Population 465 (2011) Sovereign state United Kingdom Police Dyfed-Powys Local time Saturday 12:06 PM Principal area Pembrokeshire | Country Wales Postcode district SA62 Fire Mid and West Wales Post town Haverfordwest | |
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Weather 12°C, Wind W at 35 km/h, 90% Humidity | ||
Hayscastle or Hays-Castle (Welsh: Cas-lai) is a village, parish and community of Pembrokeshire in West Wales, 7½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Haverfordwest on the B4330 road.
Contents
Map of Hayscastle, UK
History
Hays Castle Motte was a Norman castle located in the area. It lay on a mound, oval in plan and still stands around 20 feet high on one side. Little remains of the castle today.
Hayscastle was in the union of Haverfordwest, in the Hundred of Dewisland. There were 366 inhabitants in 1841. The large rural parish is recorded as having been for the greater part inclosed and in a good state of cultivation. The largest village is Haycastle Cross; Haycastle itself to the northwest is no larger than a hamlet; the parish includes the settlements of Brimaston and Ford.
In 1870–72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales recorded a parish population of 297 and 62 houses in an area of 4,462 acres (1,806 ha).
Worship
The parish church is dedicated to St. Mary; in the small village of Ford in the parish there is a chapel of ease. St. Mary's is a church of medieval origin, but little remains from that period except the 13th-century font. Repairs were made to the church by D. F. Ingleton in 1927-8.
There are places of worship for Independents and Calvinistic Methodists; and two or three Sunday schools which were supported by the dissenters. Noddfa Newton Chapel was built in 1862 and rebuilt in 1924. It is described as having an "old-fashioned stone gable front with a centre arch and arched windows." Several tumuli were formerly discernible, but they have been nearly levelled. RAF Hayscastle Cross Chain Home was situated here during the Second World War.
Amenities and events
The village has a History and Environment Society, Women's Institute, Neighbourhood Watch and Young Farmers' Club. The Cross Inn stands in the centre of the village.
Since 1954, the Hayscastle Show, an horticultural show, has been held each August. In 1969, a separate committee was formed to organise pony classes which are now also a feature of the show.
Hayscastle fishery with a small lake lies between the villages of Hayscastle Cross and Hayscastle.