Warren is an ancient

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

of Stackpole and Castlemartin, in the most southerly part of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, Wales. Its northern edge is south of Pembroke and its southern edge reaches the sea at Flimston Bay. It is bordered by Castlemartin to the west, St Twynnells to the east and

Monkton Monkton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Monkton, Devon, England *Monkton, Kent, England *Monkton, Pembroke, Wales *Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland *Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England *Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales ;Canada *Monkton, Ontari ...

to the north.

History

Warren was a parish in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Castlemartin, which in pre- Norman times was part of the Cantref of Penfro in the

Kingdom of Dyfed The Kingdom of Dyfed (), one of several Welsh petty kingdoms that emerged in 5th-century sub-Roman Britain in southwest Wales, was based on the former territory of the Demetae (modern Welsh ''Dyfed''). The royal line was founded by Irish ...

. A prominent ridge in the northern part of the parish is crossed by a ridgeway that may be of prehistoric origin. The origin of the name is obscure, but there is a Warren Farm (a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

) and an ancient fortification (a scheduled monument) close by. A 1578 map in the British Library shows the parish as ''Waren''. Merrion Court is a Grade II listed building in the east of the parish, a 19th-century structure built on 18th century ruins.

Richard Fenton Richard Fenton (January 1747 – November 1821) was a Welsh lawyer, topography, 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 t ...

, in 1811, described the house as a ruin, previously a manor belonging to Lord Cawdor. Merrion Court's Granary Range and Mill are also Grade II listed. Another listed building in the parish is an 18th or early 19th cottage (originally two or three) called ''Cold Comfort''. Since 1801, the population (then 160) has been sparse and scattered in this agricultural landscape, and fell in most subsequent decades, to a low of 86 in 1961. The number of houses in the parish halved between 1831 and 1961. The religious census of 1851 described the parish as "...a small Parish consisting of Three Farms only with a few cottages tenanted by poor Labourers and families who are mostly Dissenters or Independents whose place of Worship is situated in a Neighbouring Parish although they occasionally attend the Church". The 1872 ''Imperial Gazetteer'' gives the parish area as and a population of 121 in 18 houses, all in one estate. From 1939 to 1948, the

Castlemartin Training Area Castlemartin Training Area is a British Army military training area and armoured fighting vehicle range located in the Wales, Welsh county of Pembrokeshire. It was originally established for tank training by the Royal Armoured Corps in 1938. Th ...

was establishedits main base is at Merrionabsorbing most of Warren parish.

St Mary's Church

The former parish church of St Mary is located in a prominent position on a ridge and is thought to date from the 13th century. It consists of a nave a with a south transept, and a tower topped by a stone spire. The north aisle was removed in 1770. The church was restored in 1855 to designs by Abraham Leach, when a new chancel, chancel arch and south transept arch were added, and the windows were replaced. The church is a Grade II*

. The original wooden spire was replaced with a stone spire in about 1870 with help from the Admiralty. War with France was anticipated, and the Admiralty wanted the church tower to serve as a landmark for shipping. The churchyard cross was installed in 1925 on a much older three-stepped stone base, which may be medieval. In a poor state of repair, the church was closed by the Diocese of St Davids in 1970. In 1986 it was decided to use the church as an interdenominational place of worship for British and German troops at the Castlemartin Training Area, and the church was restored. It was reopened by the

Archbishop of Wales The post of Archbishop of Wales () was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England and disestablished. The four historic Welsh dioceses had previously formed part of the Province of Canterbury, and so came ...

in 1988, in the presence of Anglican, Roman Catholic and German Lutheran clergy.

References

External links

Further historical information and sources on GENUKI
* – Map showing the parish and its boundaries
Photographs of Warren and surrounding countryside on Geograph
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire

History

St Mary's Church

References

Further reading

External links