Cemais Uwch Nyfer was a mediaeval Welsh

commote A commote (, sometimes spelt in older documents as , plural , less frequently )'' Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wales. The word derives from the prefix ("together" ...

in the

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

cantref A cantref ( ; ; plural cantrefi or cantrefs; also rendered as ''cantred'') was a Wales in the Early Middle Ages, medieval Welsh land division, particularly important in the administration of Welsh law. Description Land in medieval Wales was divid ...

of Cemais, in what is now

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, 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 ...

. It consisted of the territory between the

Afon Nyfer The River Nevern () is a river in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Its source is north of the village of Crymych and its length is about to its estuary at Newport, Pembrokeshire. Course The source of the river is a spring on the southwest slope of Frenni ...

and

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 ...

, and its civil headquarters were at Newport. The commote was made part of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

in the 12th century, and had at least eight Norman castles (Newport,

Little Newcastle Little Newcastle () is a village, parish and former Civil parishes in Wales, civil parish in the Community (Wales), community of Puncheston in Pembrokeshire, Wales. A map of 1578 shows the parish as ''Newcastle''. Bartholomew Roberts The villa ...

Puncheston Puncheston ( or ) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. It sits below the mountain known as Castlebythe (), one of the peaks in the Preseli Mountains, just outside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Parish h ...

Castlebythe Castlebythe () is a village and civil parish, parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the southern slopes of the Preseli Hills, 10 km south-east of Fishguard. The northern part of the parish is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together w ...

Henry's Moat Henry's Moat is a hamlet and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Puncheston. It is southeast of Fishguard and northeast of Haverfordwest. The nearest railway station is Clarbeston Road to the south. It was in the ancient Hund ...

Maenclochog Maenclochog () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also the name of Maenclochog (electoral ward), an electoral ward comprising a wider area of four surrounding communities. Maenclochog C ...

Llangolman Llangolman () is a village and parish in the southeastern Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is part of the Community (Wales), community of Mynachlog-ddu. There are prehistoric remains nearby and the parish has a history of slate and c ...

and

Llanfyrnach Llanfyrnach () is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is in the electoral ward and community (Wales), community of Crymych. The village of Crymych and the hamlets of Hermon, Pembrokeshire, Hermon, Glandwr, Pembrokeshire, G ...

). It ceased to be significant at the time of the

Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 () or the Acts of Union (), were acts of the Parliament of England under King Henry VIII of England, causing Wales to be incorporated into the realm of the Kingdom of England. The legal system of England ...

, its functions being taken over by the Hundred of Cemais. It is in the predominantly Welsh-speaking north of Pembrokeshire.

Parishes

It was composed ofRichards, Melville, ''Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units'', UoW Press, 1969, p 96 the following parishes:

References

{{coord, 51.991, -4.742, display=title, region:GB_scale:200000 Commotes History of Pembrokeshire