Pembrokeshire, Wales Genealogy

Guide to Pembrokeshire County, Wales ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records. Pembrokeshire was created from the historic county of Carmarthenshire. View the Carmarthenshire County page.

Pembrokeshire Wiki Topics

Beginning Research
Guided Research Research Strategies Record Finder
Record Types
Cemeteries Census Church Directories Church Records Civil Registration Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Genealogy Gravestones Land & Property Merchant Marine	Military Records Newspapers Nobility Occupations Online Records Periodicals Poor Law Unions Probate Records Religious Records School Records Taxation Websites
Wales Background
Biography Church History Gazetteers Historical Geography History Jurisdictions	Languages Maps Names, Personal Place Names For Further Reading
Local Research Resources
Archives & Libraries of Pembrokeshire Archives and Libraries of Wales Societies of Pembrokeshire Societies of Wales Family History Centers

Wales Online Genealogy Records

Ask the
Community

Historic Pembrokeshire

Historic Pembroke

Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro or Penfro) was one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. It was a maritime county, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea, to the east by Carmarthenshire, and to the north by Cardiganshire.

The administrative county of Pembrokeshire, with an elected county council, was created in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county was governed by an elected county council, who took over the functions of the Quarter Sessions courts. The county was based on the ancient Welsh kingdom of Dyfed. The county town was Haverfordwest. St. David's cathedral lay in the west of the county. Pembrokshire had the longest coastline, and the most islands, of any of the Welsh counties.

The county was founded as a county palatine in 1138, under the first Earl of Pembroke. It has traditionally been split between its mainly English-speaking south (known as "Little England beyond Wales") and its mainly Welsh-speaking north, along an imaginary line known as the Landsker.

Following the Act of Union between Wales and England in 1536, the county was divided into hundreds of Cilgerran, Cemais, Dewisland, Roose, Castlemartin, Narbeth and Daugleddau.

Chapman Code: PEM

1974-1996 Dyfed

Under the Local Government Act 1972, the county and administrative county of Pembrokeshire were abolished, for both local government and ceremonial purposes, on April 1, 1974. Pembrokeshire became two districts, South Pembrokeshire and Preseli, of the newly formed county of Dyfed, which covered the whole of west Wales. Carmarthen became the county town of Dyfed.

Modern Pembrokeshire

Following further local government reorganisation, the county of Dyfed was abolished on April 1, 1996 and the present-day county of Pembrokeshire was created. Its boundaries were the same as the ancient county of Pembrokeshire although in 2003, the community of Clunderwen was transferred from neighbouring Carmarthenshire into Pembrokeshire. The county town is Haverfordwest.

Parishes

Pembrokeshire Parishes List
GENUKI Pembrokeshire Parishes and Towns
Use an interactive map to find jurisdictions for each parish in Pembrokeshire.

Hundreds

Below are the hundreds of Pembrokeshire.

Online Records

1542-1911 - Wales Court and Miscellaneous Records, 1542-1911 at FamilySearch — images
1650-1900 - Wales, Marriage Bonds, 1650-1900 at FamilySearch — index
1678-2001 - Wales, Parish Registers, 1678-2001 at FamilySearch — index
1930 - England and Wales National Register, 1939 at FamilySearch — index

St. George's Channel	St. George's Channel	Cardiganshire
		Carmarthenshire
	Pembrokeshire

Bristol Channel	Bristol Channel	Bristol Channel