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Milford Haven Area Historic Landscape Characterisation

Haverfordwest Uzmaston and Boulston Hillblock Picton and Slebech Toch Canestonand Minwear Woods Minwear Martlewy Lawrenny Cresswell Quay West Wiliamson and Carew Newton Carew Airfield Cocheston Pembroke Dock Pembroke Carew Milton and Nash Hundleton and Maiden Wells Pembroke Power Station Texaco Oil Refinery Angle Angle Airfield Rhoscrowther West Angle to Freshwater West Coastal Strip Freystrop Little Milford Hook Llangwm Benton Houghton Rosemarket Neyland Waterston Honeyborough Gulf Oil Refinery Milford Haven Scoveston and Burton Liddeston Esso Oil Refinery Amoco Oil refinery Herbranston Sandy Haven Monkhaven to Gelliswick Coastal Strip St Ishmaels Mullock Bridge Hoaten-Hasguard Dale Dale Airfield St Annes Head Dale to St Brides Coastal Strip

 

This is a summary, for further information click on the photograph

Base maps reproduced from the OS map with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, © Crown Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may ead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Licence Number: GD272221

Pembroke is an urban historic landscape character area that includes Pembroke Castle, the linear old town encompassed by medieval town walls, modern housing and other developments on the town’s fringe.

Pembroke Dock historic landscape character area comprises the 19th century naval dockyards and the 19th century grid-pattern planned town. Included in this area are many 19th century worker and town houses, with 20th century housing and light industrial development on its outskirts.

Milford Haven historic landscape character area is a late 18th century grid-pattern planned town with docks dating to the late 19th century. Large 20th century housing estates and light industrial developments surround the town’s older core.

Neyland is a small urban historic landscape character area centred on the old port and railway station. The town expanded from this focus during the 19th century to include the former village of Great Honeyborough. Late 20th century housing and light industrial development lie on the outskirts of the town.

Haverfordwest is the largest urban area in Pembrokeshire. This historic landscape character area includes the historic core of the town, dominated by the castle, medieval churches, fine 18th century and 19th century houses and the commercial centre, as well as modern development within and on the town’s fringes.

Gulf Oil Refinery historic landscape character area comprises the massive structure of this late 20th century industrial complex including railways and jetties.

Esso Oil Refinery historic landscape character area consists of the dismantled remains of a late 20th century oil refinery. All that remains are earthworks marking the sites of various installations and a few ancillary buildings. Included in this area is South Hook fort, a large 19th century defensive structure.

Amoco Oil Refinery historic landscape character area consists of a massive industrial complex.

Pembroke Power Station historic landscape character area is the site of the late 20th century power station. The station has been decommissioned and the massive structure is currently being demolished.

Texaco Oil Refinery historic landscape character area includes the massive late 20th century industrial complex, the old BP oil pumping station located in Fort Popton, a 19th century defensive structure, and a short length of sea-cliff top.

Dale Airfield lies in an exposed position on the edge of high sea cliffs. This historic landscape character area consists of the old runways and some of the buildings of the World War 2 airfield. Land between the runways has been restored to pasture.

Mullock Bridge historic landscape character area is a long strip of land located in a valley bottom that does not contain any settlements, but is dominated by tidal muds, salt marsh and bog. A road crosses this area via the historic Mullock Bridge.

St Ann’s Head historic landscape character area is a peninsula that protrudes across the mouth of the Milford Haven waterway. It is a plateau of rich, windswept farmland characterised by scattered farms with large regular fields. Included are lighthouses and service houses, and two 19th century cliff-top forts – Dale and West Blockhouse.

Dale historic landscape character area is centred on the small village of Dale, but includes a few dispersed farms set in small regular fields. Dale village consists of several fine early 19th century buildings clustered around the waterfront. Twentieth century houses are located on the fringes of the village, and car parks and other facilities have been developed to service water sports activities.


Hoaten – Hasguard is a very large agricultural historic landscape character area that has many substantial farms set in a virtually treeless windswept landscape of large, regular fields. Many of the farmhouses are in the Georgian style, but with some showing signs of earlier periods of construction.

St Ishmael’s historic landscape character area is centred on the loosely clustered village of St Ishmael’s where most of the buildings date to the late 19th century and 20th century. Enclosed strip fields – former open fields – surrounded the village. Also included is the parish church, standing isolated in a heavily wooded valley, and 19th century garden features.

Sandy Haven historic landscape character area is a ribbon of tidal mud, salt marsh and bog, with dense deciduous woodland on the steep valley sides. There are no settlements.

Scoveston and Burton is predominantly an agricultural historic landscape character area containing several mansions, many large farms, a scattering of smaller farms and dispersed modern settlement. Burton is the only village. Fields in this area are large and are divided by banks and hedges. Woodland is not a major component of the landscape.

Houghton is a small historic landscape character area centred on the hamlet of that name and surrounded by an enclosed strip-field system – the old open fields of the community. The loosely clustered houses in the hamlet are of 19th century and 20th century date.

Hook historic landscape character area has evolved out of the now defunct coal mining industry. It consists of several small 19th century hamlets linked by late 20th century linear development. Included are three small old coal quays. The agricultural landscape is one of small irregular fields.

Little Milford was an important coal exporting port, but this historic landscape character area comprises mostly woodland on steep valley sides and mud and salt marsh on the fringes of the waterway. There is little to indicate its former industrial importance.

Freystrop includes the hamlet of Lower Freystrop, the detached parish church, and strip fields – the old open fields of the community. Essentially this is an agricultural historic landscape character area of dispersed farms, fields, boundaries of hedges on banks, and woodland.

Uzmaston and Boulston includes the upper reaches of the Milford Haven waterway, but mostly comprises dispersed farms set in a landscape of large, regularly shaped fields. Farms vary in size from the very large mansions with home farms to 19th century vernacular farmhouses and small-holdings.

Hillblock is a very small but historically distinct historic landscape character area based on an agricultural hamlet of 19th century houses which is surrounded by an enclosed but degraded strip field system – the community’s former open fields.

Picton and Slebech is an estate-based historic landscape character area. It includes the mansions, gardens, parks and other components of two of the largest estates in southwest Wales; Picton and Slebech. The whole area has a ‘parkland’ quality.

Canaston and Minwear Woods historic landscape character area consists of woodland, most of which is now coniferous plantation, but historically was deciduous. Included in this area is the Georgian mill at Blackpool.

Toch is an agricultural historic landscape character area comprising dispersed farms set in a landscape of large, regularly shaped fields and woodland.

Minwear is an agricultural historic landscape character which contains dispersed farms, large fields separated by hedges on banks and woodland. There are no villages, and the only clustering of dwellings is at Minwear where the medieval parish church is located.

Martletwy historic landscape character area contains a fairly dense scattering of 19th century and 20th century houses set against an agricultural landscape of dispersed farms, small, irregular fields and much woodland. Old quays and other installations testify to the former importance of the coal mining industry in this area.

Lawrenny village consists of a grouping of mainly 19th century houses close to the large medieval parish church. However, the main character of this area is agricultural, with a strong estate or ‘parkland’ appearance originating from the now demolished Lawrenny house. A large quay testifies to the former importance of coal shipping.

Cresswell Quay is a former industrial historic landscape character area with a strong agricultural element. Early 19th century houses on the quay, the quay itself and a fairly dense scatter of cottages are evidence of former industry. Agriculture is represented by small, dispersed farms and small fields. There is dense woodland along the steep valley sides.

West Williamston and Carew Newton is an agricultural historic landscape character area that includes two hamlets and enclosed strip fields – the former open fields of the two communities. Hedges on banks form most of the boundaries, but mortared stonewalls and dry-stone walls are also present. Abandoned quarries, some with quays testify to the former importance of the limestone extraction industry.

Carew Airfield historic landscape character area consists of the old runways and few surviving buildings of a World War 2 military airfield.

Carew Milton and Nash is a large agricultural historic landscape character area that contains several mansion houses set in parkland and gardens, many large farms and a scattering of smaller farms. Fields are large and are divided by hedges on banks. Woodland is a strong component of parts of the landscape.

Cosheston is a small historic landscape character area that is centred on the linear village of Cosheston. Most of the houses in the village date to the 19th century and 20th century. Narrow strip fields surround the village – the enclosed open fields of the community.

Hundleton and Maiden Wells historic landscape character area includes the two said villages set in a landscape of dispersed farms and fairly small fields. In the villages, modern housing surrounds older buildings which are mostly 19th century in date.

Rhoscrowther is a large agricultural historic landscape character area typified by large dispersed farms with regularly shaped fields. Hedges on banks are the most common boundary type, but towards the windswept western part of the area mortared stonewalls are present. There is a great variety in domestic building type, ranging in date from the medieval to the 20th century.

Angle is a distinctive and complex historic landscape character area. It is centred on the linear village of Angle, which includes medieval, 19th century and 20th century examples of domestic architecture. Also included is a harbour area, strip fields – the enclosed medieval open fields of the community – a 19th century fort and steep, wooded coastal slopes.

Angle Airfield historic landscape character area consists of the site of a World War 2 military airfield which has been restored to farmland.

Liddeston is a small historic landscape character area situated on the fringes of Milford Haven town and consisting of dispersed farms and fields, a golf course and industrial installations. Although it is predominantly agricultural, many of the historic landscape components are degraded owing to the proximity of the town.

Herbrandston is an agricultural historic landscape character area composed of dispersed farms and large regular fields. Farms and farmhouses are generally large, although smaller examples are also present. The only nucleated settlement is Herbrandston village, which has a core of 19th century houses surrounded by modern development.

Benton historic landscape character area is situated on the bank of the Milford Haven waterway. It mostly comprises deciduous woodland, but includes the rocky and muddy foreshore, small former shipping/ferry points and a handful of 19th century dwellings.

Llangwm is a village that has developed around the head of a branch of the Milford Haven waterway. Although medieval in origin, the settlement expanded in the 19th century as a coal-mining centre and coal port, but little now survives to indicate this former function. Late 20th century housing surrounds the historic village core.

Waterston – Honeyborough is predominantly an agricultural historic landscape character area of dispersed farms and strip fields, but includes the village of Waterston and the hamlet of Honeyborough. The strip fields – enclosed open fields of the communities – were formerly more extensive but have been encroached upon by industry and housing.

Rosemarket historic landscape character area is centred on the village of Rosemarket, but includes a small area of surrounding fields and steep, wooded valley sides. The village retains its morphology from an earlier period, but apart from the medieval parish church, most of the buildings date to the 19th century and 20th century.

Dale to St Bride’s Coastal Strip historic landscape character area consists of a narrow band of cliff-top rough ground. The Pembrokeshire Coast Path runs through this area, and several iron age hillforts lie within it.

Monk Haven to Gelliswick Coastal Strip is a narrow bank of cliff-top rough ground through which runs the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Included in this area are iron age forts and a lighthouse.

West Angle to Freshwater West Coastal Strip comprises several kilometres of cliff top along which the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path runs. Included in this area are iron age forts, a 16th century gun tower and 20th century gun batteries.

Project contact: Ken Murphy