The counties of the United Kingdom are subnational divisions of the United Kingdom , used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. The older term, shire is historically equivalent to county . By the Middle Ages , county had become established as the unit of local government, at least in England . By the early 17th century, all of England, Wales , Scotland , and Ireland had been separated into counties. In Scotland shire was the only term used until after the Act of Union 1707 .
89-611: Since the early 19th century, counties have been adapted to meet new administrative and political requirements, and the word county (often with a qualifier) has been used in different senses for different purposes. In some areas of England and Wales, counties still perform the functions of modern local government. In other parts of the United Kingdom, especially within large metropolitan areas, they have been replaced with alternative unitary authorities , which are considered 'county level' authorities. Today, these have largely replaced
178-413: A Lord-Lieutenant are called lieutenancy areas . The thirteen historic counties of Wales were fixed by statute in 1535 (although counties such as Pembrokeshire date from 1138). The Administrative Counties of Wales created in 1889 were based on these. In 1974 a new system was created using significantly different entities. These were changed in 1996 and since then Wales has been entirely divided into
267-417: A county or combined authority . In Canada, each province creates its own system of local government, so terminology varies substantially. In certain provinces (e.g. Alberta , Nova Scotia ) there is only one level of local government in that province, so no special term is used to describe the situation. British Columbia has only one such municipality, Northern Rockies Regional Municipality , which
356-600: A contiguous area and adjusted boundaries where civil parishes straddled county boundaries, or had fragments in more than one county. The counties of Ross and Cromarty were merged to form Ross and Cromarty . One region and various districts, created in 1975, had areas similar to those of earlier counties, and various council areas, created in 1996, are also similar. Two of the three islands areas— Orkney and Shetland —have boundaries identical to those of earlier counties. Scotland has also registration counties , which are in current use. The areas of Scotland that are appointed
445-731: A flourishing wool industry . There are still working woollen mills at Solva and Tregwynt . One of the last few watermills in Wales producing flour is in St Dogmaels . Pembrokeshire has good soil and benefits from the Gulf Stream , which provides a mild climate and a longer growing season than other parts of Wales. Pembrokeshire's mild climate means that crops such as its new potatoes (which have protected geographical status under European law) often arrive in British shops earlier in
534-457: A mild climate and Tenby shows a similar range of temperatures throughout the year, while at Penycwm, on the west coast and 100m above sea level, temperatures are slightly lower. The county has on average the highest coastal winter temperatures in Wales due to its proximity to the relatively warm Atlantic Ocean. Inland, average temperatures tend to fall 0.5 °C for each 100 metres increase in height. The air pollution rating of Pembrokeshire
623-513: A petition was presented to the House of Commons concerning the poor state of many of the county's roads, pointing out that repairs could not be made compulsory by the law as it stood. The petition was referred to committee. People applying for poor relief were often put to work mending roads. Workhouses were poorly documented. Under the Poor Laws , costs and provisions were kept to a minimum, but
712-476: A religious census of Pembrokeshire showed that of 70 per cent of the population, 53 per cent were nonconformists and 17 per cent Church of England (now Church in Wales , in the Diocese of St Davids ). The 2001 census for Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency showed that 74 per cent were Christian and 25 per cent of no religion (or not stated), with other religions totalling less than 1 per cent. This approximated to
801-697: A single tier of local government with some functions shared between groups of adjacent authorities. A single-tier system has existed in Northern Ireland since 1973. For many years the description of the number of tiers in UK local government arrangements has routinely ignored any current or previous bodies at the lowest level of authorities elected by the voters within their area such as parish (in England and Wales) or community councils; such bodies do not exist or have not existed in all areas. Northern Ireland
890-550: A six-day period. The Pembrokeshire coastline includes numerous bays and sandy beaches. The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park , the only park in the UK established primarily because of its coastline, occupies more than a third of the county. The park contains the Pembrokeshire Coast Path , a near-continuous 186-mile (299 km) long-distance trail from Amroth , by the Carmarthenshire border in
979-757: A system of unitary authorities (also known as principal areas ). Eleven of the 22 unitary authorities are legally "counties", and eleven are county boroughs , although informally all are referred to as "counties". The areas of Wales that appoint a Lord-Lieutenant are the preserved counties of Wales which are, for the most part, combinations of principal areas chosen to approximate to the counties constituted in 1974. There are six counties in Northern Ireland. In order of landmass these are; Tyrone , Antrim , Down , Londonderry , Fermanagh and Armagh . The six historic counties of Northern Ireland are no longer in use for administrative purposes. Combined with
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#17327832792561068-672: A whole. There was considerable military activity in Pembrokeshire and offshore in the 20th century: a naval base at Milford Haven because German U-boats were active off the coast in World War I and, in World War II , military exercises in the Preseli Mountains and a number of military airfields. The wartime increase in air activity saw a number of aircraft accidents and fatalities, often due to unfamiliarity with
1157-515: Is Foel Cwmcerwyn at 1,759 feet (536 m), which is also the highest point in Pembrokeshire. Elsewhere in the county most of the land (86 per cent according to CORINE ) is used for farming, compared with 60 per cent for Wales as a whole. Pembrokeshire's wildlife is diverse, with marine, estuary, woodland, moorland and farmland habitats. The county has a number of seasonal seabird breeding sites, including for razorbill , guillemot , puffin and Manx shearwater , and rare endemic species such as
1246-548: Is "Good", the lowest rating. The rocks in the county were formed between 600 and 290 million years ago. More recent rock formations were eroded when sea levels rose 80 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period . Around 60 million years ago, the Pembrokeshire landmass emerged through a combination of uplift and falling sea levels; the youngest rocks, from the Carboniferous Period , contain
1335-560: Is 24 miles (39 km) long, of which only 2 miles (3.2 km) are dual carriageway. The Cleddau Bridge , toll-free from 28 March 2019, carries the A477 across the Cleddau Estuary . The A478 traverses eastern Pembrokeshire from Tenby in the south to Cardigan, Ceredigion in the north, a distance of 30 miles (48 km). The A487 is the other major route, running northwest from Haverfordwest to St Davids, then northeast following
1424-411: Is a county in the 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 administrative headquarters of Pembrokeshire County Council . The county is generally sparsely populated and rural, with an area of 610 square miles (1,600 km ) and a population of 123,400. After Haverfordwest,
1513-404: Is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national government. Typically unitary authorities cover towns or cities which are large enough to function independently of a council or other authority. An authority can be a unit of
1602-576: Is a feature that has led to the wood being described as "...one of the most magical and special woodlands in the UK." The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales is in the process of restoring a lost temperate rainforest , also known as a Celtic forest, in Trellwyn Fach, near the town of Fishguard . Although temperate rainforests once covered much of western Britain's coasts, they were destroyed over centuries and only remain in fragments. The 59-hectare (150-acre) site will connect with remnants of
1691-559: Is a territorial collectivity, with legal personality and fiscal autonomy. In New Zealand , a unitary authority is a territorial authority (district, city or metropolitan area) that also performs the functions of a regional council (first-level division). There are five unitary authorities, they are (with the year they were constituted): Gisborne District Council (1989), Tasman District Council (1992), Nelson City Council (1992), Marlborough District Council (1992), and Auckland Council (2010). The Chatham Islands , located east of
1780-544: Is divided into eleven districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils have no responsibility for education, road building or housing (though they do nominate members to the advisory Northern Ireland Housing Council ). Their functions include waste and recycling services , leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. Since their reorganisation in 2015 councils in Northern Ireland have also taken on responsibility for planning functions. The collection of rates
1869-543: Is handled by the Land and Property Services agency. Local authorities in Scotland are unitary in nature but not in name. The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 created a single tier of local government throughout Scotland. On 1 April 1996, 32 local government areas, each with a council , replaced the previous two-tier structure , which had regional, islands and district councils. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (formerly
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#17327832792561958-515: Is not clear whether these belonged to Romans or to a Romanised population. Welsh tradition has it that Magnus Maximus founded Haverfordwest, and took a large force of local men on campaign in Gaul in 383 which, together with the reduction of Roman forces in south Wales, left a defensive vacuum which was filled by incomers from Ireland. Between 350 and 400, an Irish tribe known as the Déisi settled in
2047-651: Is not subdivided into cantons , but its 20 districts are considered equivalent. The department councils of the two departments of Corsica and of the region merged into a unitary authority, officially a collectivité territoriale . Its area of competence covers the whole administrative region and the two administrative departments (which were kept at state level with their two prefectures and their respective subprefectures for state-managed services). The overseas departements and regions were all proposed to merge their single departmental council ( conseil départemental ) coexisting with their regional council ( conseil régional ) on
2136-558: Is now St Davids Head, but most Roman writers did not mention the area; there may have been a Roman settlement near St Davids and a road from Bath, but this comes from a 14th-century writer. Any evidence for villas or Roman building materials reported by mediaeval or later writers has not been verified, though some remains near Dale were tentatively identified as Roman in character by topographer Richard Fenton in his Historical Tour of 1810. Fenton stated that he had "...reason to be of opinion that they had not colonized Pembrokeshire till near
2225-735: Is served by rail via the West Wales Lines from Swansea . Direct trains from Milford Haven run to Manchester Piccadilly . Branch lines terminate at Pembroke Dock , Milford Haven and Fishguard , linking with ferries to Ireland from Pembroke Dock and Fishguard. Seasonal ferry services operate from Tenby to Caldey Island, from St Justinians (St Davids) to Ramsey Island and Grassholm Island, and from Martin's Haven to Skomer Island. Haverfordwest (Withybush) Airport provides general aviation services. Pembrokeshire's economy now relies heavily on tourism; agriculture, once its most important industry with associated activities such as milling,
2314-620: Is served by the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Dyfed-Powys Police . There are no motorways in Pembrokeshire; the nearest is the M4 motorway from London which terminates at the Pont Abraham services in Carmarthenshire some 46 miles (74 km) from Haverfordwest. The A40 crosses Pembrokeshire from the border with Carmarthenshire westwards to Haverfordwest, then northwards to Fishguard. The A477 from St. Clears to Pembroke Dock
2403-506: Is still significant. Mining of slate and coal had largely ceased by the 20th century. Since the 1950s, petrochemical and liquid natural gas industries have developed along the Milford Haven Waterway and the county has attracted other major ventures. In 2016, Stephen Crabb , then Welsh Secretary , commented in a government press release: "...with a buoyant local economy, Pembrokeshire is punching above its weight across
2492-757: Is the equivalent term for a city with the competences of both the Gemeinde (municipality) and the Kreis (district, literally circle ) administrative level. The directly elected chief executive officer of a kreisfreie Stadt is called Oberbürgermeister (literally Superior Burgomaster , in English "Chief Mayor" or "Lord Mayor"). The British counties have no directly corresponding counterpart in Germany. This German system corresponds to statutory cities in Austria and in
2581-440: Is the result of incremental reform; from 1974 to 1996 the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties corresponded directly with the ceremonial counties. From 1889 to 1974 areas with county councils were known as administrative counties (which excluded larger towns and cities that had independent county boroughs ), and ceremonial counties were defined separately. In Scotland, there were 33 local government counties, created under
2670-487: Is to maintain the stability of the geographic area for scientific studies, and thus ignore changes in political demarcations. England is divided into 48 ceremonial counties , which are also known as geographic counties. Many of these counties have their basis in the 39 historic counties whose origins lie in antiquity, although some were established as recently as 1974. England is also divided into 84 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties (outside Greater London and
2759-610: The Council of the Isles of Scilly or any other single-tier authority formed under the older legislation and not since given the status of a unitary authority. This is distinct from the two-tier system of local government which still exists in most of England, where local government functions are divided between county councils (the upper tier) and district or borough councils. Until 1996 two-tier systems existed in Scotland and Wales , but these have now been replaced by systems based on
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2848-475: The Isles of Scilly ). These correspond to areas used for the purposes of local government and may consist of a single district or be divided into several. As of April 2023, 28 such counties are divided into districts, and 21 of those have a county council . Most ceremonial counties correspond to a metropolitan or non-metropolitan county that has the same name but often has reduced boundaries. The current arrangement
2937-618: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 . They were abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , in favour of regions and districts and islands council areas . The regions and districts were themselves abolished in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , in favour of unitary Scottish council areas . (The islands areas had been created as unitary council areas, and their boundaries were unaffected.) The 1889 legislation created county councils , turned each civil county (with one exception) into
3026-456: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 as " principal councils ", and their areas as principal areas . Various other legislation (e.g. s.91(1) Environment Act 1995 ) includes the counties and county boroughs of Wales within their individual interpretations of the phrase "unitary authority" as an interpretive not a definitive description. In s.2 of the Act each council formed for a county is allocated
3115-712: The Marcher Lords , such as Cemais in the north of the county. Henry Tudor, born at Pembroke Castle in 1457, landed an army in Pembrokeshire in 1485 and marched to Cardigan via Haverforwest. Rallying support, he continued to Leicestershire and defeated the larger army of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field . As Henry VII , he became the first monarch of the House of Tudor , which ruled England until 1603. The Laws in Wales Act 1535 effectively abolished
3204-536: The Pembrokeshire Coalfield . The landscape was subject to considerable change as a result of ice ages; about 20,000 years ago the area was scraped clean of soil and vegetation by the ice sheet; subsequently, meltwater deepened the existing river valleys. While Pembrokeshire is not usually a seismically active area, in August 1892 there was a series of pronounced activities (maximum intensity: 7) over
3293-765: The South Island , have a council with its own special legislation, constituted (1995) with powers similar to those of a regional authority. In Poland , a miasto na prawach powiatu , or shortly powiat grodzki ( city with powiat rights , or urban county in short) is a, typically big, city which is also responsible for district (poviat) administrative level, being part of no other powiat (e.g. Kraków , Łódź , Wrocław , Poznań ). In total, 65 cities in Poland have this status. Most cities in Taiwan , in contrast to counties , have only one tier of local government. Unlike
3382-402: The red-billed chough ; Grassholm has a large gannet colony. Seals, several species of whales (including rare humpback whale sightings ), dolphins and porpoises can be seen off the Pembrokeshire coast; whale-watching boat trips are frequent, particularly during the summer months. An appeal for otter sightings in 2014 yielded more than 100 responses, and a rare visit by a walrus occurred in
3471-600: The 2018 heatwave; in the same year, a 1st-century Celtic chariot burial was discovered in Llanstadwell , the first such find in Wales. There may have been dairy farming in Neolithic times. There is little evidence of Roman occupation in what is now Pembrokeshire. Ptolemy 's Geography , written c. 150 , mentioned some coastal places, two of which have been identified as the River Teifi and what
3560-705: The Czech Republic . Until 1 January 2007, the municipalities of Copenhagen , Frederiksberg and Bornholm were not a part of a Danish county . The city of Paris works like a department council and a municipal council. Administratively at state level, it is both a department with a single departmental arrondissement (not to be confused with the 20 city districts of Paris, or arrondissements municipaux , which are local subdivisions existing in very populated municipalities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille, with their own arrondissement councils and arrondissement mayors also elected during municipal elections), however
3649-664: The Eastern Cleddau, and rivers Cresswell and Carew. Since 1975, the estuary has been bridged by the Cleddau Bridge , a toll bridge carrying the A477 between Neyland and Pembroke Dock. Large bays are Newport Bay, Fishguard Bay, St Bride's Bay and western Carmarthen Bay . There are several small islands off the Pembrokeshire coast, the largest of which are Ramsey , Grassholm , Skokholm , Skomer and Caldey . The seas around Skomer and Skokholm, and some other areas off
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3738-625: The Norman castle built in the cantref of Penfro . In 1136, Prince Owain Gwynedd at Crug Mawr near Cardigan met and destroyed a 3,000-strong Norman/Flemish army and incorporated Deheubarth into Gwynedd. Norman/Flemish influence never fully recovered in West Wales. In 1138, the county of Pembrokeshire was named as a county palatine . Rhys ap Gruffydd , the son of Owain Gwynedd's daughter Gwenllian , re-established Welsh control over much of
3827-464: The Pembrokeshire coast are Marine protected areas . There are many known shipwrecks off the Pembrokeshire coast with many more undiscovered. A Viking wreck off The Smalls has protected status. The county has six lifeboat stations , the earliest of which was established in 1822; in 2015 a quarter of all Royal National Lifeboat Institution Welsh rescues took place off the Pembrokeshire coast. Pembrokeshire's diverse range of geological features
3916-581: The Senedd (MSs) returned to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) in Cardiff are Paul Davies and Samuel Kurtz respectively, both Conservatives. From 2024, Pembrokeshire was represented by the new UK Parliament constituencies Ceredigion Preseli and Mid and South Pembrokeshire which, in the 2024 General Election , returned Ben Lake ( Plaid Cymru ) and Henry Tufnell ( Labour ) respectively. Pembrokeshire
4005-665: The UK. In 2021, 52.7 per cent of residents identified as "Welsh only", a slight decrease since 2011. Under the Local Government Act 1888 , an elected county council was set up to take over the functions of the Pembrokeshire Quarter Sessions . It was based at the Shire Hall, Haverfordwest . This and the administrative county of Pembrokeshire were abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 , with Pembrokeshire forming two districts of
4094-502: The UK." In August 2019, the Pembrokeshire County Show celebrated 60 years at Haverfordwest Showground. The organisers anticipated 100,000 visitors, the largest three-day such event in Wales at the time. It showcased agriculture, food and drink, a rugby club, entertainment, with the star attraction a motorcycle display team. Until the 12th century, a great extent of Pembrokeshire was virgin woodland. Clearance in
4183-969: The United States are also independent of any county government : Baltimore, Maryland , St. Louis, Missouri , and Carson City, Nevada . There are also several consolidated cities where the county government and municipal government are unified. San Francisco and Philadelphia are two examples, wherein the city and county are coterminous and have one singular governing body. The District of Columbia has had no lower tiers of government since 1871. Arlington County and Alexandria, Virginia , were returned to Virginia in 1847. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 abolished all local governments including single remaining county and its two municipalities, Washington and Georgetown . Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( / ˈ p ɛ m b r ʊ k ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / PEM -bruuk-sheer, -shər ; Welsh : Sir Benfro [siːr ˈbɛnvrɔ] )
4272-780: The Western Isles Council) uses the alternative Gaelic designation Comhairle . While the phrase "unitary authority" is not used in Scottish legislation (whether from the Scottish Parliament or the UK Parliament), the term can be encountered (used either descriptively or erroneously) in a few official publications and in (usually erroneous) use by United Kingdom government departments. Local authorities in Wales are unitary in nature but are described by
4361-540: The administrative department (which is still subdivided into two subprefectures, one of which includes the métropole). So the metropole is not a unitary authority, and no longer an EPCI (like other French metropoles), but it has a specific status, considered equivalent to a department council, except that its seats are elected during the municipal French elections (at the same time as its municipal councils in each member commune ), and that (like departments and regions, but unlike other French EPCI's including other metropoles) it
4450-451: The area of the county was calculated to be 345,600 acres (1,399 km ) with a population of 81,424. It was not until nearly the end of the 19th century that mains water was provided to rural south Pembrokeshire by means of a reservoir at Rosebush and cast iron water pipes throughout the district. Throughout much of the 20th century (1911 to 1961) the population density in the county remained stable while it rose in England and Wales as
4539-411: The area. It is a varied landscape which includes high sea cliffs, wide sandy beaches, the large natural harbour of Milford Haven, and several offshore islands which are home to seabird colonies. Most of it is protected by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park , and can be hiked on the 190-mile (310 km) Pembrokeshire Coast Path . The interior of Pembrokeshire is relatively flat and gently undulating, with
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#17327832792564628-469: The boroughs of Belfast and Derry , the counties do serve for organisational purposes within government, and often with private businesses and sporting clubs. The counties of Northern Ireland are all within the historic province of Ulster , which includes an additional three other counties in the Republic of Ireland : Donegal , Cavan and Monaghan . Unitary authority A unitary authority
4717-797: The coast, through Fishguard and Newport, to the boundary with Ceredigion at Cardigan. Owing to length restrictions in Fishguard, some freight vehicles are not permitted to travel northeast from Fishguard but must take a longer route via Haverfordwest and Narberth. The B4329 former turnpike runs from Eglwyswrw in the north to Haverfordwest across the Preselis. The main towns in the county are covered by regular bus and train services operated by First Cymru (under their "Western Welsh" livery), Transport for Wales Rail and sometimes Great Western Railway respectively, and many villages by local bus services, or community or education transport. Pembrokeshire
4806-708: The collective term 'unitary administration' to describe all local government areas which operate as unitary authorities. In England , "unitary authorities" are those local authorities set up in accordance with the Local Government Changes for England Regulations 1994 made under powers conferred by the Local Government Act 1992 to form a single tier of local government in specified areas and which are responsible for almost all local government functions within such areas. While outwardly appearing to be similar, single-tier authorities formed using older legislation are not unitary authorities thus excluding e.g.
4895-582: The county through an opening up of rural industries, including agriculture, mining and fishing, with exports to England and Ireland, though the formerly staple woollen industry had all but disappeared. During the First English Civil War (1642–1646) the county gave strong support to the Roundheads (Parliamentarians), in contrast to the rest of Wales, which was staunchly Royalist . In spite of this, an incident in Pembrokeshire triggered
4984-490: The county, St Davids is the United Kingdom's smallest city in terms of both size and population (1,841 in 2011). Saundersfoot is the most populous village (more than 2,500 inhabitants) in Pembrokeshire. Less than 4 per cent of the county, according to CORINE , is built-on or green urban. There are three weather stations in Pembrokeshire: at Tenby, Milford Haven and Penycwm , all on the coast. Milford Haven enjoys
5073-515: The decline of their empire in Britain". Part of a possible Roman road is noted by CADW near Llanddewi Velfrey , and another near Wiston . Wiston is also the location of the first Roman fort discovered in Pembrokeshire, investigated in 2013. A find in north Pembrokeshire in 2024 of the likely remains of a Roman fort adds to the extent of Roman military presence in the area. Some artefacts, including coins and weapons, have been found, but it
5162-486: The emphasis was often on helping people to be self-employed. While the Poor Laws provided a significant means of support, there were many charitable and benefit societies. After the Battle of Fishguard , the failed French invasion of 1797, 500 French prisoners were held at Golden Hill Farm, Pembroke. From 1820 to 1878 one of the county's prisons, with a capacity of 86, was in the grounds of Haverfordwest Castle. In 1831,
5251-682: The exception of the Preseli Mountains in the north. There are many prehistoric sites in Pembrokeshire, particularly in the Preseli Mountains. During the Middle Ages several castles were built by the Normans, such as Pembroke and Cilgerran , and St David's Cathedral became an important pilgrimage site. During the Industrial Revolution the county remained relatively rural, with the exception of Milford Haven, which
5340-497: The figures for the whole of Wales. By 2021, 43 per cent reported "no religion", while 48.8 per cent described themselves as Christian. 6.6 per cent did not state their religion, and the remainder represented a number of other religions combined. In 2001, Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency was 99 per cent white European, marginally lower than in 1991, compared with 98 per cent for the whole of Wales. 71 per cent identified their place of birth as Wales and 26 per cent as from elsewhere in
5429-439: The historic county corporate entities granted self-governance with county government powers. Today, in addition to local government counties, every part of the United Kingdom lies within the historic counties which have formed geographic and cultural units since the Middle Ages. Additionally, there are vice-counties , which are geographic areas based on the historic counties, and used in scientific data gathering. Their purpose
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#17327832792565518-725: The land was arable or rough pasture in a ratio of about 1:3. Kelly's Directory of 1910 gave a snapshot of the agriculture of Pembrokeshire: 57,343 acres (23,206 ha) were cropped (almost half under oats and a quarter barley), there were 37,535 acres (15,190 ha) of grass and clover and 213,387 acres (86,355 ha) of permanent pasture (of which a third was for hay). There were 128,865 acres (52,150 ha) of mountain or heathland used for grazing, with 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of managed or unmanaged woodland. Estimates of livestock included 17,810 horses, 92,386 cattle, 157,973 sheep and 31,673 pigs. Of 5,981 agricultural holdings, more than half were between 5 and 50 acres. Pembrokeshire had
5607-418: The largest settlements are Milford Haven (13,907), Pembroke Dock (9,753), and Pembroke (7,552). St Davids (1,841) is a city, the smallest by population in the UK. Welsh is spoken by 17.2 percent of the population, and for historic reasons is more widely spoken in the north of the county than in the south. Pembrokeshire's coast is its most dramatic geographic feature, created by the complex geology of
5696-411: The line has been termed " Little England Beyond Wales ". The first objective, statistically based description of this demarcation was made in the 1960s, but the distinction was remarked upon as early as 1603 by George Owen of Henllys . A 21st century introduction of Welsh place names for villages which had previously been known locally only by their English names has caused some controversy. In 1851,
5785-434: The lowland south began under Anglo-Flemish colonisation and under mediaeval tenancies in other areas. Such was the extent of development that by the 16th century there was a shortage of timber in the county. Little is known about mediaeval farming methods, but much arable land was continuously cropped and only occasionally ploughed. By the 18th century, many of the centuries-old open field systems had been enclosed , and much of
5874-535: The most recent arrangement of communities (the successors to civil parishes) in the county which have their own councils; see the foot of this page for a list of communities. From 2010 to 2024, Pembrokeshire returned two Conservative MPs to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster: Stephen Crabb for Preseli Pembrokeshire and Simon Hart for South Pembrokeshire which is represented jointly with West Carmarthenshire. The corresponding Members of
5963-558: The municipalities (known as New England towns ) are the only governing tier below the state government, though the former counties still exist in the ceremonial sense. In some areas, the reverse is true; for example, Howard County, Maryland and Arlington County, Virginia , are examples of counties that, despite being densely developed, have no municipalities and are thus the only tier of general-purpose local government. In Virginia, all municipalities with city status are, by definition, independent from any county. Three other cities across
6052-477: The names of 1,200 of those that perished in World War I. In 1972, a second reservoir for south Pembrokeshire, at Llys y Fran , was completed. Pembrokeshire's population was 122,439 at the 2011 census, increasing marginally to 123,400 at the 2021 census. 66.4 per cent of residents were born in Wales, while 27.5 per cent were born in England. The 2021 census recorded that Welsh is spoken by 17.2 per cent of
6141-431: The new county of Dyfed : South Pembrokeshire and Preseli – the split being made at the request of local authorities in the area. Under the same Act, civil parishes were replaced by communities across the whole of Wales. In 1996, under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 , the county of Dyfed was broken up into its constituent parts, and Pembrokeshire has been a unitary authority since then. A new County Hall
6230-526: The new realm of Deheubarth ("southern district"). Between the Roman and Norman periods, the region was subjected to raids from Vikings , who established settlements and trading posts at Haverfordwest, Fishguard, Caldey Island and elsewhere. Dyfed remained an integral province of Deheubarth, but this was contested by invading Normans and Flemings who arrived between 1067 and 1111. The region became known as Pembroke (sometimes archaic "Penbroke" ), after
6319-775: The opening shots of the Second English Civil War when local units of the New Model Army mutinied. Oliver Cromwell defeated the uprising at the Siege of Pembroke in July 1648. On 13 August 1649, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland began when New Model Army forces sailed from Milford Haven. In 1720, Emmanuel Bowen described Pembrokeshire as having five market towns, 45 parishes and about 4,329 houses, with an area of 420,000 acres (1,700 km ). In 1791
6408-470: The population, a fall from 19.2 per cent in 2011. As a result of differential immigration over hundreds of years, such as the influx of Flemish people, the south of the county has fewer Welsh-speaking inhabitants (about 15 per cent) than the north (about 50 per cent). The rough line that can be drawn between the two regions, illustrated by the map, is known as the Landsker Line , and the area south of
6497-590: The powers of the Marcher Lords and divided the county into seven hundreds , roughly corresponding to the seven pre-Norman cantrefi of Dyfed. The hundreds were (clockwise from the northeast): Cilgerran , Cemais , Dewisland , Roose , Castlemartin , Narberth and Dungleddy and each was divided into civil parishes; a 1578 map by Christopher Saxton is the earliest known to show parishes and chapelries in Pembrokeshire; (see list of hundreds and parishes ). The Elizabethan era brought renewed prosperity to
6586-403: The prefecture of Paris is split between the prefecture of police of Paris (which covers the three other surrounding departments in the first ring) and the department prefecture (which is also the region prefecture, whose competence on police does not cover the four departments of Paris and the small ring). As the department of Paris has no department council elected during departmental elections, it
6675-532: The region and threatened to retake all of Pembrokeshire, but died in 1197. After Deheubarth was split by a dynastic feud, Llywelyn the Great almost succeeded in retaking the region of Pembroke between 1216 and his death in 1240. In 1284 the Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted to introduce the English common law system to Wales, heralding 100 years of peace, but had little effect on those areas already established under
6764-453: The region known to the Romans as Demetae . The Déisi merged with the local Welsh, with the regional name underlying Demetae evolving into Dyfed , which existed as an independent petty kingdom from the 5th century. In 904, Hywel Dda married Elen (died 943), daughter of the king of Dyfed Llywarch ap Hyfaidd , and merged Dyfed with his own maternal inheritance of Seisyllwg , forming
6853-464: The remaining rainforest in the Gwaun valley . The project is part of a larger, 100-year Atlantic rainforest recovery programme. Human habitation of the region that is now Pembrokeshire extends back to between 125,000 and 70,000 years and there are numerous prehistoric sites such as Pentre Ifan , and neolithic remains (12,000 to 6,500 years ago), more of which were revealed in an aerial survey during
6942-505: The respective English and Welsh descriptions of " County Council " or " Cyngor Sir ", each council formed for a County Borough is allocated the respective descriptions of "County Borough Council" or " Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol "; in all cases the shorter alternative forms "Council" or "Cyngor" can be used. There are several types of single-tier governments in the United States. In the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and much of Massachusetts , county government has been abolished, and
7031-721: The same territory (at state level they are unified as DROM for their prefectures) into a collectivité unique . The proposal was rejected by local referendum in Guadeloupe and in Réunion , but this occurred in Martinique and French Guiana whose former departemental and regional councils were merged into a single unitary authority named assemblée , elected during departmental elections. Mayotte with its newer status of department chose to keep this designation for its unitary authority, named departmental council (no regional council
7120-573: The southeast, to St Dogmaels just down the River Teifi estuary from Cardigan, Ceredigion , in the north. The National Trust owns 60 miles (97 km) of Pembrokeshire's coast. Nowhere in the county is more than 10 miles (16 km) from tidal water. The large estuary and natural harbour of Milford Haven cuts deep into the coast; this inlet is formed by the confluence of the Western Cleddau (which flows through Haverfordwest),
7209-410: The spring of 2021. Pembrokeshire is one of the few places in the UK that is home to the rare Southern damselfly, Coenagrion mercuriale , which is found at several locations in the county, and whose numbers have been boosted by conservation work over a number of years. Ancient woodland still exists, such as Tŷ Canol Wood , where biofluorescence , seen under ultraviolet light under the dark sky,
7298-586: The terrain. From 1943 to 1944, 5,000 soldiers from the United States Army's 110th Infantry Regiment were based in the county, preparing for D-Day . Military and industrial targets in the county were subjected to bombing during World War II. After the end of the war, German prisoners of war were accommodated in Pembrokeshire, the largest prison being at Haverfordwest, housing 600. The County of Pembroke War Memorial in Haverfordwest carries
7387-460: The three county-administered cities ( Chiayi , Keelung , and Hsinchu ), they are independent of their surrounding county. Special municipalities , with the exception of a few mountain indigenous districts within them, are also unitary. Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom uses a different term to describe their unitary authorities. However, the Office for National Statistics uses
7476-528: Was a key factor in the establishment of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and a number of sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs). In the north of the county are the Preseli Mountains, a wide stretch of high moorland supporting sheep farming and some forestry, with many prehistoric sites and the probable source of the bluestones used in the construction of the inner circle of Stonehenge in England. The highest point
7565-472: Was built in 1999 in Haverfordwest and serves as the county council's headquarters. In 2017 Pembrokeshire County Council had 60 members and no political party in overall control; there were 34 independent councillors. In 2009, the question of county names and Royal Mail postal addresses was raised in the Westminster parliament; it was argued that Royal Mail's continued use of the county address Dyfed
7654-472: Was causing concern and confusion in the Pembrokeshire business community. The Royal Mail subsequently ceased requiring county names to be used in postal addresses. In 2018, Pembrokeshire County Council increased council tax by 12.5 per cent, the largest increase since 2004, but the county's council tax remains the lowest in Wales. In 2023 the council published its corporate strategy document for 2023-28. The Pembrokeshire (Communities) Order 2011 established
7743-408: Was developed as a port and Royal Navy dockyard . It is now the UK's third-largest port, primarily because of its two liquefied natural gas terminals. The economy of the county is now focused on agriculture, oil and gas, and tourism. The county town is Haverfordwest. Other towns include Pembroke, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Fishguard , Tenby , Narberth , Neyland and Newport . In the west of
7832-470: Was established in 2009. In Ontario the term single-tier municipalities is used, for a similar concept. Their character varies, and while most function as cities with no upper level of government, some function as counties or regional municipalities with no lower municipal subdivisions below them. They exist as individual census divisions , as well as separated municipalities . In Germany, kreisfreie Stadt ( lit. ' circle-free city ' )
7921-405: Was ever created), but which also has the competence of a regional council (plus a few specific competences transferred from the state like other French overseas). The Métropole de Lyon was created as a metropole from an earlier EPCI ( public establishment of intercommunal cooperation ) but gained the competences of the departmental council. The departmental council of Rhône only covers the rest of
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