Manorbier Newton
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|---|---|
 Viewed south over the level crossing (2006) | |
  Manorbier Newton Location withinPembrokeshire | |
| Population | 50 (estimate for 2001)[1] |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Preserved county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TENBY |
| Postcode district | SA70 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
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Manorbier Newton is a small village in thePembrokeshire Coast National Park within theparish andcommunity ofManorbier. ThePembroke River rises at nearby Hogeston Hill to flow pastLamphey andPembroke Castle.
Manorbier Newton has a coaxialfield system 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.[2] Some other field systems of this type in Pembrokeshire are pre-Norman[3] but the Manorbier Newton system is likely to date from theBronze Age with some changes occurring in theMiddle Ages with the founding of the Manorbier Newton andJameston settlements.[2] The division into strips may have been to divide up equally areas with different bedrocks (limestone,sandstone,millstone grit).[3]
There are several mounds in fields near toThe Ridgeway road which containtumuli. 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 buriedcromlech had been wantonly destroyed”. The mound has not been subsequently excavated.[4]
A Roman trumpet brooch in bronze / silver, probably used on a cloak, was found close to Manorbier Newton.[5] A small number of other Roman remains have been found in Manorbier.
The first recorded mention of Manorbier Newton (at that point writtenNeweton orNewtown) is from 1331 when it was the third largestvill of Manorbiermanor.[2][6] It was founded as alinear settlement 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.[7]
TheLord of the Manor 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.[8] The process ofenclosure of the fields appears to have started in this period.[2] 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.[9] 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 therailway, with a stop at Beaver's Hill as well asManorbier 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[10] In addition: 8 barns, 9 corn hay barns and 6 cowhouses.[2] By 1841 there were 13 dwellings and 68 inhabitants. Trades includedcordwainers, amantlemaker and adruggist. By 1871 there weredressmakers, abutcher 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.[2]
Manorbier Newton gained acongregationalist church in 1802, Newton Congregational Chapel was constructed in 1822.[11][12] In 1851 at its most popular the chapel had 120 worshipers. The chapel later formed aSunday School but by 1965 the chapel had closed and it was sold to become a holiday home.[13]
The Ridgeway was the only road in the whole area for many centuries and gave access fordrovers fromPembroke toTenby. The part close to Manorbier Newton was historicallymoorland - it was only cleared for farming inWWII. 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.[14]