Wisemans Bridge is a coastal

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

between

Amroth Amroth is a village, parish and community northeast of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Located on Carmarthen Bay, Amroth is noted for its long sandy beach which stretches the length of the village. It regularly earns a Blue Flag award. and is t ...

and

Saundersfoot Saundersfoot (; Old Welsh: ''Llanussyllt'') is a large village and community (and former electoral ward) in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is near Tenby, both being holiday destinations. Saundersfoot lies in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on ...

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 small beachfront settlement, which is part of 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 ...

, was once an important centre for the mineral industry in

West Wales West Wales () is a region of Wales. It has various definitions, either covering Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of ''Deheubarth'', and an alternative definition is to include Swa ...

. It is now a popular holiday destination within

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay () is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee list C ...

Toponym

left, The bridge at Wisemans Bridge The name Wisemans Bridge has no definitive origin. In early

medieval Wales Wales in the Middle Ages covers the history of the country that is now called Wales, from the departure of the Romans in the early fifth century to the annexation of Wales into the Kingdom of England in the early sixteenth century. This period ...

, the area was part of ''Llanussyllt'' but after 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 ...

it became known as the Parish of St Issells in dedication to the Welsh saint Issel. In 1598, a local entry in the parish records of St Issells mentions a bridge in the locale. This has led to the theory that the name Wisemans Bridge derives directly from the decision to use the crossing rather than take another route. However, research of St Issells' parish records in the 14th century show that an Andrew Wiseman held lands thereabouts as early as 1324. It was recorded by the

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

as Wisemans Bridge between 1898 and 1908. The Welsh form ''Pont-yr-ŵr'' has been used on-line in a small number of instances. But the form is not noted in the standard work on Pembrokeshire place names and is of unknown origin.

History

The valley behind Wisemans Bridge between the 14th and 19th centuries was a centre of industrial activity within the

Pembrokeshire Coalfield The Pembrokeshire Coalfield in West Wales is one of the smallest Great Britain, British coalfields, but continuously worked from the 14th to 20th centuries. The main coalfield extends across south Pembrokeshire from Saundersfoot on Carmarthen Bay w ...

s. By the 19th century, the local high-quality coal was shipped out of Wisemans Bridge in 50- or 60-ton vessels. A 4-foot

narrow-gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter cur ...

also transported coal to Saundersfoot Harbour via Coppet Hall. The line was permanently closed in 1939. The old railway through Wisemans Bridge and its tunnels to Saundersfoot are now part of 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 ...

, a designated

National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...

that was established in 1970. In 1943,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

visited the area as the allies practised for the D Day landings.

References

{{Pembrokeshire Amroth, Pembrokeshire Hamlets in Wales Carmarthen Bay Coast of Pembrokeshire