Manorbier (; cy, Maenorbŷr ) is a village, community and parish on the south coast of

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 name means the '

Manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Pŷr'. The community includes

Jeffreyston Jeffreyston (also known as Jeffreston) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire. Jeffreyston lies on the B4586 road about northwest of the main A477 St Clears to Pembroke road; the nearest town is Tenby about to the southeast. C ...

and

Lydstep Lydstep Haven, known in ancient times as ''Lis Castell'', is an area in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Manorbier. Both the beach and caravan park are what is known as Lydstep Haven. Reached via the A4139 from Tenby and Pembroke. The ...

. An

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. It stretches inland to

St Florence St Florence (Welsh: ''Sain Fflwrens'') is both a village, a parish and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. St Florence sits on the River Ritec that flows eastwards to its estuary in Tenby. The Church of St Florence is a grade II* listed buildi ...

and at the 2011 Census, the population was 2,083. The area is served by the West Wales Line stopping at

Manorbier railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Manorbier railway station, Pembrokeshire - geograph.org.uk - 3991437.jpg , borough = Manorbier, Pembrokeshire , country = Wales , coordi ...

. Manorbier is within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and is a popular tourist attraction with

Manorbier Castle Manorbier Castle ( cy, Castell Maenorbŷr) is a Norman castle in Manorbier, southwest of Tenby, Wales. It was founded in the late 11th century by the Anglo-Norman de Barry family. The castle was part of a mesne lordship under the control of the ...

, St James's Church, the sandy beach, cliffs, and part of the Wales Coast Path.

History

Fossils can be found along the stream bed, although some are of poor quality, and along the cliffs to the side of the beach the rock formations are revealed as vertical beds. The evidence of early human habitation consists of many flint microliths from the

Mesolithic The Mesolithic (Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymous ...

and Neolithic ages, housed in local museums. The cromlech known as the

King's Quoit King's Quoit is a Neolithic burial chamber in Manorbier, east of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is a scheduled monument. Description The cromlech known as the King's Quoit is south of Manorbier bay and beach. The monument is on high land abo ...

is south of Manorbier bay and beach. Later evidence points to occupation of The Dak with the finding of a perforated mace head as well as Bronze Age burial mounds on the Ridgeway. Fortifications also seem to have been prominent including an Iron Age enclosure near Manorbier station and the site of a

multivallate A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, meaning multiple ditches,

promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

at Old Castle Head where there are remains of hut platforms within the ditches. A well-restored lime kiln is in Mud Lane behind the castle. To the east of Manorbier, on the side of the road to Lydstep, is an area of

strip lynchet A lynchet or linchet is an earth terrace found on the side of a hill. Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems of the British Isles. They are commonly found in vertical rows and more commonly referred to as "strip lynchets". Lynchets appe ...

s dating to early

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

times and perhaps as early as the Bronze Age. The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

knight Odo de Barri was granted the lands of Manorbier, Penally and Begelly in gratitude for his military help in conquering Pembrokeshire after 1103. The first

was

motte and bailey A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...

style, with the stone walls being added in the next century by later Normans. Giraldus Cambrensis, son of William de Barri, was born in the village in 1146, and called it "the pleasantest place in Wales". St James's parish church dates from the 12th century and is a Grade I listed building. A large number of other buildings and structures in the parish are listed. From 1933 to 1 September 1946, a mixed

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and military airfield was operational. During World War II it was a Royal Air Force airfield,

RAF Manorbier RAF Manorbier was a Royal Air Force airfield near Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The site was first used in 1933 as a mixed civilian/military airfield and was the base for 'Y' Flight of No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF in 1937, usi ...

. The site is now a firing range employed by the Royal Artillery as a testing range for high-velocity missiles.

Railway

on the

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock ( cy, Doc Penfro) 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 ...

branch of the West Wales Line is operated by Transport for Wales Rail, who also manage the station. Trains stop here on request every two hours in each direction, westwards to and eastwards to , , and .

Twinning

Manorbier is twinned with

Vernou-la-Celle-sur-Seine Vernou-la-Celle-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Vernou-la-Celle-sur-Seine is the twin town to Manorbier, in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, and was twinned in 19 ...

, France.

References

External links

* *
Photos of Manorbier and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire Coast of Pembrokeshire