Flemish settlers landed at Sandy Haven Pill

The Normans invaded from Normandy. They were European descendants of Vikings or Northmen – Normanni in Latin. Their Dutchy was formed in 911 under the strong Norman leadership of Rollo. William the Conqueror died on 9th September 1087, some 21 years after the Battle of Hastings. His wife Queen Matilda of Flanders had died earlier on 2nd November 1083.  After the conquest, many Flemish people followed William and Matilda to England to share the spoils of the conquest. William the Conqueror was succeeded by his second son who became William II of England. William was killed in a hunting accident in 1100. He in turn was succeeded by William Conqueror’s third son Henry who became King Henry I of England.

In 1106 storms washed away the sand dunes protecting parts of coastal Flanders and caused widespread flooding of the low lying areas.   Many Flemish people fled to seek new lands. Many arrived in London to petition William and Matilda’s second son (King Henry 1st) for empty land where they might settle. King Henry 1st did not like all of these Flemish refugees and was having problems with hostile Welshmen, so he gave them land that did not belong to him in the remotest part of his Kingdom. This was the land of Rhos (Roose) in Pembrokeshire. This was an area bounded by the Western Cleddau River in the east, by the Milford Haven Waterway in the south and St Brides Bay in the west. It included all of the Dale Peninsula.

Henry 1st already had links with what became Pembrokeshire. During the reign of William II, Wales was attacked and Rhys ap Tewdwr, last King of Deheubarth (an area corresponding today to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and part of Cardiganshire and including Rhos) was killed fighting the Norman invaders. Princess Nesta (Nest), daughter Rhys ap Tewdwr, was taken to London as hostage to ensure her brothers good behaviour.   Nesta had an illegitimate son (Henry FitzHenry) by King Henry in 1103 when she was 18 years old. The King (who eventually had around 20 illegitimate children aside from his marriage) then married Nesta off to Gerald of Windsor who was constable of Pembroke Castle, as far away from his London base as possible.   King Henry 1st had set up a catastrophic situation for the Welsh inhabitants of sparsely populated Rhos -– the ancient Britons who had survived there since before Roman times. Henry’s strategy or kingship was to use his unwanted Flemish refugees to neutralise the aggressions of the Welsh defending their lands.   From the Norman point of view, his selection of Rhos was a brilliant move.   The Flemish settlers could defend the approaches to Pembroke Castle and defend the Milford Haven Waterway. The details of what happened is not known, but the Flemings developed a strong hatred for the Welsh.

The Flemings arrived by sea in 1108 and landed at the first sheltered bay which was Sandy Haven Pill. Later migrations of Flemings occurred in 1113-15, and 1155. They got some unexpected help, for it was reported they were joined by a band of “English marauders” towards the end of Henry 1st’s reign. Shortly after their arrival, their leader Tancred took over an iron age fort on the site of Haverfordwest castle and built his stronghold there. At first it was probably an earthworks with wooden defences and may have been established a soon as 1110.   This indicates that the Flemish settlers who arrived at Sandy Haven Pill in 1008, were not a small group of refugees at all, but a well organised large number of settlers. Tancred probably brought his entire community with him, so he arrived with builders, farmers, bakers, carpenters and stone masons.   Theymust have very quickly explored the Milford Haven Waterway with their boats and found the tidal limit at Haverfordwest, and the defensive hill there above the fording pint. With land, farms and animals for the taking from the sparse Welsh population, they would have quickly settled in and Haverfordwest became their capital and stronghold. Pembrokeshire records suggest that Tancred’s family may have held the castle possibly until 1210, although other reports say it was taken over by Gilbert e Claire, Earl of Pembroke perhaps as early as 1120. The castle was visited by King Henry II on his return from Ireland in 1173. The Flemish landing was a further step in a major change beginning with the Norman invasion and the creation of “Little England beyond Wales”. It led to vast political outcome both in Wales and Ireland and also to the founding or the Tewdwr or Tudor dynasty.

The emigration into south Pembrokeshire resulted in overwhelming numbers of Flemings and English people arriving. The sparse Welsh population of Rhos and surrounding areas vanished to the extent that today there are very few Welsh place names in Rhos. It seems that the Welsh people of Rhos were displaced, many migrating to the poorer mountainous lands of north Pembrokeshire. Gerald the Welshman in the 1190’s recorded that the Flemings had settled in Roose, and that the previous individuals had lost their lands. There remain today two distinct populations in Pembrokeshire. North Pembrokeshire is known as the Welshry and south Pembrokeshire as the Englishry or “Little England beyond Wales”. The line of separation runs from Newgale to Amroth and is known as the Landsker (from the Norse word divide).

The Flemings proved an industrious hard working people who disliked the Welsh intensely. They fought with their English and Norman allies against the Welsh, and were sometimes referred to as “Flemish wolves”. The Norman Lords in Wales welcomed the Flemings as they were loyal to the Normans and provided soldiers for them in battles against the Welsh.

The displacement of the Welsh population was not a rapid process, around 50 Norman castles and strongholds were built to maintain this division. About two thirds of them were earthworks, but the castles near water were rebuilt in stone.   The Flemings became well known for their stone working skills in building castles, and also the tall church towers common in south Pembokeshire (best seen at Carew Cheriton Church). There is also a distinctive type of stone chimney in south Pembrokeshire called a “Flemish chimney”.   Surprisingly the Flemish language died out and the population of south Pembrokeshire spoke English.

Little England beyond Wales became a great Norman stronghold.   When in 1155, King Henry II removed all Flemings from Northumbria and sent them to south Pembrokeshire, he was thinking about the invasion of Ireland. This took place in the years 1169, 1170 and 1171. King Henry II led the invading army in 1171.   The centre of activity was Pembroke castle and the ships gathered in the Milford Haven Waterway.

The Flemish colony in south Pembrokeshire, together with its English immigrants remained as a separate people. The Flemings main industry was the wool trade and with their fulling and carding mills, they soon prospered. They spread along the Milford Haven waterway and the estuaries of the Cleddau River to occupy Pembroke, Tenby and the Castlemartin area in the south. In the north they expanded to Narberth. Some of them became Lords. Flemish Lord Tancred built Haverfordwest castle and the market town soon grew up around it.  Wiston is named after Flemish Lord Wizo who built his castle there. Lord Wizo had his own program of bringing Flemish settlers to fill the empty lands around him. Letterston is also named after another Flemish Lord – Letard Litelking. The Flemings and English together with the Normans prospered on the fertile lands of south Pembrokeshire, where the winters were mild, due to the presence of the Gulf Stream or North Atlantic Drift.  The remaining Welsh people lived in the mountainous northern half of the county, with land too poor to be of interest to the population of south Pembrokeshire. The Landsker boundary remains very distinct today.

At the time of the Norman conquest, few people had surnames as they lived usually in small farm settlements.   Many of the Norman nobility had names to distinguish them, usually by adding the place name of their home such as Roger de Montgomery, Geoffrey of Mortagne and William de Warrenne. After the invasion many Normans Anglicised their names.   The main names of the wealthy Norman landowners were: Berkley; Baskerville; Darcy; Mandeville; Montgomery; Neville, Pakenham; Pevey; Puncherd; and Talbot.   Following the conquest, surnames became common in Britain. The surnames described people’s occupations, where they lived or used the fathers name with “son” added.    In south Pembrokeshire the sites of Flemish homesteads are likely preserved today in the anglicised Flemish names: Herbrandston, Harmeston, Jordanston, Lambston, Loveston, Rogerston, Ripperston, Tancardston, Wallerston, Uzmaston and Williamston.

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