Pembrey, Carmarthenshire

Pembrey is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated between Burry Port and Kidwelly, overlooking Carmarthen Bay.HistoryThe name Pembrey is an Anglicisation of the Welsh, Pen-bre. "Pen" is a Welsh word meaning head or top, and "bre" is an old Celtic word for a promontory.The coastline began its retreat from the foot of Pembrey Mountain some 6,000 years ago, revealing land which shows human occupation since the Iron Age, with hill forts dating from around 400 BC. The population of the region was known to the Romans as Demetae. Roman pottery remains have been unearthed in the oldest parts of the village. Later, the village was part of the Welsh principality of Deheubarth. Evidence of an early Norman motte-and-bailey castle has been suggested close to the village square and buildings remain in the village from later Norman times.The village was home to Arnold le Boteler, a Norman squire of the 12th century. His manor, Court Farm, Pembrey, subsequently extended into a Jacobean manor house and then a farm, is now sadly derelict. The le Boteler (Butler) crest can be seen in the village church of St. Illtud, established during le Boteler's lifetime with its saint's name connected to his other estate of Dunraven, Southerndown, near Llantwit Major, Bridgend. St Illtyd's is a grade II* listed building.