# Robeston Wathen > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robeston_Wathen > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Robeston_Wathen.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robeston_Wathen > Source revision: 1340751623 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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](/source/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](/source/parish) in [Pembrokeshire](/source/Pembrokeshire), Wales, {{convert|2|mi|km}} west of [Narberth](/source/Narberth%2C_Pembrokeshire), on the former Narberth to [Haverfordwest](/source/Haverfordwest) [turnpike](/source/Toll_road) subsequently designated the [A40](/source/A40_road) which bypassed the village in 2011. Robeston Wathen is in the [community](/source/Community_(Wales)) of [Llawhaden](/source/Llawhaden). The village is mediaeval, and limestone was quarried there. ==Name== The village was recorded as ''Villa Roberti'' in 1282,{{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}} 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.{{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}} The suffix "Wathen" refers to the Wathen family, who occupied the manor from the 15th century; the surname ultimately derives from the personal name Gwaiddan.{{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}} ==History== The parish has evidence of [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) and [Bronze Age](/source/Bronze_Age) occupation, discovered during the building of the bypass (see below).{{cite web|title=Dyfed Archaeological Trust|url=http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk/projects/robestonbypass.htm|accessdate=14 May 2015}} In Norman times Robeston Wathen was in the ancient administrative area of [Narberth Hundred](/source/Narberth_Hundred). Robeston House (or Robeston Wathen House), of uncertain date but at least as early as 1800, is a Grade II listed building;{{cite web|title=British Listed Buildings: Robeston House|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-18800-robeston-house-llawhaden|accessdate=15 May 2015}} it was a hotel from 1977 to 1999.{{cite web|title=Coflein: Robeston Wathen House|url=http://www.coflein.gov.uk/pdf/PHGS_132/|accessdate=15 May 2015}} In 1833 the parish{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Parish map (No.114)|url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Herbrandston/ParishMap|accessdate=15 May 2015}} had a population of 421.{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Robeston Wathen|url= http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/RobestonWathen/|accessdate=14 May 2015}} A school was started in the 1860s for 90 local children. It closed in 1971 and is now the village hall. Wilson's ''Gazetteer'' of 1872 describes the parish as covering {{convert|1345|acre|ha}} with a population of 362 living in 92 houses.{{cite web|title=Vision of Britain: Robeston Wathon (sic)|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/8623|accessdate=15 May 2015}} Limestone, sandstone and conglomerate was quarried at [Robeston Wathen Quarries](/source/Robeston_Wathen_Quarries) at least until 1931.{{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}} It is now a [Site of Special Scientific Interest](/source/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](/source/Natural_Resources_Wales).{{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}} Some of the houses in the village are built from stone quarried there. The Robeston Wathen Village Association was founded in 1989.{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen Action Plan|url=http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1qbgu/RobestonWathenCommun/resources/1.htm|accessdate=15 May 2015}} Until 2011 the main [A40](/source/A40_road) trunk road passed through the village, effectively cutting it in two. The [bypass](/source/Bypass_(road)) 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.{{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}} ==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{{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}} and to the southeast at Coxlake is ''The Bridge'', formerly ''Bridge End'',{{cite web|title=RCAHMW: Bridge end (PH)|url=https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/placenames/recordedname/825c9abf-1c57-41c8-b02c-4d8f29611c7a|accessdate=21 August 2019}} 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](/source/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;{{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}} the tower is 14th or 15th century.{{cite web|title=Stained glass in Wales|url=http://stainedglass.llgc.org.uk/site/121|accessdate=15 May 2015}} It is a Grade II [listed building](/source/listed_building).{{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}}{{National Historic Assets of Wales|num=6092 |desc=Robeston Wathen Church |grade=II |access-date=29 July 2019 }} In the churchyard is the war memorial to those who lost their lives in two world wars.{{cite web|title=Robeston Wathen War Memorial|url=http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/18000/War-Memorial-Robeston-Wathen.htm|accessdate=14 May 2015}} == Notable people == * [Major-General Sir Edmund Leach](/source/Edmund_Leach_(British_Army_officer)) KCB (1836–1923), a senior British army officer who served in the Crimea and New Zealand, was born in the village.{{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}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Robeston Wathen|position=left}} {{authority control}} Category:Villages in Pembrokeshire --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Robeston Wathen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robeston_Wathen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robeston_Wathen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.