Haverfordwest that is in Pembrokeshire is also known in Welsh as Hwlffordd and is considered to be a county town that is located in Wales and is the most populated urban area in Pembrokeshire and has a population of about 14,000 people.
Haverfordwest is located just six miles from the Broad Haven village which is considered part of the coast of Pembrokeshire and its national park as well, and is considered to be the only coastal national park in the entire region of the United Kingdom.
Locally Haverfordwest is considered a market town where a lot of the county goes to, and it also forms an important piece of a road network hub that links other towns with it in the Pembrokeshire area - places like Milford Haven as well as the Pembroke Dock, St. David's and Fishguard.
Haverfordwest is mostly located on the right bank (the west bank) of the local river and has many old parishes in its location.
Haverfordwest got its name from the Old English language and it means "ford used by fat cows". The locals pronounce it "harford" which is thought by some to be a corruption of the original English name. Heifer in the Welsh language means fat cows.
Haverfordwest is thought to have been settled very early, due to its important location, but there are no records of such a settlement nor any archaeological finds to suggest that. All is known is that there were settlements after and in the 12th century, when the Norman castle was built, around the year 1110, and was established by Tancred which was a Flemish lord. Soon after that the town started to grow quickly - around the castle at first and around the local church (St. Martin's church) and was referred to as Castletown, but later on it grew even further.
Haverfordwest is also famous for being one of the locations that were damaged the most by the Black Death during the year of 1348, which caused a depopulation (some say a severe one) and trade was diminished as well and large portions of Haverfordwest were abandoned as a consequence. Haverfordwest started to recover many years afterwards during the reign of the Tudors at the end of the 17th century. Haverfordwest has also been the location of fires by French allies, and such were the happenings in other locations, but Haverfordwest suffered less than other places in that regard.
Haverfordwest has been mostly English language wise, during its entire history, and has been known for several centuries at "Little England Beyond Wales" because of it. The local market there traded goods with Welsh farmers in the north and east, and there was a consistent Welsh speaking crowd in Haverfordwest over the years.
Haverfordwest is also famous for being the location of one of only two public schools in Wales, which operated from the year 1488 up to 1978. There have been new schools since obviously, such as the Sir Thomas Pictor School and the Tasker Milward School.
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