Milford Haven Loading Map. NPRN Several Quaker whaling families fleeing from the American War of Independence were encouraged to settle in the town in , and in a new navy dockyard was built at the entrance to Hubberston Pill.
While the whaling industry flourished for a time, it had declined by , and a further severe blow was dealt to Milford in when the Admiralty decided to move the naval dockyards to a new site further east along the Haven at Pembroke Dock. For much of the nineteenth century various attempts were made to revitalise Milford's fortunes, and in a fully-functional floating dock was completed. Although planned to capitalise on transatlantic passenger trade, this also failed to prosper and the facilities reverted to use by the fishing industry.
The natural harbour, which had been in use since the early Medieval period, is most famously associated with the landing of Henry Tudor in and the launching base for Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. It stands on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name.
Designed to a grid pattern, it was originally intended by the founder, Sir William Hamilton, to be a whaling centre, though by it was developing as a Royal Navy dockyard which it remained until the dockyard was transferred to Pembroke in It then became a commercial dock, with the focus moving in the s, after the construction of an oil refinery built by the Esso Company, to logistics for fuel oil and liquid gas.
By the town's port has become the fourth largest in the United Kingdom in terms of tonnage, [1] and plays an important role in the United Kingdom's energy sector with several oil refineries and one of the biggest LNG terminals in the world.
Milford Haven is the second largest town in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 12, The administrative community of the same name takes in the town of Milford Haven and some of the surrounding villages, including Hakin , Hubberston , Liddeston , and Steynton. The water of Milford Haven has long been known as a safe port and this quality was the foundation of the town, for while the town itself is an eighteenth century creation, the name of Milford Haven has been famed for a thousand years as a commercial and military harbour which played its part in campaigns from the days of Henry II's to modernity.
Milford Haven is an Anglicization of an Old Norse name "Melrfjordr" that was first applied to the waterway, meaning "sandbank fjord" inlet , developing into "Milford". The town was first named "Milford" after the waterway, and it assumed the word Haven later, in this case around , when the railway terminus was built. The town's Welsh name is Aberdaugleddau , meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau ", which refers to the waterway in the midst of Pembrokeshire into which are poured the "White River Cleddau" and the "Black River Cleddau".
Cleddau itself may make reference to the action of a weapon or tool cutting through the land. Milford Haven the waterway is a ria or drowned valley. This is a landscape of low-lying wooded shorelines, creeks and mudflats. The town itself has a historic core from the late 18th and 19th centuries, based on a grid pattern, located between Hubberston Pill and Castle Pill and extending inland for yards. Milford Haven's 20th century expansion took in several other settlements.
Lower Priory, with the remains of a very early religious priory, is located in a natural valley near the village of Thornton. Milford Haven enjoys a mild climate. Its proximity to the coast contributes to wet winters, but it enjoys a generous amount of sunshine with over 1, hours of sunshine a year recorded for the nearby village of Dale. Milford Haven Waterway to distinguish it from the town which has assumed its name is a natural deep-water harbour reaching deep into Pembrokeshire.
The Haven is a ria or drowned valley flooded at the end of the last Ice Age formed by the Pembroke River and the Daugleddau estuary, and it winds westward to the sea. As one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, it is a busy shipping channel, trafficked by ferries from Pembroke Dock to Ireland , oil tankers and pleasure craft.
Admiral Horatio Nelson, visiting the harbour with the Hamiltons, described it as the next best natural harbour to Trincomalee in Ceylon and "the finest port in Christendom". The northern side is within the Preseli Environmentally Sensitive Area. The littoral landscape of Milford Haven shows evidence of maritime conquest, settlement, commerce, fishing and defence from the 11th century to the 20th century.
Iron Age promontory forts are sited on several of the headlands at the entrance and along the course of the Haven and the Daugleddau. The Norman conquest, achieved by coastally-sited castle boroughs, has left its distinctive mark signs at Pembroke, at Haverfordwest, and at Carew. Carew did not develop into a borough, but excavations have shown that a Dark Age stronghold and possible Romano-British site preceded the Norman castle.
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, two new towns were constructed: Milford in by Sir William Hamilton, and Pembroke Dock in as the site for a new Royal Naval Dockyard.
Both towns have regular planned layouts, both have experienced a history of boom and slump in shipbuilding, fishing and as railheads and ocean terminals. The Daugleddau ports flourished in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, but continued to work through the 19th century by changing to using barges to tranship cargoes down river to bigger vessels at the mid-Haven ports. In the late 19th century, concerns about the potential threat posed by the French Navy prompted the construction of a number of Palmerston Forts at various strategically important coastal sites, including Milford Haven.
Most of the forts are now disused. This industry reached its zenith in the s when Middle Eastern supply difficulties forced oil transport to use ocean routes and Very Large Crude Carriers for which the Haven, with its deep waters and westerly position, was particularly suited.
Sir William Hamilton acquired the land on the north shore of Milford Haven from his wife, Catherine Barlow of Slebech [9] and here he determined to found a new town of Milford.
The town of Milford was founded in , after Sir William obtained an Act of Parliament in to establish the port here. The harbour though has a history going back many centuries earlier, as a shelter by Vikings and as a staging point on sea journeys to Ireland. From the s until the cming of the Normans, Milford Haven was known by Vikings seeking shelter. During one visit in , the Viking Chieftain Hubba wintered in the Haven with 23 ships, eventually lending his name to the district of Hubberston.
A Benedictine priory was established at the head of Hubberston Pill in , as a daughter house of St Dogmaels Abbey. In , Henry II designated the area the rendezvous for his Irish expedition. An army of warships, knights and 4, men-at-arms gathered in the haven before sailing to Waterford , and on to Dublin ; the first time an English king had stood on Irish soil, and the beginning of Henry's conquest of Ireland.
In was built a chapel dedicated to St Thomas a Becket whom Henry had slain ; the chapel looked out over the Haven from the north shore. In later years it was used as a beacon for sailors in foul weather, [15] and ultimately as a pig sty, until it was reconsecrated in the 20th century. The land comprising the site of Milford, the Manor of Hubberston and Pill, was acquired by the Barlow family following the dissolution of the monasteries in the midth century. In Shakespeare's Cymbeline , Imogen says:.
To this same blessed Milford: and by the way Tell me how Wales was made so happy as To inherit such a haven [16]. By , two forts had been built to defend the entrance to the harbour [17] George Owen of Henllys, in his Description of Penbrokshire , claimed in that Milford Haven was the most famous port of Christendom. Due to its location, it was exposed to attacks from Ireland, a convenient base from which England could be invaded. In April , Martin Pring used the Haven as his departure point for his exploratory voyage to Virginia.
The haven acquired an additional strategic importance in the 17th century as a Royalist military base. Charles I ordered a fort to be built at Pill which could prevent re-enforcement of the Parliamentarian garrison of Pembroke Castle, and this was completed in The fort was gunned from both land and water, and a garrison was placed in Steynton church to prevent a Royalist attack from the garrison at Haverfordwest. The fort was eventually surrendered, and quickly taken, [21] along with St Thomas a Becket chapel.
Just five years later in Milford Haven was again the site of Parliamentarian interest when it was chosen as the embarkation site for Oliver Cromwell's expedition to Ireland. Cromwell arrived in the Haven on 4 August, meeting George Monck, [10] before Cromwell and over a hundred crafts left for Dublin on 15 August. By the late 18th century, the two creeks which would delimit the future town of Milford's boundaries to the east and west, namely Hakin and Castle Pill, were being used as harbours for ships to load and unload coal, corn and limestone.
Sir William Hamilton's new town of Milford was founded in by the authority of a private Act of Parliament. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is formed, the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline.
The Port of Milford Haven was established as a statutory entity. To this day, it remains an independent, commercial organisation with responsibility for maintaining and improving navigation, port and harbour services and facilities. The Port of Milford Haven is an active supporter of many local causes.
In this year, the Esso Company completed work on an oil refinery near the town. This was followed by similar developments by many other oil and power companies over a year period. By , Milford Haven could boast an oil trade of 58,, tons, and by the early s, the Esso refinery was the 2nd largest in the UK.
Launched by HRH Prince Andrew, the event attracted thousands of spectators to Milford Haven to watch the magnificent tall ships racing. This multi-million pound venture will develop and enhance some , sq ft of Milford Haven's waterfront area. As well as celebrating local independent businesses, the development is looking to attract investment from national businesses, with dedicated space for hotels, restaurants, food, retail and leisure.
The Port of Milford Haven celebrated its 60th Anniversary in A Facebook group to celebrate this milestone proved very popular, and many former and current colleagues enjoyed reminiscing and sharing photographs and memories.
A revised Milford Waterfront Development plan was submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council and a resolution to grant consent to the updated scheme was provided in June. Visit Milford Haven Museum. Sign up to our newsletter.
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