{{Short description|Village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = Wales | static_image = St Andrew's church Robeston Wathen - geograph.org.uk - 529510.jpg | static_image_caption = St Andrew's Church, Robeston Wathen | coordinates = {{coord|51.806|-4.781|display=inline,title}} | official_name = Robeston Wathen | welsh_name = | population = | community_wales = Llawhaden | unitary_wales = Pembrokeshire | constituency_westminster = Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | constituency_welsh_assembly = Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | post_town = Narberth | postcode_district = SA67 | postcode_area = SA | dial_code = | os_grid_reference = SN0815 }}
'''Robeston Wathen''' is a rural village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, {{convert|2|mi|km}} west of Narberth, on the former Narberth to Haverfordwest turnpike subsequently designated the A40 which bypassed the village in 2011. Robeston Wathen is in the community of Llawhaden.
The village is mediaeval, and limestone was quarried there.
==Name== The village was recorded as ''Villa Roberti'' in 1282,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dyfed Archaeological Trust: Excavations on the A40 bypass at Robeston Wathen|url=http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/projects/robestonwathen.pdf|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> referring to an unknown Robert. It was referred to as Roberdeston ("Robert's Farm") in 1357 and as Robertson Wathen in 1545, though a 1578 map published in 1583 labels it Robeston.<ref>{{cite web|title=Penbrok comitat|publisher=British Library|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/p/001map00000c7c1u00035000.html|access-date=22 July 2024|archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927183108/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/p/001map00000c7c1u00035000.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The suffix "Wathen" refers to the Wathen family, who occupied the manor from the 15th century;<ref name=Action /> the surname ultimately derives from the personal name Gwaiddan.<ref>{{cite work|author=Mills, A. D.|title=A Dictionary of British Place Names|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2011|ISBN=9780199609086|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199609086.001.0001/acref-9780199609086-e-11058?rskey=UMGpRm&result=1|url-access=subscription|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref>
==History== The parish has evidence of Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation, discovered during the building of the bypass (see below).<ref>{{cite web|title=Dyfed Archaeological Trust|url=http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/projects/robestonbypass.htm|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> In Norman times Robeston Wathen was in the ancient administrative area of Narberth Hundred.<ref name=GENUKI />
Robeston House (or Robeston Wathen House), of uncertain date but at least as early as 1800, is a Grade II listed building;<ref>{{cite web|title=British Listed Buildings: Robeston House|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-18800-robeston-house-llawhaden|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> it was a hotel from 1977 to 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coflein: Robeston Wathen House|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pdf/PHGS_132/|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> In 1833 the parish<ref>{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Parish map (No.114)|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Herbrandston/ParishMap|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> had a population of 421.<ref name=GENUKI>{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Robeston Wathen|url= http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/RobestonWathen/|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> A school was started in the 1860s for 90 local children. It closed in 1971 and is now the village hall.<ref name=Action />
Wilson's ''Gazetteer'' of 1872 describes the parish as covering {{convert|1345|acre|ha}} with a population of 362 living in 92 houses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vision of Britain: Robeston Wathon (sic)|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8623|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref>
Limestone, sandstone and conglomerate was quarried at Robeston Wathen Quarries at least until 1931.<ref>{{cite web|title=British Gelological Survey Rock Collections|url=http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/britrocks/britrocks.cfc?method=listResults&searchSheet=SHEET&titleSearch=Haverfordwest%20(228)&pageSize=20|accessdate=22 April 2018}}</ref> It is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest, so designated in 1967 to protect its fragile geological elements: the limestone is extremely rich in corals, particularly halysitids, and contains rare brachiopods. The site covers 1.67 ha and is managed by Natural Resources Wales.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen Quarries|url=http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes-and-sites/sssis/sssi-sites/robeston-wathen-quarries.aspx|archive-url=https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20110905032805/http://www.ccw.gov.uk/landscape--wildlife/protecting-our-landscape/special-landscapes--sites/protected-landscapes-and-sites/sssis/sssi-sites/robeston-wathen-quarries.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 September 2011|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> Some of the houses in the village are built from stone quarried there.<ref name=Action />
The Robeston Wathen Village Association was founded in 1989.<ref name=Action>{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen Action Plan|url=http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1qbgu/RobestonWathenCommun/resources/1.htm|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref>
Until 2011 the main A40 trunk road passed through the village, effectively cutting it in two. The bypass was completed at a cost of £41 million and opened in March 2011. Access to Robeston Wathen village is by roundabouts to the east and west of the village.<ref>{{cite web|title=CIHT: Site visit|url=http://www.ciht.org.uk/en/events/index.cfm/robeston-wathen-by-pass-now-part-of-the-a40-trunk-road-penblewin-to-slebech-park-improvement-scheme|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref>
==Amenities== thumb|''The Bridge'' at Coxlake The village has a petrol station and garage with an integral shop. To the west of the village is ''The Bush Inn'', formerly a small cottage inn, which has become a larger concern<ref>{{cite web|title=PubsCymru: The Bush Inn, Robeston Wathen|url=http://www.pubscymru.co.uk/find-a-pub/pembrokeshire/bush-inn-robeston-wathen|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref> and to the southeast at Coxlake is ''The Bridge'', formerly ''Bridge End'',<ref>{{cite web|title=RCAHMW: Bridge end (PH)|url=https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/placenames/recordedname/825c9abf-1c57-41c8-b02c-4d8f29611c7a|accessdate=21 August 2019}}</ref> an inn (now closed) on the Robeston Wathen to Narberth road, now the B4314.
==Church== The parish is in the Diocese of St David's and the parish church is known as Holy Cross Church and is dedicated to St Andrew. It was rebuilt in the 19th century on its mediaeval foundations;<ref>{{cite work|author=Lewis, Samuel|title=A Topographical Dictionary of Wales|date=1849|page=356-368|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/wales/pp356-368|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> the tower is 14th or 15th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stained glass in Wales|url=http://stainedglass.llgc.org.uk/site/121|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref> It is a Grade II listed building.<ref>{{cite web|title=British Listed Buildings: Robeston Wathen Church|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-6092-robeston-wathen-church-llawhaden|accessdate=15 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=6092 |desc=Robeston Wathen Church |grade=II |access-date=29 July 2019 }}</ref>
In the churchyard is the war memorial to those who lost their lives in two world wars.<ref>{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen War Memorial|url=http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/18000/War-Memorial-Robeston-Wathen.htm|accessdate=14 May 2015}}</ref>
== Notable people == * Major-General Sir Edmund Leach KCB (1836–1923), a senior British army officer who served in the Crimea and New Zealand, was born in the village.<ref name=TPH>{{cite journal|title=The Leach family of Castlemartin|journal=The Pembrokeshire Historian|year=1981|volume=7|page=51|url=http://welshjournals.llgc.org.uk/browse/viewpage/llgc-id:1041698/llgc-id:1042250/llgc-id:1042303/getText|accessdate=6 February 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Robeston Wathen|position=left}}
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Category:Villages in Pembrokeshire