Trefasser (variations: Tref-Asser, or Trêf Asser, or Asserton; translation: "town" of "Asser") is a hamlet, located to the west of

Fishguard Fishguard (, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,400 (rounded to the nearest 100) as of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Modern Fishguard consists of two parts, Lowe ...

in western

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Historically, it is part of the parish of Llanwnda. It lies on the coast of

St George's Channel St George's Channel (, ) is a sea channel connecting the Irish Sea to the north and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It separates Wexford on the southeastern corner of Ireland from St Davids in on the southwestern tip of Wales. Origin of nam ...

within the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...

. A stream named Cledde Goch runs close by. Trefasser's farms, houses and cottages are the only settled area of Pen Caer.

David Tress David Tress is a British painter noted particularly for his deeply personal interpretations of landscapes in and around his home in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. He combines the techniques of collage and impasto with conventional painting and d ...

has painted the place in an abstract painting.

History

Trefasser was mentioned in the survey of episcopal lands in 1326. It at one time belonged to Major Thomas Askwith Jenkins (1809–1877) of Trevigin. In July 2009, the body of a 47-year-old man from

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

in the West Midlands was found at the bottom of the cliffs of Trefasser.

Etymology

The general consensus is that Trefasser is named after Bishop

Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh people, Welsh monk from St David's, Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne (ancient), Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join ...

, a Welsh churchman who was friend and

biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

in the 9th century and may have been his birthplace.An alternative explation is that it is named for Asser's nephew, Asser Meneventsis, as Trefasser is said to be his birthplace. Meneventsis was a Benedictine monk, as well as scribe and chancellor to Asser. Panaramic-6

Castell Poeth

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

named

Castell Poeth A ''castell'' (: literally, ''castle'') is a Human tower (gymnastic formation), human tower built traditionally at festivals in a part of Catalonia (Spain), now also found in the rest of Catalonia, in the Balearic Islands, Balearic islands and ...

("the Hot Castle") is located nearby. It is an exploratory castelet with an occasional

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

. Described as a ditched, raised enclosure, oval in shape, and measuring by across, it has an attached second oval measuring by .

References

{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire