Rudbaxton is a village,

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

and a local government

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

in the county of Pembrokeshire,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It is from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Description

The community includes the expanding village of Crundale and the settlements of Poyston Cross, Bethlehem and Rudbaxton Water. In 2011, the population of Rudbaxton was 768 with 18.2 per cent able to speak Welsh and in 2015 the population was estimated at 850 in 450 dwellings.

History

Rudbaxton parish was in the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Dungleddy, a corruption of the Welsh for ''two Cleddau'', referring to the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers, which form part of the parish boundary. The Haverfordwest to Fishguard turnpike (now the A40) ran through the western half of the parish. It appeared as ''Redbaxton'' on a 1578 parish map of Pembrokeshire. Once entirely rural and agricultural, the former parish now includes the northeastern part of the expanding county town of Haverfordwest, and is in the parish of Daugleddau in the

Diocese of St Davids The Diocese of St Davids is a diocese of the Church in Wales, a church of the Anglican Communion. The diocese covers the historic extent of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, together with a small part of western Glamorgan. The episcop ...

. By 1708, efforts were being made by a ''"neighbouring Gentleman"'' to clothe and educate the poor children of the parish. A school was established by the SPCK and the philanthropist Sir John Philipps. In 1833 the population of the parish was 621, and the school educated 11 pupils, partly funded by the Baptist movement. A National School was established in 1877 and the school's minutes and correspondence papers from 1877 to 1966 are held at Pembrokeshire Record Office. In 1831, about 75 per cent of males over 20 years were occupied in agriculture. The population in 1870 was 586, occupying 130 houses. The population had expanded from 472 in 1801 to 669 in 1851, and then fell to 405 by 1961. In 1942, a large area of the parish was taken over to build RAF Haverfordwest, later becoming Withybush Airport.

Governance

Rudbaxton has been an electoral ward to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authori ...

since 1995, electing one county councillor. The community also elects up to ten members of Rudbaxton Community Council, which meets regularly at Crundale Community Hall.

Prehistoric remains

Rudbaxton Rath is a hillfort within the community: a subcircular banked, ditched enclosure measuring around 100m by 95m; inside the western ramparts is a second enclosure of 50m by 32m.

Listed and other buildings

The parish church of

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

was originally established in the early 13th century and is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is built of rubble stone with slate roofing, and retains some late-15th or early-16th century features. It was restored ''"from a state of ruin"'' by the rector in the 19th century. Grade II listed buildings in the parish include several houses and two bridges. There are 14 listed buildings in the parish. There are 49 buildings and other structures of interest listed by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales within the community of Rudbaxton. There is a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

chapel in Crundale, built in 1837, rebuilt in 1882 and modified in 1830.

Notable people

Lieutenant-general Sir

Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respected for his courage and feared for his irascible t ...

, born in Haverfordwest in 1758, grew up at Poyston Hall in the parish. He died at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

References

External links

Historical information and further links on GENUKI
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire electoral wards Communities in Pembrokeshire