Wolfscastle ( cy, Casblaidd), also spelt Wolf's Castle, is a village 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, between

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

and

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

, in 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 was historically in the

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 ...

of St Dogwells.

Geography and transport links

Wolfscastle comprises two small villages; Wolfscastle proper, at the top of a hill, and Ford, situated in the river valley below. The remains of a motte and bailey castle lie in the upper village, a strategic location determined by its situation at the northern end of Treffgarne gorge. The village lies at the confluence of the Western Cleddau and the Anghof rivers, in the parish of St Dogwell's. Wolf's Castle mound - geograph

The

A40 road A4 most often refers to: *A4 paper, a paper size defined by the ISO 216 standard, measuring 210 × 297 mm A4 and variants may also refer to: Science and mathematics * British NVC community A4 (''Hydrocharis morsus-ranae - Stratiotes aloide ...

, the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to Fishguard trunk route, passes through Wolfscastle and provides the main transport route to and from the village, with a regular bus service connecting with the major towns of the area. The main railway line from Swansea to

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

passes through Ford. At one time, there was a station named at the point where the

crosses the railway for both passengers and the loading of milk from local farms, but this was closed in 1964 when the local train service between Fishguard and Clarbeston Road was withdrawn. At the present time (2018) the line carries two daily services each way between Swansea and Fishguard Harbour, timed to connect at Swansea with services from London Paddington and at Fishguard with the Irish ferry service to Rosslare, plus a limited number of local services between Fishguard, Clarbeston Road and Haverfordwest. The latter were reintroduced in 2012, almost fifty years after being withdrawn, but the station at Wolf's Castle was not reopened as part of this initiative.

History

Musland Farm was once the residence of Captain

William Davies Evans Captain William Davies Evans (27 January 1790 – 3 August 1872) was a seafarer and inventor, though he is best known today as a chess player. He is buried at the Belgian port of Ostend. Early life Evans was born at St Dogwells, Pembrokeshire ...

, the first utiliser of the

Evans Gambit The Evans Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 :4. b4 The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of the Giuoco Piano. White offers a pawn to divert the black bishop on c5. If Black accepts ...

in chess. The castle formed part of the series of defences constructed by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

after 1093 known as the

Landsker Line The Landsker Line ( cy, Ffin ieithyddol Sir Benfro) is a term used for the language border in Wales between the largely Welsh-speaking and largely English-speaking areas in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. The English-speaking areas, south of ...

, providing a general boundary between the English-speaking south and the Welsh-speaking north. A

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...

villa was excavated by the antiquarian

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 ...

, hinting that Roman influence extended further west than had previously been thought. It has been subjected to a recent investigation to ascertain its exact location. The railway from Clarbeston Road station to Letterston Junction, 4¾ miles along the line north of the village, opened in 1906, replacing the former North Pembrokeshire & Fishguard Railway route from

Clynderwen Clynderwen ( cy, Clunderwen; ) is a rural linear village and community, historically in Carmarthenshire in Wales, but administered as part of Pembrokeshire. It lies on the A478 Tenby to Cardigan road south of the village of Llandissilio and nor ...

to Fishguard via

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclochog Community includes the small settlement of Ll ...

and Rosebush, which did not pass close to Wolf's Castle.

Folklore

Wolfscastle's claim to fame is that it is allegedly the place where the last wild

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

in Wales was slain. Nearby, east of Treffgarne gorge lies the hamlet of Little Treffgarne, where the Welsh national hero, Owain Glyndŵr was born according to local folklore in 1353 (although most historical sources quote him as being born about 1359). This was mainly because the area was home to members of the family of Glyndŵr's mother. Another legend of the area claims that a local medium, Sarah Bevan, prophesied the arrival of the railway after experiencing a vision in the 18th century. The vision was described as a line of carts moving through the centre of Treffgarne gorge at high speed, with the frontmost cart on fire, heralding the coming of the as yet uninvented steam locomotive on rails.

Economy

Mainly agricultural due to its rural location, the village does boast both the Wolfscastle Country

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

and 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 ''Wolfe

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

''. Agriculture involves dairy,

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

, and several farms can be found within the village and its environs. Previous economic assets included slate quarrying near Sealyham, roadstone quarrying in Treffgarne gorge and a village

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, all of which have ceased operating. Also, the running of the halt merited the employment of staff.

Community

A Welsh Independent

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, known as Pen-y-Bont, stands near the river in Ford. Several churches are to be found in the area – St Margaret's in Wolfscastle itself, St Michael's in Treffgarne, and St Dogfael's at St Dogwells (a grade II* listed building). A community council meets monthly in the village. Every summer the Wolfscastle Festival week is held and the community council sponsors the village's annual entry in the Wales in Bloom competition. In 2005 the village won the Small Village Trophy and was runner-up in 2006. A small, twin-classroom County Primary school, built in 1834, completes the community aspect of the village.

References

External links

Wolfscastle Community Web SiteTreffgarne Community Web Sitewww.geograph.co.uk : photos of Wolf's Castle and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire Castles in Pembrokeshire Motte-and-bailey castles