{{Short description|Coastal hamlet in Pembrokeshire, Wales}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use British English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | country = Wales | static_image = Wiseman's Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 1228779.jpg | static_image_caption = The seafront at Wisemans Bridge | coordinates = {{coord|51.724|-4.685|scale:10000|display=inline,title}} | official_name = Wisemans Bridge | welsh_name = | population = | community_wales = Amroth | unitary_wales = Pembrokeshire | constituency_westminster = | constituency_welsh_assembly = | post_town = | postcode_district = | postcode_area = | dial_code = | os_grid_reference = SN144062 }} '''Wisemans Bridge''' is a coastal hamlet between Amroth and Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The small beachfront settlement, which is part of the parish and community of Amroth,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/objview.asp?object_id=2976|title =Pembrokeshire County Council Community review|website=www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/|accessdate=31 July 2020}}</ref> was once an important centre for the mineral industry in West Wales. It is now a popular holiday destination within Carmarthen Bay.
==Toponym== thumb|left|The bridge at Wisemans Bridge The name Wisemans Bridge has no definitive origin. In early medieval Wales, the area was part of ''Llanussyllt'' but after the Norman conquest it became known as the Parish of St Issells in dedication to the Welsh saint Issel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Penbrok comitat|publisher=British Library|url=https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/p/zoomify83390.html|accessdate=|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411005516/https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/unvbrit/p/zoomify83390.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1598, a local entry in the parish records of St Issells mentions a bridge in the locale. This has led to the theory that the name Wisemans Bridge derives directly from the decision to use the crossing rather than take another route.<ref name="name"/> However, research of St Issells' parish records in the 14th century show that an Andrew Wiseman held lands thereabouts as early as 1324.<ref name="name">{{cite news|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fun-stuff/how-welsh-place-live-name-11278650|title=This is how the Welsh place you live got its name|website=www.walesonline.co.uk|date=7 May 2016}}</ref> It was recorded by the Ordnance Survey as Wisemans Bridge between 1898 and 1908.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/placenames/recordedname/45e56359-13b3-4210-a914-a7527c82052a|website=www.historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk|title=Recorded name: Wiseman's Bridge (B H)|accessdate=31 July 2020}}</ref>
The Welsh form ''Pont-yr-ŵr'' has been used on-line in a small number of instances.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 August 2022 |title=Sir Benfro: Rhybudd bod carthion wedi llifo i'r traeth |work=BBC Cymru Fyw |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/62676182 |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> But the form is not noted in the standard work on Pembrokeshire place names and is of unknown origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Charles |first=B. G. |title=The Place Names of Pembrokeshire |publisher=National Library of Wales |year=1992 |isbn=9780907158585 |location=Aberystwyth}}</ref>
==History== The valley behind Wisemans Bridge between the 14th and 19th centuries was a centre of industrial activity within the Pembrokeshire Coalfields. By the 19th century, the local high-quality coal was shipped out of Wisemans Bridge in 50- or 60-ton vessels.<ref>{{cite web|title=GENUKI: Amroth|url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Amroth|accessdate=8 February 2016}}</ref> A 4-foot narrow-gauge railway also transported coal to Saundersfoot Harbour via Coppet Hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visit-saundersfoot.com/history.php|title=Visit Saundersfoot|website=www.visit-saundersfoot.com|accessdate=31 July 2020|archive-date=3 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003105354/http://www.visit-saundersfoot.com/history.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>"Old Saundersfoot" by Roscoe Howells</ref> The line was permanently closed in 1939.<ref>{{cite book|last=Connop-Price|first=Martin|title=Pembrokeshire: The Forgotten Coalfield|year=2004|publisher=Landmark Publishing Lttd|page=128}}</ref> The old railway through Wisemans Bridge and its tunnels to Saundersfoot are now part of the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, a designated National Trail that was established in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/pembrokeshire-coast-path/|title=Pembrokeshire Coast Path|website=www.nationaltrail.co.uk|accessdate=31 July 2020}}</ref>
In 1943, Winston Churchill visited the area as the allies practised for the D Day landings.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.amrothparish.co.uk/wisemans.htm |title=Amroth & District Community Association |access-date=23 September 2011 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305063245/http://www.amrothparish.co.uk/wisemans.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}} {{commons category|position=left|Wisemans Bridge}}
{{Pembrokeshire}}
Category:Amroth Category:Hamlets in Wales Category:Carmarthen Bay Category:Coast of Pembrokeshire