Nolton and Roch () is a

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 ...

in the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

of Roose,

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 ...

, Wales. The community consists essentially of the villages of Nolton and Roch and a number of hamlets including Cuffern and Druidston. The western part of the community is 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 ...

. Its population (2001) was 746, increasing to 825 at the 2011 census.

Geography

The 5 miles (8 km) coastline of the community consists of picturesque cliffs and dunes, and is followed by the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path (), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total ...

. At the north end is the 2 mile (3 km) long

Newgale Newgale () is a village with an almost stretch of beach in the parish of Roch, Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The beach is situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and has rugged coastal scenery with the ...

beach, which is popular for bathing and surfing. The whole coast is underlain with coal measures and was a centre of industry from medieval times until 1905. Nolton Haven, on the border between the two parishes, was a port from which the local

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

was shipped. The area is now a popular destination for holidaymakers and second-home owners. The community is on the linguistic boundary that existed along the northern edge of the community, which was particularly prominent here where it followed the Brandybrook valley: the community had been predominantly English-speaking for 900 years, but the adjoining parishes of

Brawdy Brawdy () is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Etymology The Welsh language Welsh placename, name appears to be an archaic form of "Bridget" and the parish may originally have been Llanfreudeth. The Eng ...

and

Hayscastle Hayscastle, or Hays-Castle ( or ), is a village, parish and Community (Wales), community of Pembrokeshire in West Wales, 7½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Haverfordwest on the B4330 road. History Richard Fenton, in his 1810 ''Historical Tour'', iden ...

to the north are more Welsh-speaking. Deep in the Brandybrook valley, Roch Mill is the last remaining of five water mills along little more than two miles of river. Adjacent to Roch Bridge it has been restored and includes a working water wheel. Starting at Roch Bridge a footpath follows the Brandybrook valley east through ancient Eweston Wood, past New Mill and Tucking (woollen) Mill, both now derelict with the buildings gradually submerging into the undergrowth. The water course (leat) that brought water to the two mills can clearly be seen and, joins the two in series; having been used by Tucking Mill the water then flowed on to New Mill before returning to the Brandybrook river. The path divides with the right path following and crossing the river and back to Roch Bridge via Woodhawk Farm. The left branch continues onto a minor lane and the ford at Stoopers Mill.

Local government

Nolton and Roch has its own elected

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...

and is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of The Havens for the purposes of elections to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council () is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. History There have been two bodies called Pembrokeshire County Council. The first existed from 1889 until 1974, and th ...

. Before the 2022 elections it was part of Camrose ward.

Nolton

Nolton is a village and parish on the coast of

St Brides Bay St Brides Bay () is a bay in western Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Either Skomer Island or the mainland extremity of Wooltack Point at the western end of the Marloes Peninsula marks the southern limit of the bay whilst its northern limit is mar ...

, 5.5 miles (9 km) west of

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest ( , ; ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a Community (Wales), community consisting of 12,042 people, making it the secon ...

. The name was originally ''old-tun'' and the dedication of the church to St

Madoc Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd (also spelled Madog) was, according to folklore, a Welsh prince who sailed to the Americas in 1170, over 300 years before Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. According to the story, Madoc was a son of Owain Gwynedd w ...

suggests that the place was a pre-existing Welsh settlement appropriated by English immigrants around the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

. Census population of Nolton parish 186 (1801): 245 (1851): 160 (1901): 108 (1951): 176 (1981) % Welsh speakers 14 (1891): 5 (1931): 8 (1971)

Roch

Roch () is a village and parish 2 miles (3.5 km) northeast of Nolton and 5.5 miles (9 km) northwest of Haverfordwest. The name is a rare example of a purely

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a '' langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical and cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to describe the administrative languages of '' Angl ...

name: it was ''la Roche'' in 1271, and means "the rock". The Welsh name has the same meaning. The village stands on a prominent ridge of

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

Roch Castle Roch Castle () is a 12th-century castle, located at Roch near Haverfordwest, Wales. Built by Norman knight Adam de Rupe in the second half of the 12th century, probably on the site of an earlier wooden structure. ''Roche'' is the usual French ...

stands on top of the most prominent outcrop of this, and is visible for miles around. The church of St Mary is 100 m southeast of the castle. Nearby is Cuffern Manor which is an historic house. Roch parish includes the hamlets of Cuffern and Druidston. Census population of Roch parish 538 (1801): 763 (1851): 471 (1901): 377 (1951): 684 (1981) In the 2011 census Roch village had a population of 463. % Welsh speakers 21 (1891): 22 (1931): 16 (1971)

References

External links

Nolton on Genuki

Roch on Genuki
{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire