St Ishmaels or St Ishmael's () is a village,

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 ...

and

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 ...

close to the

Milford Haven Waterway Milford Haven Waterway () is a natural harbour in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a ria or drowned valley which was flooded at the end of the last ice age. The Daugleddau estuary winds west to the sea. As one of the deepest natural harbours in ...

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 ...

, Wales.

History

The parish church of Saint Ismael () is below the village, hidden in a small valley near the Haven. In the

Age of the Saints Representing 43.6% of the Welsh population in 2021, Christianity is the largest religion in Wales. Wales has a strong tradition of nonconformism, particularly Methodism. From 1534 until 1920 the established church was the Church of England, but t ...

, it may have been the seat of the bishop of the

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

of Rhos. Llanismael was considered one of the principal dioceses of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

under medieval Welsh law, second only to

Menevia The Diocese of Menevia () was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Wales. It was one of two suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cardiff and was subject to the Archdiocese of Cardiff, until it merged with the archd ...

(modern St Davids). With the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, St Ishmaels became part of the Lordship of

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...

. The church is a grade II listed building The original Baptist Chapel at nearby Sandy Haven was established in 1812 later moving to Sandy Hill on the eastern approach to the village, in 1877. Aenon Baptist Church, Sandy Hill has a baptistry in the stream. Gravestones in the cemetery have links to family names in St Ishmaels. The chapel is in use for services, weddings and community meetings. Prince Charles's first footsteps on Welsh soil were in 1955 to the south of the village on the beach at Lindsway Bay. The royal yacht was anchored in Dale Roads.

Governance

The community comprises most of the parish of St Ishmaels and had a population of 478 at the 2011 census. The ward had a total population at the 2011 census of 1,405, including the communities of Herbrandston, Dale and Marloes and St. Brides. The ward was expanded for the 2022 election with the addition of Walwyn's Castle (transferred from The Havens ward) and Tiers Cross (from Johnston ward).

Geography

The south, west and east of the parish is bordered by the Haven with numerous important bird and marine life within the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. The north is mainly farmland used for both grazing and arable. The southern point of Lindsway Bay is marked by the Great Castle Head lighthouse now a private residence. The lighthouse was built in 1870, and along with the modern Little Castle Head beacon situated across Longoar Bay, serve as navigation beacons for the Rosslare-

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock () is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the constr ...

shipping route.

References

External links

Historical information and sources on GENUKI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ishmaels (Pembrokeshire) Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire Milford Haven