Pembroke is town in west Wales with a population of around 9,500 and is the county town of Pembrokeshire. The origins of the town go back to the year 1093 when the invading Normans in the form of Roger of Montgomery who built an earth and timber fortress on the rocky peninsula that jutted out into the sea. The castle and the town that grew up nearby drew its name from the Welsh cantref or district of Penfro, (headland in Welsh) in which it was situated.
Pembroke Castle was strategic Norman outpost within Wales for many years and the centre of Norman power in south-west Wales and withstood many attempts by the native Welsh to capture the fortress. The castle and the nearby town became the main holding of the Earls of Pembroke, one of whom William Marshal rebuilt the wooden fortess as a stone castle and another William de Valence, gave the town of Pembroke its stone walls.
Pembroke flourished during the middle ages as a centre for the wool trade encouraged by the many Flemish immigrants of south Pembrokeshire. Although Pembrokeshire was sympathetic to the Parliamentary cause, the mayor of Pembroke John Poyer supported Charles II - the forces of Oliver Cromwell laid siege to the town and inflicted much damage to the town as they bombarded the walls with artillery, before John Poyer eventually surrendered.
Pembroke is perhaps most famous as the birthplace of Henry Tudor, born at the castle in 1457 - who later became Henry VII and founded the Tudor dynasty of kings and queens.
Table of References
- http://www.gazetteer-wales.co.uk/
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/
- http://www.pembroke-wales.uk.com/
- http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Pembroke/
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