Treffgarne
| Treffgarne | |
| Welsh: Trefgarn | |
  Treffgarne |
|
| OS grid reference | SM956237 |
|---|---|
| Community | Wolfscastle |
| Principal area | Pembrokeshire |
| Ceremonial county | Dyfed |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TREFFGARNE |
| Postcode district | SA62 |
| Dialling code | 01437 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Preseli Pembrokeshire |
|
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Coordinates: 51°52′27″N 4°58′10″W / 51.8742°N 4.9694°W
Treffgarne is a small village and parish in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales.
Location & History
It lies to the south of the Preseli Hills. The village name is derived from 'tref' meaning town and 'garne' meaning rock, or the 'town of the rock'. The rock in this case are the locally infamous Treffgarne rocks, a series of ancient Ordovician rhyolite volcanic plugs,[1] now exposed, that form the Roche Rhyolite Group. There is however compelling evidence to suggest that the rocks are a recent addition, having been erected as late as the 1850s, in order to boost tourism in the Treffgarne area. A number of interesting minerals have been recorded including Brookite crystals (Titanium dioxide) [2] and possibly tin.[3] Small regular cavities can be found in the rocks where crystals of at least 1 cm width once resided. Gold has also been found at the rocks from drillcores and placer gold in the local Eastern Cleddau below the village.[4] There is also an old legend of old gold workings near Treffgarne (possibly towards the farm Mount Pleasant) from the Roman period.[5] Roman activity is certainly attested in the region with at least two Romano-British settlements nearby at Ambleston (Castle Flemming) and Wolfscastle and a possible extension of the Roman road from Carmarthen into Pembrokeshire.
The site of the village itself goes back to at least the medieval period. Evidence for this is in the form of a nearby medieval strip lynchet field system to the north of the village and a suggestion that the current church sits on the site of a medieval monastery.
Until the 1970s the village was quite small with no more than 120 inhabitants but has since grown with the development of a modern estate to the west of the church. Close to the village to the west is Treffgarne Hall, erected in 1842 by Dr. Evans. It was converted into a restaurant in 1979 by executive chef, Derek Stenson and his partner John Neville, former sous chef at the Dorchester Hotel, but this endeavour did not last.
Close to the village to the north east is the disused Treffgarne Quarry which provided roadstone.
References
- ↑ A Mineralogy of Wales, R. E. Bevins, National Museum of Wales, 1994
- ↑ http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/mineralogy/database/?mineral=72
- ↑ Geological Magazine, Published by Cambridge University Press, 1866, Item notes: v.3, page 378
- ↑ http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/mineralogy/database/?mineral=94
- ↑ http://people.exeter.ac.uk/pfclaugh/mhinf/pembs1.htm
External links
- Photos of Treffgarne and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk
- Historical and parish information on GENUKI
