Many people who visit Pembrokeshire now and see what a beautiful and peaceful place it is may be unaware that, at one time, there was a surprising amount of industry there. All this has now gone, but you still come across relics when you explore. Many people did move away in search of work, but there was work on the doorstep. Quarrying, lime-burning, brickmaking and the crushing of roadstone were all carried out on a large scale. It's ironic how little brick appears in local buildings of the 19th century. It was all exported. And who, visiting the small cathedral city of St. Davids, would ever guess that it once had a gasworks?
Something else worth pointing out is that Pembrokeshire, even the northern part of the county, was never very Welsh, although strenuous efforts are now being made to change that. As far north as Newport, the county was known as "Little England beyond Wales," contrary to the current popular belief that this epithet only refers to South Pembrokeshire. Isolated rural communities may have adhered to Welsh customs, but a glance at the names Crundale, Wolfsdale Hill and Camrose gives the clue - there is nothing remotely Welsh in their etymology. In past centuries, because of its proximity to the sea and its isolation from everywhere else, Pembrokeshire was a very cosmopolitan place, with many languages being spoken.
