England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign TravelCook, Joel
History
England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign Travel
Cook, Joel
England -- Description and travel
Beyond Caermarthenshire is Pembrokeshire, forming the western extremity
of the Welsh peninsula. The river Cleddan, flowing south-westward,
broadens at its mouth into the estuary known as Milford Haven. It
receives a western branch, on the side of which is the county-town,
Haverfordwest, placed on a hill where the De Clares founded a castle, of
which little now remains but the keep, used (as so many of them now are)
as the county-jail. Cromwell demolished this castle after it fell into
his hands. The great promontory of St. David's Head juts out into the
sea sixteen miles to the westward. The Cleddan flows down between the
towns of Pembroke and Milford. The ruins of Pembroke Castle upon a high
rock disclose an enormous circular keep, seventy-five feet high and one
hundred and sixty-three feet in circumference. It was begun in the
eleventh century, and was the birthplace of Henry VII. in 1456. Here
Cromwell was repulsed in 1648, but the fortress was secured for the
Parliament after six weeks' siege. The garrison were reduced to great
straits, but were only subdued by the skilful use of artillery in
battering down the stairway leading to the well where they got their
water: the spring that supplied them is still there. Pembroke has
extensive trade, and its shipbuilding dockyard covers eighty acres.
Opposite this dockyard is Milford, the harbor being a mile and a half
wide. The railway from London runs down to the pier, and passengers are
transferred to steamers for Ireland, this being the terminus of the
Great Western Railway route, two hundred and eighty-five miles from the
metropolis. Milford Haven, at which we close this descriptive journey,
stretches for ten miles inland from the sea, varying from one to two
miles in breadth, affords ample anchorage, and is strongly fortified.
The ancient Pictou Castle guards the junction of the two branches of the
Cleddan above Milford, while Carew Castle stands on a creek entering
Milford Haven on the south-eastern shore, and is an august though ruined
relic of the baronial splendors of the Middle Ages. It well represents
the condition of most of the seacoast castles in this part of Wales, of
one of which Dyer has written.
"His sides are clothed with waving wood,
And ancient towers crown his brow.
That cast an awful look below;
Whose rugged sides the ivy creeps,
And with her arms from falling keeps.
'Tis now the raven's bleak abode;
'Tis now th' apartment of the toad;
And there the fox securely feeds.
And there the poisonous adder breeds,
Concealed in ruins, moss, and weeds;
While ever and anon there fall
Huge heaps of hoary, mouldered wall.
Yet time has seen, that lifts the low
And level lays the lofty brow,--
Has seen this broken pile complete,
Big with the vanity of state;--
But transient is the smile of fate."
VII.
LONDON, SOUTH-WEST TO LAND'S END.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account