Puncheston ( cy, Cas-mael or Casmael) is a village,

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 ...

and

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, ...

in Pembrokeshire, southwest

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 ...

. It sits below the mountain known as Castlebythe ( en, Cow Castle), one of the peaks in the Preseli Mountains, just outside 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 ...

Parish history

A map of 1578 shows the parish as ''Castle Male'', presumably a phonetic spelling of the Welsh name by the English mapmaker.

Lewis's Lewis's was a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's have gone into administration many times over the years, including 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became ...

''Topographical Dictionary'' of 1844 gives 326 inhabitants (the 1849 edition gives 255) for the parish, which includes the village and a number of outlying residences and farms. Lewis surmises that the original name was ''Castell Mael'', deriving from an ancient encampment of which there are remains. A railway passed through the parish in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a halt at the village.

Community

The Community of Puncheston consists of the villages of Puncheston, Henry's Moat, Little Newcastle, Castlebythe, Morvil and Tufton. Henry's Moat Electoral Ward returns two councillors to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authori ...

, and Puncheston Ward four.

Education

Puncheston County Primary School is in the village.

Notable people

Bishop John Gambold (1711-1771) was born in Puncheston, where his father was rector. The pirate

Bartholomew Roberts ) , type=Pirate , birth_place = Casnewydd Bach, near Puncheston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Kingdom of England , death_place = At sea off of Cape Lopez, Gabon , allegiance= , serviceyears=1719–1722 , base of operations= Off the coast of the Americ ...

, known as 'Black Bart' ( cy, Barti Ddu), was born in Casnewydd Bach near Puncheston in 1682.

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKIPuncheston Community Council
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire