Heritage
The Rhoscrowther area lies on the southern side of the historic Milford Haven Waterway and includes many prehistoric features. Much of the area around Rhoscrowther lies within the Registered Milford Haven Waterways Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest. It has features such as bronze age round barrows, burial mounds, burnt mounds and standing stones. There are also medieval settlements, limekilns and quarries, prehistoric flint working sites, a neolithic burial chamber and Roman remains and artefacts.​ The B4320 road that runs from West to East through the Rhoscrowther area follows the line of a prehistoric track that was known as The Ridgeway. There is a large amount of prehistoric archaeology around The Ridgeway and the ancient, straight, North to South field boundaries that emanated from the original track are still visible today. There have also been Roman finds
in the Rhoscrowther area, in particular at Kilpaison and Cherveralton valley. You can find more about the archaeological discoveries on our Kilpaison Page.
Much of the Rhoscrowther area was once part of the manor of Castlemartin which was held by the Herbert Earls of Pembroke from 1551. Later, Castlemartin manor was sold to the Lorts of Stackpole and eventually Rhoscrowther and Pwllcrochan became a separate holding from the Castlemartin
estate and was called the Rosecrowther and Pulcrogan estate. Many of the farms in the area date from at least the 13th century and appear on Saxton's Map of 1578. One such farm is Eastington Farm. The grounds at Eastington, which stretch to Popton and Sawdern point, are currently used for livestock and farming. Eastington Tower is a grade I listed medieval first-floor hall house, with an overall defensive design. Attached to Eastington Tower is Eastington Manor House, which is a Grade II listed farmhouse built in the early 15th century by Sir John Perrot of the Perrot Family. Over the ages there has been a long and intriguing history surrounding Eastington. It is said that Sir John Perrot, who built the Manor House, was the illegitimate son of King Henry VIII. He was said to have been similar in both appearance and temperament to Henry and whilst he was born in Haroldstone near Haverfordwest, he spent most of
his time growing up as a favourite in the Royal Court and went on to have significant influence in it. He served as Lord Deputy to Queen Elizabeth I and was part of the Privy Council, also being granted governorship of Carew Castle, where he carried out extensive renovations and building works dedicated to Elizabeth. Over 400 years before Sir John lived at Eastington it already had connections to Royalty. Eastington was originally known as Jestynton (or Iestyn's Ton) because it was built by Iestyn ap Owain ap Hywel Dda. Prince Iestyn ap Owain was the grandson of Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good) who was King of the majority of Wales during the 900s. Hywel Dda is known for creating a set of laws that enabled peace and security throughout Wales.
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The theme of having a royal connection is continued in the area around Rhoscrowther at the nearby village of Pwllcrochan. It was involved in the battles between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians during the Civil War and an incident that took place in March 1648 was discussed in the Houses of Parliament on April the 4th of that year. Parliament Records show that "Letters from Pembrokeshire give Intelligence of the uncontrollable Deportment of Col. Poyer" and that "The Miseries of the destroyed County of Pembroke do very much increase". Colonel John Poyer, who was originally a Parliamentarian, had swapped sides and declared support for the King after many of the Parliamentary troops did not receive any of the pay they were due. Because Poyer and his troops were now Royalists, Parliament decided to send Colonel Fleming and 350 Parliamentary troops to
Pembrokeshire. Fleming and his men landed at Martin's Haven, near Pwllcrochan, having sailed from Bristol. They were there to attack the Royalists in Pembroke and to quell Poyer's rebellion but were instead met by a surprise attack from the Royalist forces led by Poyer. The Parliamentary troops had set up quarters in St Mary's Church, Pwllcrochan, but Poyer's Royalists raided them just before night on the 29th of March. Records show that the Parliamentarians were "set upon by the Two Troops of Horse, and an Hundred or Six Score Foot of Poyer's" and a conflict took place in Pwllcrochan churchyard. Hentland House, which was also being used by the Parliamentarians, was attacked as well by Poyer and
his men. Poyer did not take the Parliamentarian soldiers prisoner but instead released them with "Conditions upon Treaty to March away with their Arms... upon Engagement not to Land again in Milford", and Colonel Fleming and his men fled to the navy gunship Expedition which had been anchored in Milford Haven and they promptly sailed away to Cardiff. The records show "the settled Resolution of Poyer and his Adherents to raise a new War" in "those Malignant and Discontented Parts" of the Country. Ultimately, Poyer's rebellion was short-lived and he was captured after Oliver Cromwell's eight-week-long siege of Pembroke. He was tried and found guilty, along with two fellow rebels, Rice Powell and Rowland Laurghene, and they were all sentenced to death. However, a last-minute decision to spare two of them was agreed upon, which meant that the three condemned men 'drew lots' to decide who would be shot at Covent Garden in London. Poyer left his family with the phrase "fate is against me" after he drew the losing paper which bore those fateful words and on the 25th of April 1649, just over a year after he attacked Pwllcrochan church, he was executed. As for Colonel Fleming, who had promised to leave Pwllcrochan with his men and sail to Cardiff never to return, he broke his word and came back to Pembroke to fight, which ultimately led to him losing his life at the churchyard on St Daniel's Hill in Pembroke. You can find more information about the area's involvement in the Civil War on the Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society website.
In the centuries since the Civil War and John Poyer's battles, Pwllcrochan Church and churchyard have been a much more peaceful place and nowadays the area is popular for geocaching and walking. The wider area is also a popular place for metal detectorists who still find evidence of the days of John Poyer in the form of cannonballs and musket shot. In 1909 Pwllcrochan churchyard became the final resting place of children's author Emma Dixon, who wrote under the name of Emma Leslie. She was born Emma Boultwood in Greenwich, London in 1837, and lived in Lewisham in the South of England. She was a school teacher in Pwllcrochan School and during her lifetime she wrote over 100 children's books. Her first book was published in 1863 and many of her books are still on sale today.