Manorbier Bay is a beautiful bay along the Pembrokeshire coast. It has a sand beach that is attractive for a morning swim or for sunbathing during the day. But I was more interested in the rock ledges at the western side of the beach, which in the early morning sun formed some attractive leading lines towards the hills in the background.
Artefacts. in the area go back to Mesolithic and early Neolithic times, and a burial chamber is found nearby (see a future post). The Norman knight Odo de Barre was granted land here in the last decade of the11th century after having conquered this part of Pembrokeshire. He erected a wooden hall on the site of the present castle and made earth walls as an outer defence. His son built the first tower and the Hall and enclosed the whole area with curtain walls, towers and a gate house.
Around the castle the village of Manorbier grew up and the parish church, St James’s Church, is from the 12th C.
