95-526: Milford Haven Waterway ( Welsh : Dyfrffordd Aberdaugleddau ) is a natural harbour in Pembrokeshire , Wales . It is a ria or drowned valley which was flooded at the end of the last ice age . The Daugleddau estuary winds west to the sea. As one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, it is a busy shipping channel , trafficked by ferries from Pembroke Dock to Ireland, oil tankers and pleasure craft. Admiral Horatio Nelson , visiting
190-696: A jousting accident, ending a line of inheritance stretching back 250 years. Pembroke Castle then reverted to Richard II . Short tenancies were then granted by The Crown for its ownership. By 1400 Owain Glyndŵr had begun a rebellion in Wales. However, Pembroke escaped attack because the castle's Constable, Francis а Court, paid off Glyndŵr in gold. Then in 1452, the castle and the earldom were presented to Jasper Tudor by his half-brother Henry VI . Tudor brought his widowed sister-in-law, Margaret Beaufort , to Pembroke where, in 1457, she gave birth to her only child, who
285-550: A Parliamentarian force led by Rowland Laugharne crossed the Haven and landed at Pill. The fort was gunned from both land and water, and a garrison was placed in Steynton church to prevent a Royalist attack from the garrison at Haverfordwest . The fort was eventually surrendered, and quickly taken, along with St Thomas a Becket chapel. Just five years later in 1649 Milford Haven was again the site of Parliamentarian interest when it
380-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
475-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
570-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
665-405: A fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase the number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered
760-486: A first stage of a wave power plant, there will be some testing at West Dale Bay. Organic and heavy metal chemical pollutants accumulating in variety of species including seaweed mussels , bivalves and worms have been measured in Milford Haven Waterway. This together with information on the sediment concentrations have been assessed in order to aid in the evaluation of the environmental quality of
855-403: A history of boom and slump in shipbuilding, fishing and as railheads and ocean terminals. These two towns, which could handle the larger vessels then entering service, concentrated trade that had previously been dispersed at quays, jetties and landing places and small settlements such as Pennar , Lawrenny , Landshipping and Cosheston further up river. These small ports served the coal mines of
950-399: A new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded,
1045-494: A portion of its cargo of oil. In 1984, a serious explosion on a tanker being repaired in the Haven resulted in three fatalities. In 1996, it was the location of the Sea Empress oil spill, initially thought to be one of the most devastating oil tanker disasters the UK has ever seen. In the event, recovery has been surprisingly good, perhaps partly because of the very strong tides. The comparable Torrey Canyon spill in 1968,
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#17327728081971140-433: A ship which had been heading to Milford Haven, affected shores further south around southern Cornwall and northern France, was actually far more damaging. In light of the dwindling supplies of North Sea gas, Milford Haven has become home to two new LNG terminals which eventually could provide 25% of the UK's gas requirement. Under construction from 2006, South Hook is based on the former Esso refinery facility, while
1235-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
1330-421: A thin wall was required along the promontory. This section of the wall has a small observation turret and a square stone platform. Domestic buildings including William Marshal's Great Hall and private apartments were within the inner ward. The 13th century keep is 23 metres (75 ft) tall with walls up to 6 metres (20 ft) thick at its base. In the late 13th century, additional buildings were added to
1425-662: Is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales . The castle was the original family seat of the Earldom of Pembroke . A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restoration during the early 20th century. In 1093, Arnulf of Montgomery built the first castle at the site when he fortified the promontory beside the Pembroke River during the Norman invasion of Wales . A century later,
1520-645: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle ( Welsh : Castell Penfro )
1615-420: Is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for the creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as
1710-586: Is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of
1805-521: Is still obvious at Pembroke, at Haverfordwest, and at Carew. Carew did not develop into a borough, but excavations have shown that a Dark Age stronghold and possible Romano-British site preceded the Norman castle. Around the start of the 19th century, two new towns were constructed: Milford in 1790 by Sir William Hamilton , and Pembroke Dock in 1802 as the site for a new Royal Naval Dockyard . Both towns have regular planned layouts, both have experienced
1900-569: Is to this same blessed Milford: and by the way tell me how Wales was made so happy as to inherit such a haven ... By 1590, two forts had been constructed to defend the entrance to the haven. George Owen of Henllys , in his Description of Penbrokshire , claimed in 1603 that Milford Haven was the most famous port of Christendom. The area however was a source of anxiety for the Tudor monarchy. Its location exposed it to attacks from Ireland, potentially leading to an invasion of England via Wales. In 1405,
1995-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
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#17327728081972090-466: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
2185-683: The Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in the history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by
2280-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
2375-519: The Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of
2470-714: The Pembroke Dock (Royal Dockyard) Conservation Areas. The littoral landscape of Milford Haven shows evidence of maritime conquest, settlement, commerce, fishing and defence from the 11th century to the 20th century. Iron Age promontory forts are sited on several of the headlands at the entrance and along the course of the Haven and the Daugleddau. Early medieval , Christian and Viking sites are evidenced by place-names, documentary and epigraphic evidence, such as Early Christian Inscribed Stone monuments. The Norman conquest , achieved by coastally sited castle boroughs,
2565-496: The Pembrokeshire Coalfield located on both shores of the Daugleddau, and also the large limestone quarries at West Williamston. The Daugleddau ports flourished in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, but continued to work through the 19th century by changing to using barges to tranship cargoes down river to bigger vessels at the mid-Haven ports. In the late 19th century, concerns about the potential threat posed by
2660-607: The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park . The northern side is within the Preseli Environmentally Sensitive Area. The area includes: Angle Bay, Carew and Cresswell Rivers, Cosheston Pill, Daugleddau , Gann Estuary, Pembroke River , Pwllcrochan Flats and West Williamston Quarries ( Sites of Special Scientific Interest ); and the towns of Carew , Haverfordwest , Llangwm , Milford Haven , Neyland and Pembroke , and
2755-686: The Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to the people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into
2850-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
2945-700: The ria estuary . 51°42′00″N 5°06′47″W / 51.7°N 5.113°W / 51.7; -5.113 Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It
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3040-486: The town was fortified with defensive walls , three main gates and a postern . Pembroke Castle became de Valence's military base for fighting the Welsh princes during the conquest of North Wales by Edward I between 1277 and 1295. On the death of Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke , William de Valence's son, the castle passed through marriage to the Hastings family. In 1389, 17-year-old John Hastings died in
3135-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
3230-473: The 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
3325-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
3420-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
3515-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
3610-472: The Barlow family following the dissolution of the monasteries in the mid-16th century. It acquired an additional strategic importance in the 17th century as a Royalist military base. Charles I ordered a fort to be built at Pill by Royalist forces and completed in 1643 to prevent Parliamentarian forces from landing at Pembroke Castle and to protect Royalist forces landing from Ireland. On 23 February 1644,
3705-517: The Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol ) is the label attached to the Welsh of
3800-737: The Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and
3895-624: The Dragon LNG terminal is based on a brownfield site of the Gulf oil refinery , now also housing SEMLogistics chemicals. The regasified natural gas is fed through National Grid plc 's South Wales Gas Pipeline to the distribution point at Tirley, Gloucestershire . The first vessel, the Q-Flex -class Tembek from Qatar , docked at South Hook on 20 March 2009. The first gas to the Dragon facility
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3990-536: The French Navy prompted the construction of a number of Palmerston Forts at various strategically important coastal sites, including Milford Haven. Most of the forts are now disused. The late 20th century brought the jetties, oil terminals and shore processing facilities of the oil and power industries. This industry reached its zenith in the 1970s when Middle Eastern supply difficulties forced oil transport to use ocean routes and Very Large Crude Carriers for which
4085-671: The French landed in force having left Brest in July with more than twenty-eight hundred knights and men-at-arms led by Jean II de Rieux , the Marshal of France , to support Owain Glyndŵr 's rebellion. In April 1603, Martin Pring used the Haven as his departure point for his exploratory voyage to Virginia . The land comprising the site of Milford, the Manor of Hubberston and Pill, was acquired by
4180-550: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
4275-549: The Haven, with its deep waters and westerly position, was particularly suited. Milford Haven is the largest port in Wales, and the third-largest port in the United Kingdom. Shipping operations in Milford Haven are managed by the independent Milford Haven Port Authority as a trust port. The port authority has responsibility for managing Milford Docks, Milford Marina and Pembroke Port and Ferry Terminal. In 2012, it
4370-558: The Royalist castles of Tenby , Haverfordwest and Carew . In 1648, at the beginning of the Second Civil War , Pembroke's commander Colonel John Poyer led a Royalist uprising alongside Colonel Powell, Tenby Castle, and Sir Nicholas Kemoys , Chepstow Castle . Oliver Cromwell came to Pembroke on 24 May 1648 and took the castle after a seven-week siege . Its three leaders were found guilty of treason and Cromwell ordered
4465-523: The United Kingdom's energy sector with several oil refineries and one of the biggest LNG terminals in the world. Milford Haven is the second largest settlement in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,100; though its community boundaries make it the most populous in the county, with 13,096 people. As a community, Milford Haven takes in the town of Milford Haven itself and the villages of Hakin , Hubberston , Liddeston , Steynton and Thornton . As
4560-508: The Viking Chieftain Hubba wintered in the Haven with 23 ships, eventually lending his name to the district of Hubberston . Evidence of metal working in the area was recently excavated, suggesting a level of industrialisation in the period 750–1100. A Benedictine priory ( Pill Priory ) was established at the head of Hubberston Pill in 1170, as a daughter house of St Dogmaels Abbey . Built on virgin land, it stood alongside
4655-496: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
4750-704: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
4845-831: The Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak
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#17327728081974940-526: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
5035-487: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
5130-630: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
5225-579: The ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of
5320-621: The castle and the title, Earl of Pembroke . He had the castle rebuilt in stone and established the great keep at the same time. Marshal was succeeded in turn by each of his five sons. His third son, Gilbert Marshal , was responsible for enlarging and further strengthening the castle between 1234 and 1241. All of Marshal's sons died childless. In 1247, the castle was inherited by William de Valence (a half-brother of Henry III ), who had become Earl of Pembroke through his marriage to Joan de Munchensi , William Marshal's granddaughter. The de Valence family held Pembroke for 70 years. During this time,
5415-405: The castle to be destroyed. Townspeople were even encouraged to disassemble the fortress and re-use its stone for their purposes. The castle was then abandoned and allowed to decay. It remained in ruins until 1880, when a three-year restoration project was undertaken. Nothing further was done until 1928, when Major-General Sir Ivor Philipps acquired the castle and began an extensive restoration of
5510-411: The castle was given by Richard I to William Marshal , who became one of the most powerful men in 12th-century Britain. He rebuilt Pembroke Castle in stone, creating most of the structure that remains today. The castle is open to the public and is the largest privately owned castle in Wales. The castle is sited on a strategic rocky promontory by the Milford Haven Waterway . The first fortification on
5605-445: The castle's walls, gatehouses, and towers. After his death, a trust was set up for the castle, jointly managed by the Philipps family and Pembroke town council. In July 2022, archaeological survey funded by the Natural History Museum and the British Cave Research Society uncovered evidence of prehistoric megafauna such as reindeer and woolly mammoth bones, in addition to seashells , pigs and deer at Wogan Cavern. According to
5700-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
5795-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
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#17327728081975890-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
5985-520: The first castle here in the 11th century. Although only made from earth and wood, Pembroke Castle resisted several Welsh attacks and sieges over the next 30 years. The castle was established at the heart of the Norman -controlled lands of southwest Wales. Arnulf de Montgomery appointed Gerald de Windsor as his castellan at Pembroke. When William Rufus died, Arnulf de Montgomery joined his elder brother, Robert of Bellême , in rebellion against Henry I , William's brother and successor as king; when
6080-478: The first time an English king had stood on Irish soil, and the beginning of Henry's invasion of Ireland . St Thomas a Becket chapel was dedicated in 1180, a structure which looked out over the Haven from the north shore of the town. In later years it was used as a beacon for sailors in foul weather, and ultimately as a pig sty, until it was reconsecrated in the 20th century. In his play, Cymbeline Act 3, Scene 2 (1611), Shakespeare remarks: ... how far it
6175-431: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
6270-443: The haven with the Hamiltons, described it as the next best natural harbour to Trincomalee in Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) and "the finest port in Christendom". Much of the coastline of the Waterway is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest , listed as Milford Haven Waterway SSSI . From the 790s until the Norman Invasion in 1066, the waterway was used occasionally by Vikings looking for shelter. During one visit in 854,
6365-411: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
6460-413: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
6555-422: The inner ward, including a new Great Hall. A 55-step spiral staircase was also created that led down to a large limestone cave, known as Wogan Cavern, beneath the castle. The cave, which was created by natural water erosion , was fortified with a wall, a barred gateway and arrowslits . It may have served as a boathouse or a sallyport to the river where cargo or people could have been transferred. The outer ward
6650-431: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
6745-402: The least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead, the shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson ,
6840-673: The material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This
6935-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
7030-609: The name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi , the Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic ,
7125-627: The other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been
7220-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
7315-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
7410-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
7505-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
7600-402: The port authority with a great deal of experience. Uniquely at the time, the harbourmaster instituted the principle of cleaning up first and allocating the blame (and the responsibility of paying for it) later. There are two large oil refineries nearby which represent one fifth of the United Kingdom's oil refining capacity. In 1978 the tanker Christos Bitas ran aground off the Haven, spilling
7695-594: The priory on Caldey Island as part of the Tironian Order in West Wales , and was dedicated to St Budoc . Founded by Adam de Rupe, it stood until the Dissolution under Henry VIII . In 1171 Henry II designated the area the rendezvous for his Irish expedition. An army of 400 warships, 500 knights and 4,000 men-at-arms gathered in the haven before sailing to Waterford , and on to Dublin , which marked
7790-525: The rebellion failed, he was forced to forfeit all his British lands and titles. Henry appointed his castellan, but when the chosen ally turned out to be incompetent, the King reappointed Gerald in 1102. By 1138 King Stephen had given Pembroke Castle to Gilbert de Clare who used it as an important base in the Norman invasion of Ireland . In August 1189 Richard I arranged the marriage of Isabel , de Clare's granddaughter, to William Marshal who received both
7885-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
7980-541: The researchers, the cave was occupied by residents as far back as the Paleolithic and Mesolithic Periods. Pembroke has appeared in numerous feature films. These include the 1968 film The Lion in Winter , the 1976 film Jabberwocky , the BBC adaptation of C.S. Lewis 's Prince Caspian , the film of Shakespeare's Richard II , and the 2016 Anglo-American romantic film Me Before You . It features as
8075-414: The site was a Norman motte-and-bailey . It had earthen ramparts and a timber palisade . In 1189, Pembroke Castle was acquired by William Marshal. He soon became Lord Marshal of England, and set about turning the earth and wood fort into an impressive Norman stone castle . The inner ward, which was constructed first, contains the huge round keep with its domed roof. Its original first-floor entrance
8170-403: The start of the 19th century, although this ceased in the early 19th century. Although surrounding settlements at Steynton , Thornton , Priory, Liddeston and Hubberston /Hakin were established, they were little more than hamlets. The only man-made structures on the future site of Milford were the medieval chapel, and Summer Hill Farm, and its accompanying cottages. Parts of the Haven are within
8265-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
8360-548: Was announced that the Milford waterway was to be declared an Enterprise Zone by the coalition government, due to its importance to the energy sector. Milford Haven's association with the petro-chemical industry started with the opening of the first oil terminal and oil refinery in 1960; unfortunately this coincided with a serious oil-spill from Esso Portsmouth , the first oil tanker to unload there. Since then, there have been numerous spills of varying magnitude, providing
8455-521: Was built on a rocky promontory surrounded by water. This meant that attacking forces could only assault on a narrow front. Architecturally, Pembroke's thickest walls and towers are all concentrated on its landward side facing the town, with Pembroke River providing a natural defense around the rest of its perimeter. Pembroke Castle stands on a site that has been occupied at least since the Roman period . Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury founded
8550-515: Was chosen as the disembarkation site for Oliver Cromwell 's Invasion of Ireland . Cromwell arrived in the Haven on 4 August, meeting George Monck , before Cromwell and over a hundred crafts left for Dublin on 15 August. By the late 18th century, the two creeks which would delimit the future town of Milford's boundaries to the east and west, namely Hakin and Castle Pill, were being used as ports for ships to load and unload coal, corn and limestone., A ferry service to Ireland operated from Hakin around
8645-410: Was defended by a large twin-towered gatehouse, a barbican and several round towers . The outer wall is 5 metres (16 ft) thick in places and constructed from Siltstone ashlar . Although Pembroke Castle is a Norman-style enclosure castle with great keep , it can be more accurately described as a linear fortification because, like the later 13th-century castles at Caernarfon and Conwy , it
8740-518: Was delivered 14 July 2009. The port authority started promoting Pembrokeshire as a cruise destination in 2003 and passenger numbers have steadily increased since then. In July 2008, the first transatlantic liner , the Maasdam arrived in Milford Haven. The town of Milford Haven was founded as a whaling center in the 18th century, and today the town's port is the fourth largest in the United Kingdom in terms of tonnage and plays an important role in
8835-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
8930-406: Was through an external stairwell. Inside, a spiral staircase connected its four stories. The keep's domed roof also has several putlog holes that supported a wooden fighting-platform . If the castle was attacked, the hoarding allowed defenders to go out beyond the keep's massive walls above the heads of the attackers. The inner ward 's curtain wall had a large horseshoe-shaped gateway. But only
9025-485: Was to become King Henry VII of England . In the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle was a place of peace until the outbreak of the English Civil War . Although most of South Wales sided with the King , Pembroke declared for Parliament . It was besieged by Royalist troops but was saved after Parliamentary reinforcements arrived by sea from nearby Milford Haven . Parliamentary forces then went on to capture
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