PEMBROKE, a borough and market-town and sea-port, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of CASTLEMARTIN, county of PEMBROKE, SOUTH WALES, 6 miles (S. E. by E.) from Milford, 10 (S. by E.) from Haverfordwest, and 248 (W.) from London; containing, exclusively of the parish of Monkton, 6663 inhabitants. The name of this place is derived from the words Pen Bro, literally signifying a headland, or promontory, and originally applied to a district nearly corresponding in extent with the present hundred of Castlemartin, stretching out into the sea, and separating Milford Haven, on the north, from the Bristol Channel on the south. On the erection of a castle, and the consequent growth of the town, the name of the district in which they were situated was transferred to them, and subsequently to the whole of the county, of which that town became the capital. The early history of this place is involved in some confusion. It is stated by Giraldus Cambrensis, that Arnulph de Montgomery erected here, in the reign of Henry I., a slender fortress of stakes and turf, which, on his return into England, be placed under the custody of his constable and lieutenant, Giraldus de Windesor. In the Chronicle of Caradoc of Llancarvan, who was contemporary with Giraldus, it is expressly recorded that the castle was attacked in 1092, and again in 1094, by the forces of Cadwgan ab Bleddyn, but that it was so strongly fortified as to baffle every effort of that chieftain to reduce it. The latter of these dates, which is some years prior to the accession of Henry I., contradicts the statement of Giraldus Cambrensis, with respect to the time of the original foundation; and the results of the attacks by so formidable an enemy is at variance with his description of the character of the fortress. Arnulph de Montgomery, on the accession of Henry I., having joined in a confederacy against that sovereign, the castle of Pembroke, together with his other estates, became forfeited to the crown, and the king afterwards conferred the castle, together with the lordship of Carew, and several other manors, on Giraldus de Windesor, Arnulph's lieutenant, who bad married Nest, daughter of Rhl,s ab Tewdwr. According to Caradoc of Llancarvan, Giraldus or Gerald de Windesor rebuilt the castle of Pembroke in the year 1105, on a more advantageous site, called " Congarth Vechan," and removed into it his family and his goods. Soon after this, as we are informed by some authorities, Owain, son of Cadwgan ab Bleddyn, having heard the beauty of Nest extolled at a banquet given by Cadwgan, either at his castle of Aberteivy, or at that of Eare Weare, in the parish of Amroath, came, under the pretence of relationship, to pay her a visit at this place, and becoming enamoured at this interview, resolved upon carrying her away by force. For this purpose, having obtained the aid of some young men as profligate as himself, he returned in the evening to the castle, which he entered unobserved, and, placing a guard over the chamber of Nest, set fire to the building, and, in the confusion and alarm that ensued, forcibly conveyed her and her children to his residence in Powys. Other writers, however, are of opinion that the castle of Carew was the scene of this outrage and abduction. The alliance of Gerald with the native princes of the country, by his marriage with Nt.st, who was some time after restored to him, subsequently excited the jealousy of Henry, who used every possible means to circumscribe his authority, as far as was consistent with the safety of the English interests in this province. Gilbert de Clare, surnamed Strongbow, was created Earl of Pembroke by Henry I., in 1109, and thus became possessed of the royal territories in this quarter, and of the castle of Pembroke; and in 1138, the earldom was erected into a county palatine, with the privilege of jura regalia; and, under the authority of its earl, a session and a monthly county court were held within the castle. In the latter all pleas of the crown were determined, fines levied, and recoveries passed; the writs were issued in the name of the earl, who held also at this place his courts of chancery and exchequer. Strongbow enlarged the castle, which he strengthened with additional fortifications, and made it in every respect a residence suitable to the dignity of the elevated rank he held. He also incorporated the inhabitants of the town, which had arisen under the protection of the castle, and which he surrounded with a lofty embattled wall, defended by numerous bastions, and entered by three principal gates and a postern. Under the protection and influence of its earls, Pembroke became a place of great importance; and in the year 1172, Henry IL kept the festival of Easter in the castle. Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, after the defeat of the Lancastrians at the battle of Barnet, retired into the castle in which were then residing the young Earl of Richmond and his mother; but he was soon besieged by Morgan ab Thomas, brother of the celebrated Rhpi ab Thomas, a zealous partisan of the house of York, to whom he must have surrendered the fortress, had not David, another brother, who had embraced the opposite interest, come promptly to his assistance, and conveyed him, together with the Countess of Richmond and her son, to Tenby, where they embarked for France. The suppression of the palatinejurisdiction, in the reign of Henry VIII., deprived Pembroke of its dignity as the metropolis of a regality; but during the civil war of the seventeenth century, its strength rendered it the scene of many important transactions. The castle, at the commencement of the war, was the only fortress possessed by the parliament in this part of the principality, and was placed under the command of Colonel Rowland Laugharne. In 1648, Admiral Swanley arrived with the parliamentarian fleet in Milford Haven, and reinforced the garrison with two hundred mariners and several small pieces of cannon, with the aid of which the governor sue. ceeded in reducing most of the neighbouring fortresses, which were garrisoned for the king. In 1647, Colonel Laugharne, and likewise Colonels Powell and Poyer, abandoning the interest of the parliament, and embracing that of the opposite party, made Pembroke their bead-quarters, and the rallying point for the army which they raised on behalf of the king; and after their defeat in the disastrous battle of St. Fagan's, in Glamorganshire, retired hither with the remnant of their forces, closely followed by an army led by Cromwell in person, who immediately commenced the siege of the town, taking post at Weladon, a village about two miles and a half from it. The siege was conducted with the greatest vigour, and sustained with obstinate valour by the garrison, who were resolved to hold out to the last extremity; but Cromwell having found means to destroy their mills, and their supply of water being also cut off by the destruction of a staircase leading into a cavern under one of the towers, in which was their chief reservoir, there remained only the alternative of a lingering death or immediate submission. Under these circumstances the garrison capitulated, on condition that their chief leaders should throw themselves on the mercy of the parliament; that several of the inferior officers should leave the kingdom, not to return within two years; that all arms and ammunition should be given up, and that the town should be spared from plunder. Laugharne, Powell, and Poyer were afterwards tried by a court-martial, and being found guilty of treason, were condemned to be shot; but the authorities being induced to spare two of them, it was ordered that they should draw lots for the favour; and accordingly three papers were folded up, on two of which was written "Life given by God," and the third left blank; the latter was drawn by Colonel Poyer, who was shot in Covent Garden, on the 25th of April, 1649. That the surrender of the garrison was justly attributed to the failure of their supply of water, by the accident above noticed, has been confirmed by a recent discovery of the cavern, in which was found a copious spring of water, with the shattered remains of a staircase leading to it from the tower, the bones of a man, and several cannon balls. The importance of this place subsequently to the abolition of the palatinate depending principally upon its castle, which, after these events, was never refortified, it now experienced a further decline, owin& to its remote situation and want of commerce; and though it has to the present day nominally retained its dignity as the capital of the county, it dwindled into comparative insignificance, as all the substantial benefits arising from that distinction were transferred to Haverfordwest, which, from its more central situation, was found better adapted for the transaction of the business of the county. The removal of the government dock-yard from Milford to the place, in 1814, however, materially contributed to revive its prosperity; and since that period it has been gradually increasing in extent and population, and, from the many local advantages which it possesses for an establishment of this nature, there is every prospect of its becoming in due time one of the most considerable naval arsenals in the kingdom. The TOWN is beautifully situated on an elevated ridge projecting into the bead of the Pennar Mouth Pill, forming the largest southern creek of Milford Haven, and which it divides into two branches, by which, at high water, it is nearly insulated, and over each of which is a neat bridge of stone. It consists principally of one long street, irregularly built, and connected on the west with the ancient village of Monkton, which forms a suburb to the town, and on the north with a new street leading to Pembroke Dock, a flourishing and populous place, about two miles to the northwest, forming a distinct town within the parish of St. Mary, which has arisen since the removal of the dock-yard thither from Milford. The houses are built on both sides of the ridge, of which the western extremity is crowned with the magnificent ruins of the castle, and on each side are gardens sloping down from the houses to the *ater's edge; the embattled walls with which the ancient town was surrounded are still tolerably perfect on the north side, and the entire town, rising above the waters of the broad inlet, amidst some of the richest.scenery in this part of the principality, has an air in some parts of venerable grandeur, and in others of picturesque beauty. The streets are partially paved and lighted, and the inhabitants are amply supplied with excellent water from seven public conduits in different parts of the town, to which it is conveyed from a distance of half a mile, by means of pipes laid down at the expense of the corporation. There are no particular manufactures carried on, the inhabitants consisting of persons of small independent fortune, shop-keepers, and a few whose business is at the dock; but it serves in a great measure as a depot for the neighbouring districts. Stone coal is brought from a distance of about six miles to the east of it, and bituminous coal from Swansea, Llanelly, Newport, and other towns on the southern coast. When colonial produce was not permitted to be imported into Ireland direct, it was lodged in warehouses appropriated to that purpose at Pembroke ferry, in the parish of St. Mary, but that place is at present of no commercial importance. The market, which is abundantly supplied with provisions of every kind, is on Saturday; and there are fairs on April 12th, Trinity Monday, July. 10th, October 10th, and November 30th; and in the suburb of Monkton, on May 4th and September 25th. The two parishes of St. Mary and St. Michael comprise, in addition to the towns of Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, a considerable adjacent agricultural district. That of St. Mary is surrounded by the parishes of St. Michael, Cosheston, and Monkton, and is computed to contain about 2000 acres, of which nearly 1600 are meadow and pasture, and 400 arable; the soil is of a reddish colour, and indifferent quality, except a line of limestone which s through it, and there is little timber of any passes the Royal Dock-yard is in this parish, and a branch of Milford Harbour runs through it, and terminates at the town. St. Michael's is bounded by the parishes of St. Mary, Nash, Cosheston, Lamphey, and St. Petrox, and is calculated to comprise about 1800 acres, of which nearly 1400 are meadow and pasture, and 400 arable; there is little timber, and the soil is of much the same character as that of St. Mary's, but rather better; a line of limestone also runs from east to west through the parish, and there are a few quarries of small extent. The rateable annual value of the parish of St. Mary is £8291. 13., of St. Michael's £3694. W. 10., and of ' the suburban parish of Monkton £4061. 12.