Puncheston


Puncheston is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales.
It sits below the mountain known as Castlebythe, one of the peaks in the Preseli Mountains, just outside the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Parish history

A map of 1578 shows the parish as Castle Male, presumably a phonetic spelling of the Welsh name by the English mapmaker. Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of 1844 gives 326 inhabitants for the parish, which includes the village and a number of outlying residences and farms. Lewis surmises that the original name was Castell Mael, deriving from an ancient encampment of which there are remains. A railway passed through the parish in the 19th and 20th centuries, with a halt at the village.

Community

The Community of Puncheston consists of the villages of Puncheston, Henry's Moat, Little Newcastle, Castlebythe and Tufton. Henry's Moat Electoral Ward returns two councillors to Pembrokeshire County Council, and Puncheston Ward four.

Education

Puncheston County Primary School is in the village.

Notable people

Bishop John Gambold was born in Puncheston, where his father was rector. The pirate Bartholomew Roberts, known as 'Black Bart', was born in Casnewydd Bach near Puncheston in 1682.