Neyland is a town and community in

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, lying on the River Cleddau and the upstream end of the

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

estuary. The

Cleddau Bridge The Cleddau Bridge (, cy, Pont Cleddau) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, carries the A477 road over the River Cleddau between Neyland and Pembroke Dock. Errors in the box girder design caused the collapse during construction in 1970. The bridge becam ...

carrying the A477 links

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 ...

with Neyland.

Etymology

The name of the town is a reduction of an earlier form of the English word ' preceded by the Middle English ' "at the". It was formerly known as New Milford by contrast with

History

Neyland was a small fishing village in the parish of

Llanstadwell Llanstadwell ( cy, Llanudwal) is a small village, parish and community in south Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the north bank of the River Cleddau between Milford Haven and Neyland. The community of Llanstadwell includes the settlements of Hazelbeach, ...

, but in 1856 it became the site for the western terminus of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's

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 ...

with a transatlantic terminal for the largest ships of the time. It was selected instead of the other possible location Abermawr. The town then grew rapidly to serve the port. The construction of a more substantial port at

Goodwick Goodwick (; cy, Wdig) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Fishguard and Goodwick form a community that wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists of Dyffryn, Stop-and ...

based on an earlier plan of 1846, was revived in 1899, and opened in 1906. Many people relocated from Neyland to Goodwick and Fishguard at that time. Neyland was partially reprieved because silting of Goodwick harbour restricted its use, and for a little over one hundred years, Neyland was a busy rail and sea port. The Neyland terminal ceased operation in 1964. The

rail terminus A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one r ...

used to link with the ferry that crossed the Cleddau to Hobbs Point in

until 1975 when the

opened. The redevelopment of the 1980s saw the creation of a new marina and

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

of the old railway yard. Some of the original Brunel iron wide gauge railway tracks can be seen today in use as safety barriers around the quay. In August 2010, an 8 ft bronze statue of

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

was stolen from its site in the town's marina, presumably for its metallurgic value.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Neyland, at community (town) and county level: Neyland Town Council and Pembrokeshire County Council. The town council is based at the Community Hub on John Street, which opened in 2020. Until 1900, Neyland was part of the parish of

. When parish and district councils were established in 1894, the parish of Llanstadwell was included in the

Pembroke Rural District Pembroke Rural District was a rural district in the administrative county of Pembrokeshire, Wales from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the south of the county. It surrounded, but did not include, the town of Pembroke after which it was name ...

. On 1 October 1900 a parish of Neyland was created from part of Llanstadwell, and the new parish was declared to be an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

, making it independent from the Pembroke Rural District Council. Neyland Urband District Council held its first meeting on 15 October 1900 at the town's board school, when Anthony James, a Liberal, was appointed the first chairman of the council. The urban district council later acquired premises at 60–62 High Street in the mid 1960s, which then served as a town hall until 2018. Neyland Urban District was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, with the area becoming part of

Preseli Pembrokeshire Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills. Creation Th ...

in 1974. Preseli Pembrokeshire in turn was abolished in 1996 to become part of a re-established Pembrokeshire.

Sport and leisure

Sporting groups include Neyland Cricket Club (a founder member of the Pembroke County Cricket Club) established in 1889,

Neyland RFC Neyland is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Cleddau and the upstream end of the Milford Haven estuary. The Cleddau Bridge carrying the A477 links Pembroke Dock with Neyland. Etymology The name of the town is ...

(a rugby union club established in 1885) and Neyland AFC. The town has a yacht club and a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is nearby.

Public services

Potable water is supplied to the town by

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water is a not-for-profit company which supplies drinking water and wastewater services to most of Wales and parts of western England that border Wales. In total, it serves around 1.4 million households and businesses and around t ...

(DCWW). There were gas works alongside the railway. In 1909 it was the site of an explosion which burnt to death a mother and her three-year-old daughter who was taken there to inhale the fumes for the benefit her health.

Notable people

* Lord Gordon Parry of Neyland (1925–2004), Labour politician * Sarah Waters, novelist, '' Tipping the Velvet'' * Barry John MBE, artist, soldier

References

External links

Council websitePhotos of Neyland and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
{{authority control Towns in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire