Pembroke

Pembroke

Pembroke, Welsh Penfro, urbanized area, historic and present county of Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro), southwestern Wales. The Pembroke area comprises the localities of Pembroke, situated on a southeastern arm of the Milford Haven inlet (a fine natural harbour of the Celtic Sea), and, just to the northwest, Pembroke Dock, which is on the south shore of the Milford Haven inlet.

The older locality, Pembroke, incorporated in 1090 by royal charter, was a walled town built along a narrow limestone ridge, at the west end of which the castle, dominating the Haven, was the seat of the earls of Pembroke in the 12th and 13th centuries. St. Mary’s Church was founded in 1260. Nearby are the ruins of a Benedictine priory established in 1098; its church was fully restored in 1882. Pembroke is now mainly a small market town and tourist centre. Pembroke Dock grew up around a 19th-century naval dockyard that closed in the early 20th century. It has since developed as a centre for manufacturing and commercial activities. Pop. (2001) Pembroke, 7,214; Pembroke Dock, 8,676; (2011) Pembroke, 7,552; Pembroke Dock, 9,753.