Pembrokeshire

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**Pembrokeshire principal area**
Image:WalesPembrokeshire.png
Geography
Area - Total - % Water	Ranked 5th 1,590 km² ? %
Admin HQ	Haverfordwest
ISO 3166-2	GB-PEM
ONS code	00NS
Demographics
Population: - Total (2004 est.) - Density	Ranked 14th 117,300 Ranked 19th 74 / km²
Ethnicity	99.2% White
Welsh language - Any skills	Ranked 8th 29.4%
Politics
Image:Arms-pembrokeshire.jpg Pembrokeshire Council http://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/
Control	Independent
MPs	Nick Ainger Stephen Crabb
AMs	Christine Gwyther Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey (Constituency) Mid and West Wales (Regional)
MEPs	Wales

Template:Infobox Wales traditional county Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro) is a county in the southwest of Wales in the United Kingdom.

1 Traditional Pembrokeshire
2 History
3 Administration
4 Places of interest
5 External links

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Traditional Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a maritime county, washed by the sea on all sides except in the northeast where it is bounded by Cardiganshire and in the east where it is bounded by Carmarthenshire. Its population is 112,000. The highest point is at Foel Cwmcerwyn (1759ft/536m). The county boasts 170 miles (≈275 km) of magnificent coastline comprising important seabird breeding sites and numerous bays and sandy beaches. Almost all of the coast is included in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. In the north are the Preseli Mountains (Mynyddoedd Preseli), a wide stretch of high moorland with many prehistoric monuments. Elsewhere the county is relatively flat, most of the land being used for lowland farming. Oil tankers dock in the deep estuarine waters of Milford Haven. The chief rivers are the Eastern Cleddau, the Western Cleddau and the Solva. The main industries are tourism, agriculture and oil refining. The county town is Haverfordwest.

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History

The county was founded as a county palatine in 1138 with Gilbert de Clare as the first Earl of Pembroke. It has long been split between its Anglicized south (known as "Little England beyond Wales") and its Welsh north.

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Administration

Between 1889 and 1974 the county had an elected county council for the first time. Between 1974 and 1996 the county was administered as two districts (South Pembrokeshire and Preseli) of the non-metropolitan county of Dyfed. Since 1996 it has been administered as a unitary authority.

See the list of places in Pembrokeshire for villages, towns and cities in Pembrokeshire.

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