range, which was built in the middle of the 19th century, was used to train soldiers during World War I and World War II. When the firing range is being used, red flags are flown and there are sentries stationed at the two huts along the coastal perimeter line. If firing is taken from beyond the 100 meter firing points (which run adjacent to the pathway which runs from railway station towards the beach) then an additional sentry post at Penally station level crossing is manned. Part of the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Sir Benfro), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly a ...

is diverted along the A4139 road when the firing range is in use. The firing range has its own

byelaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

, which are displayed on signs around the firing range perimeter. The remains of the World War I practice

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...

may be found towards the east of Giltar Point along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. In 2020 and 2021, the UK Home Office used the Penally Training Camp to house

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

. The conditions in the camp were described as inadequate with some of the asylum seekers protesting that their human rights were being ignored and comparing the camp to a prison. The

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

issued a statement: "The camp does not meet the basic human needs of people seeking a new life in the UK" and called for its use to end as quickly as possible. The use of the camp to house asylum seekers ended in March 2021.

Wildlife

In March 2014 several

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

came to see a great spotted cuckoo, a bird species last seen in the UK in 2009. The inexperienced migrant came to Wales instead of Spain.

References

External links

Photographs of Penally and surrounding area on Geograph

Historical information and sources on GENUKI
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire