Rosebush, Pembrokeshire
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Rosebush (Welsh: ''Rhos-y-bwlch'') is a small village 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
Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of Maenclochog (electoral ward), an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclocho ...
,
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 ...
, southwest Wales, UK. It lies in the southern slopes 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 stret ...
, about north west of the village of Maenclochog.
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
was extensively quarried nearby, and was exported by the
Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway The Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway was a Welsh light railway company in Pembrokeshire. Services started in January 1876. Route The line ran from Clynderwen (formerly Narberth Road) on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebu ...
, which was later extended towards
Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...
. Today, Rosebush is a centre for exploring the Preseli Hills.


Name

The name Rosebush, an unusual name in the area, is assumed to be an
Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of ''Rhos y Bwlch'' or ''Rhosbwlch'' (gap/pass moor), a geographically descriptive name typical of the area, being the moorland gap beneath the passes (Bwlch-gwynt and Bwlch Pennant) that lie between the peaks of Foel Eryr and
Foel Cwmcerwyn Foel Cwmcerwyn is the highest point of the Preseli Hills and of Pembrokeshire. It lies within the borders of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park although it is 10 km from the sea. A path leads to the summit from the village of Rosebush i ...
.


History

Rosebush did not exist as a village before slate began to be quarried nearby in the early 19th century. Rosebush was not named in Lewis's ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales'', but quarrying in the parish of Maenclochog was, and Rosebush is marked on a pre-1850 parish map. The village took its name from Rosebush quarry when houses were built for quarry workers. Rosebush may have been the first Welsh village to have piped water, facilitated by the building of Rosebush Reservoir in the late 19th century.


Slate quarrying

Rosebush quarry was a modest but locally significant mining operation in the Welsh slate industry. Quarrying at Rosebush began in 1842 and continued until the end of the century. The quarry supplied slate for the roof of
Westminster Palace The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
. Slate was ferried around the county by the old railway; some was taken to
Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two pa ...
via the Rosebush and Fishguard Railway to be shipped abroad. To the north, there had been quarrying at Prescelly quarry (later called Bellstone quarry, a literal translation of Maenclochog) since 1825. Rosebush House, now the Old Post Office Bistro and Bar, was built in 1872 by the owners of Rosebush quarry and is 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 ...
. Inside can be found a slate quarry apprentice piece of work, cut to the shape of a Welsh plank for cooking Welshcakes. This slate comes from
Llangolman Llangolman () is a village and parish in the southeastern Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the community of Mynachlog-ddu. There are prehistoric remains nearby and the parish has a history of slate and clay quarrying. His ...
. The telephone call box outside is also listed.


Railway

In 1876 a railway line from
Clynderwen Clynderwen ( cy, Clunderwen; ) is a rural linear village and community (Wales), community, Historic counties of Wales, historically in Carmarthenshire in Wales, but administered as part of Pembrokeshire. It lies on the A478 road, A478 Tenby to Ca ...
to Rosebush was opened by the
Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway The Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway was a Welsh light railway company in Pembrokeshire. Services started in January 1876. Route The line ran from Clynderwen (formerly Narberth Road) on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebu ...
company which facilitated the export of slate from the quarries. The line closed in 1882 and the name changed to North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway in 1884 but was not reopened until 1895 with an extension from Rosebush to
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 ...
. An early passenger was a ''Western Mail'' reporter who travelled from Newport into the mountains to interview the husband of Margaret Rees who was being tried for murdering her child at Tyr-Bwlch. At the end of the report, he wrote that he drove ''"...to Rosebush Station to return, by the new North Pembrokeshire Railway, to more civilised haunts."'' At the end of the 19th century attempts were made to encourage tourists to visit by rail, but the proposal did not bear fruit. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
took over in 1898. The line was closed to passengers in 1937 and to freight in 1949. During World War II the railway line across the moorland was used by British and USA air forces for target practice. The Preselis were used extensively by the military ground forces during the conflict, and some troops were stationed in and around Rosebush.


Forgery charge

In 1881 at Newport, former Lincolnshire curate John Frederick Morgan, after visiting the rector Rev. Thomas Walters at Rosebush, was committed for trial for stealing a cheque book and passing forged cheques for £50 and £27.10s. He was allowed bail, and subsequently pleaded guilty at trial.


Explosion

On the evening of June 2013 an explosive device was detonated inside a letter box in the village, destroying the box and scattering cast iron fragments.


Amenities

Rosebush has a
pub 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 ...
, '' Tafarn Sinc'', built in 1876 from timber and zinc sheeting in the grounds of the railway station; part of the station platform still exists. The pub was originally a hostelry for quarry workers. It was threatened with closure in the 2010s when the owners retired but the community, with the support of actor
Rhys Ifans Rhys Ifans (; born Rhys Owain Evans; 22 July 1967) is a Welsh actor and musician. He was the frontman of Welsh rock music bands the Peth and Super Furry Animals. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Kevin & ...
, raised the money to keep it open. The Old Post Office, originally the house of the owner of the smaller part of the old Rosebush slate quarry, was built in 1872 of faced Rosebush slate and was a general store where the quarry workers bought supplies. It later became a Victorian post office. From there a walk can be started to the highest point in the hills, and was featured in the BBC series ''Weatherman walking''. The village is home to Seren Brewing Company and cheese manufacturer Pant Mawr Cheeses, which has a shop and a post office on the farm. Nearby Rosebush Reservoir provides water for southern Pembrokeshire and is a brown trout fishery. Plans for the reservoir were published in 1882.


References


Further reading

*Richards, Alun John. ''The Slate Quarries of Pembrokeshire'', (Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, Llanrwst, 1998) *George, Eirwyn. ''Meini Nadd a Mynyddoedd'', (Gwasg Gomer, 1999) *Wyn, Hefin ''Battle of the Preselau 1946-1948'' (Clychau Clochog 2008)


External links


Photographs of Rosebush and surrounding area on Geograph
* ttps://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/309255/details/ Rosebush quarry's entryon the
National Monuments Record of Wales 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 ...
(NMRW)'
websiteBellstone quarry
on the NMRW's website
Rosebush quarry's reservoir
on the NMRW's Website
Rosebush railway station
on the NMRW's website {{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire