Manorbier Newton
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Manorbier Newton is a small village in 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 ...
within the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
and
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
of
Manorbier Manorbier (; ) is a village, Community (Wales), community and parish on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. The name means the 'Manorialism, Manor of Saint Pyr, Pŷr'. The community includes Jameston, Lydstep and Manorbier Newton. An Wa ...
. The
Pembroke River Pembroke River is a short waterway near Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Course Rising at Hogeston Hill, near Manorbier Newton, the river meanders through Lamphey and flows past Pembroke Castle to its confluence with Milford Haven Waterwa ...
rises at nearby Hogeston Hill to flow past
Lamphey Lamphey ( ) is both a village, a parish and a Community (Wales), community near the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, approximately east of the town of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembroke, and north of the seaside village of Freshwater East. ...
and
Pembroke Castle Pembroke Castle () is a medieval castle in the centre of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in Wales. The castle was the original family seat of the Earl of Pembroke, Earldom of Pembroke. A Grade I listed building since 1951, it underwent major restoratio ...
.


Field system and ancient history

Manorbier Newton has a coaxial
field system The study of field systems (collections of fields) in landscape history is concerned with the size, shape and orientation of a number of fields. These are often adjacent, but may be separated by a later feature. Field systems by region Czech Repub ...
with the fields mainly running in north–south strips and separated by hedges, mounds and walls in varying states of repair. There is some disagreement about the age of the field system.Dyfed Archaeology - Historic Landscape Characterisation - MANORBIER NEWTON STRIP FIELDS
/ref> Some other field systems of this type in Pembrokeshire are pre-
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 ...
Codd, p13 but the Manorbier Newton system is likely to date from the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
with some changes occurring in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
with the founding of the Manorbier Newton and Jameston settlements. The division into strips may have been to divide up equally areas with different bedrocks (
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
,
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
,
millstone grit Millstone Grit is any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the British Isles. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills. Geologists refer to ...
). There are several mounds in fields near to ''The Ridgeway'' road which contain
tumuli 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 ...
. One close to Glom Farm was excavated in 1851 then a 3-4 ton rock was broken through with explosives. There was a skeleton beneath. The Rev. G.N. Smith “felt convinced that a buried
cromlech A cromlech (sometimes also spelled "cromleh" or "cromlêh"; cf Welsh ''crom'', "bent"; ''llech'', "slate") is a megalithic construction made of large stone blocks. The word applies to two different megalithic forms in English, the first being a ...
had been wantonly destroyed”. The mound has not been subsequently excavated. A Roman trumpet brooch in bronze / silver, probably used on a cloak, was found close to Manorbier Newton. A small number of other Roman remains have been found in Manorbier.


History

The first recorded mention of Manorbier Newton (at that point written ''Neweton'' or ''Newtown'') is from 1331 when it was the third largest
vill Vill is a term used in English, Welsh and Irish history to describe a basic rural land unit, roughly comparable to that of a parish, manor, village or tithing. Medieval developments The vill was the smallest territorial and administrative unit ...
of Manorbier manor. It was founded as a
linear settlement A linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized) settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many of these settlements are formed along a transport route, such as a road, river, or canal. Others form due to physical r ...
when more land was needed than was available around Manorbier itself. Surviving records give an earlier date for the founding of Jameston but as the land around Manorbier Newton is of higher quality, Jameston may not have been the obvious first choice for development. The
Lord of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
of Manorbier demense lived elsewhere after the de Barri family sold their estate before 1392. Various parts of the land were gradually parcelled off so that by the time of three detailed surveys of 1601-1618 only one strip of land in Manorbier Newton, the 'Lords Mead', was still owned by the demense. The process of
enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...
of the fields appears to have started in this period. The will of John Bishop of Manorbier Newton, who died in 1617, shows he farmed 30 acres with wheat, peas, cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, geese and hens for a rent of £1/3/2 per year. In this era the land changed hands frequently. In the 1800s farms tended to be 20-30 acres although some were smaller. The 1863 opening of the
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
, with a stop at Beaver's Hill as well as Manorbier station, led to a rapid increase in the use of fertiliser and farm machinery and by 1871 many of the smaller farms had been swallowed up by the larger. Manorbier Newton had 16 holdings in 1485 and 14 in the early 1600s: 6 farms, 7 houses and 1 cottage In addition: 8 barns, 9 corn hay barns and 6 cowhouses. By 1841 there were 13 dwellings and 68 inhabitants. Trades included
cordwainer A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...
s, a mantlemaker and a
druggist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in order to dispense them safely to the pu ...
. By 1871 there were
dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable dr ...
s, a
butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...
and the keeper of the railway crossing. By 1901 there were no tradespeople remaining in Manorbier Newton. Today Manorbier Newton has not grown significantly and is still approximately the same size as it was around 1600. Manorbier Newton gained a congregationalist church in 1802, Newton Congregational Chapel was constructed in 1822. In 1851 at its most popular the chapel had 120 worshipers. The chapel later formed a
Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
but by 1965 the chapel had closed and it was sold to become a holiday home. The Ridgeway was the only road in the whole area for many centuries and gave access for droving, drovers from Pembroke to
Tenby Tenby () is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies within Carmarthen Bay. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, the 13th-century Tenby Town Walls, me ...
. The part close to Manorbier Newton was historically
moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...
- it was only cleared for farming in
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Ridgeway had an isolated beerhouse in this area, possibly called the Traveller's Rest, which later became Jenny Kibble's pub although the pub no longer exists.Codd, p77


Bibliography

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References

{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire