Lawrenny is a village 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 o ...

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, ...

and electoral ward of Martletwy in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is on a peninsula of the

River 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 – ...

estuary upriver from Milford Haven where it branches off towards the Cresswell and Carew Rivers and is in the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others b ...

Description

The village extends down to the Estuary to Lawrenny Quay half a mile from the centre, where there is a busy yacht station and caravan park. It provides most of the central rural facilities for the Martletwy ward, including a shop, mobile post office, cricket and football clubs, village hall and church. The community owns and operates the Millennium Youth Hostel and the village shop. The ''Lawrenny Arms'' and the Quayside Tearooms have recently become popular destinations in the area for both boaters and walkers. The village has its own community-run broadband service which provides Internet access across the village as well as to communities on the other side of the Cleddau Estuary. The community village shop operates what is possibly a world first: an automated service that allows members to access 24 hours to buy essentials. The system was featured on ITV Wales news in 2016. The village was featured in series 3 of ''Penelope Keith's Hidden Villages'' which aired on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in 2016. In summer, the river is full of boats, where activities include dinghy sailing and water-skiing. It has been the host port for Seafair Haven, a biennial festival of the sea on the Milford Haven waterway, in 2014 and 2016.

History

Lawrenny developed around fishing, boat building and as a staging point for quarried limestone extracted from quarries upriver. In the 1830s there were 422 inhabitants and there was a ferry over the Cresswell River. Racing stables in the village provided Wales' first and only Grand National winner, Kirkland, at Aintree in 1905. Lawrenny played a role in the

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 opposing ...

as a base for Supermarine Walrus seaplanes and a training centre, known as HMS Daedalus II, operated by the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

. Lawrenny was voted best village in Wales in 2007 (a competition run by Calor).

Church

The parish church of Saint Caradoc 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 ...

founded in the 12th century and altered considerably since, principally in the 19th century. The tower was added in the 15th century.

References

External links

Lawrenny village website
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Martletwy