The Stackpole Estate ( cy, Ystad Ystagbwll) is located between the villages of Stackpole ( cy, Ystagbwll) and Bosherston ( cy, Llanfihangel-clogwyn-gofan) in Pembrokeshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, within 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 ...

. It is situated within 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, ...

of Stackpole and Castlemartin. Consisting of of

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bo ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

es, and

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s, the estate is always accessible to visitors. It is owned and maintained by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

History

Stackpole Court, a mansion, was built just outside the village of Stackpole. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, the Lort family, who owned the estate from 1611 to 1698, took the side of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, and the house was besieged by Parliamentarians, to whom they eventually surrendered. When Sir Gilbert Lort died in 1698 the estate passed to his sister Elizabeth who had married Sir Alexander Campbell, Thane of Cawdor, in 1689. She outlived her husband, and on her death in 1714 the estate passed to her son John Campbell. A new mansion constructed of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

was built in later years with extensive gardens, greenhouses and fine collections of plants. Much of the Stackpole Estate farmland was requisitioned at the start of

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 ...

to create a training ground for British troops. Castlemartin Training Area range still occupies this land. This made the estate unviable and The Cawdors returned to their Scottish estate in

Nairnshire The County of Nairn (also called Nairnshire) ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was used for local administration until the county council, based at the county t ...

in the early 1940s. Crippling taxes on the empty mansion meant it was demolished in 1963, leaving behind the estate's outbuildings, parkland and beaches which are looked after by the

and enjoyed by the public today. The of lakes, which are today known as the Lily Ponds, were created by the

damming A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

of the three narrow limestone valleys in 1780 and 1860 by the

Cawdor Cawdor ( gd, Caladair) is a village and parish in the Highland council area, Scotland. The village is south-southwest of Nairn and east of Inverness. The village is in the Historic County of Nairnshire. History The village is the location o ...

family.

Etymology

Before the 17th century, the name was recorded in English as Stacpole, Stakepole and Stacpoll. The name is made of two Welsh topographical elements, 'Stac-' (isolated columnar rock) and '-pwll' (a pool). The "stac" in the name is said to be that of Stack rock, at the mouth of

Broad Haven South Broad Haven South is a beach located southeast of Bosherston on the edge of the Stackpole Estate in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Broad Haven South is known for Church Rock, which protrudes from the water around 150 yards from the shore. Popular wi ...

which may have marked the entrance to an ancient waterway, suitable as a harbour.

Geography and ecology

The Stackpole Estate contains the beaches of

Barafundle Bay Barafundle Bay () is a remote, slightly curved, east-facing sandy beach, near Stackpole Quay in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the Stackpole Estate, managed by The National Trust. The beach was once owned by the Cawdor family of Stackpole Co ...

and

. The of lakes are home to

Eurasian otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

goosander The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

, gadwall and

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. From the cliff tops and beaches, bottlenose dolphin and

basking shark The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach in leng ...

can sometimes be seen along with species of seabird such as

kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-l ...

s and

red-billed chough The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough ( ; ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus '' Pyrrhocorax''. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the w ...

s. The Stackpole estate is contains one of the largest colonies in Britain of the

greater horseshoe bat The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe an ...

Stackpole village

The village is approximately south of Pembroke in the

of Stackpole and Castlemartin and has a population of around 200. It has its own

voluntary controlled A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...

primary school for children aged 4 to 11. The school was constructed in the late nineteenth century. Stackpole village was moved from its original medieval site in 1735 to accommodate the growing Stackpole Estate. However, present day Stackpole is considerably larger than it was then. Stackpole has a

public house 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 wa ...

, The Stackpole Inn, which occupies the former village Post Office, a building of sixteenth-century origin. The village is surrounded on all sides by woodland and arable farmland. During the 1950s and 1960s, the village expanded with modern homes built at the edge of Deer Park and around the school. Just outside the village there is the

Stackpole Outdoor Learning Centre The Stackpole Estate ( cy, Ystad Ystagbwll) is located between the villages of Stackpole ( cy, Ystagbwll) and Bosherston ( cy, Llanfihangel-clogwyn-gofan) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It is situated wit ...

which is a multi-purpose venue run by the

with a theatre, licensed bar and conference facilities. It is immediately adjacent to the Lily Ponds and the Eight-Arch Bridge and occupies a remarkably tranquil part of the estate near Home Farm and less than a walk from

beach.

Stackpole Elidor church

St Elidyr's Church, Stackpole is dedicated to St. James and St Elidyr, and goes back to the thirteenth century. It lies at the bottom of a quiet wooded valley with just three small cottages and the rectory in the immediate vicinity. The layout of the church is in the traditional

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly describe ...

shape, aligned east to west, with a

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

and

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

flanked by two

transepts A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

. The tall, slender tower is undoubtedly the oldest part of the present structure, dating back probably to the thirteenth or late twelfth century. It is of the typical South Pembrokeshire form ''(see

Little England Beyond Wales Little England beyond Wales is a name that has been applied to an area of southern Pembrokeshire and southwestern Carmarthenshire in Wales, which has been English in language and culture for many centuries despite its remoteness from England. I ...

)''. It appears that by 1851 the state of the fabric of the church made a complete

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

essential, although the building had been carefully maintained until only a few years before.

Richard Fenton Richard Fenton (January 1747 – November 1821) was a Welsh lawyer, topographer and poet. Biography Fenton was born in January 1747 in St David's, Pembrokeshire, and was baptised in St David's Cathedral on 20 February 1747, "being then a month ...

, in his ''Historical Tour through Pembrokeshire'' published in 1810, quotes from a letter written by Stephen Davies, Canon of St. Davids Cathedral, to the antiquary

Browne Willis Browne Willis (16 September 1682 – 5 February 1760) was an antiquary, author, numismatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1708. Early life Willis was born at Blandford St Mary, Dorset, the eldest son of Thomas Will ...

: In 1807 the church wardens stated that the church was in good repair, but by 1828 they declared that the fabric, though in good repair, was very damp, and by 1848 it was recorded that "not one casement opens". In 1851

John Frederick Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor John Frederick Campbell, 1st Earl Cawdor (8 November 1790 – 7 November 1860) was a British peer and MP. He was born the son of John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor and Lady Caroline Howard and educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, gradua ...

, engaged

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, the most respected English church architect of the day, to direct the work of restoration. He employed a

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

builder, WP James, and the work cost a total of "£1,804 7s 2½d" which adjusted for 2010 would be £105,609.09. The result is the typical sound, workmanlike building that Scott produced in his renovations, with a tall, narrow chancel arch, colourful Minton tiles on the

floor and

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

walls, and the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

or Decorated style of

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...

in the main windows. The transepts retain their fourteenth century

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...

, and the Lort chapel its rib vaulting. There were originally matching hagioscopes on each side of the chancel arch, though the north squint was later blocked by the organ installed in 1874. In the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

there is a small

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...

, probably of the fourteenth century, indicating that there may have been a side

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

References

External links

Stackpole Estate information at the National TrustHistorical information and sources on GENUKI
{{authority control National Trust properties in Wales Geography of Pembrokeshire Welsh coast and countryside Nature reserves in Pembrokeshire Tourist attractions in Pembrokeshire Villages in Pembrokeshire Coast of Pembrokeshire Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales