Uzmaston is a small

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 ...

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, about south-east 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 village, to the northwest of Boulston, forms part of the

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 ...

Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech is a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, which includes the villages of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech, and the Haverfordwest suburb of Cartlett (an area in the western part of Haverfordwest, no longer marked on mo ...

, and lies near the bank of the

Western Cleddau The River Cleddau () consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the harbour of Milford Haven Waterway. The name of the combined estuary – the Daugleddau – ...

. It contains the Grade II- listed St. Ismael's Parish Church which has existed since at least 1230, was extensively rebuilt in 1870-73, and restored in the 1990s.

History

Historically, Uzmaston and the surrounding parish belonged to the Hundred of

Dungleddy image:LDDeugleddyfCymydau.png, 200px, Ancient Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed showing Deugleddyf Cantref and its "commotes" image:LDDungleddyHundred.png, 200px, Pembrokeshire showing Dungleddy Hundred The Hundred of Dungleddy was a hundred (country subd ...

. Its name is a compound word meaning "Osmund's farm". In 1993, five Roman coins were unearthed behind the church at Uzmaston. At the time of the 1851 census, Uzmaston belonged to a parish comprising an area of 2,070 acres with a population of 683 people, 307 male and 376 female. Originally a farming village, the dwellings sit nestled between two farms.

Landmarks

Its parish church is dedicated to the 6th-century Breton prince and Welsh saint

Isfael Isfael or Ismael (), often anglicised as Ishmael, was a 6th-century medieval Welsh bishop of Rhos and saint. He was allegedly also a Breton prince of Armorica. Although his anglicized name invites association with the Biblical Ishmael, Isfael ...

. In 1230 it was granted to Wizo the Fleming. It was extensively rebuilt in 1870-73 and renovated in 1991–92. It was further restored in 1999 by Hereford architect Lingen Barker. It became a Grade II listed building on 16 July 2004. There is a house on the edge of Uzmaston along the lane from Boulston named "The Cottage". There are the ruins of a cottage between the main lane (known locally as "Nans Lane") and the Cleddau, just to the southwest of the village. The village is the start of the frolic, a public footpath that starts at the church gates, through the churchyard, across the field and then follows the River Cleddau into Haverfordwest. From the churchyard looking down river is white rock, a single chalk rock on the edge of the river.

Land

Samuel Lewis, writing in his ''A Topographical Dictionary of Wales'', stated that Uzmaston "comprises a moderate extent of enclosed and cultivated land: the soil is generally fertile, and the inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture. The western part of it, containing the straggling extemity of a suburb of Haverfordwest, called Cartlett, is included within the new electoral limits of that borough. Geologically, the area is known for the yellow-grey Uzmaston Beds, dated to the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

period, which are unfossiliferous in the lower parts.

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Pembrokeshire