Town in Pembrokeshire, Wales
Fishguard
Britain's last invasion ended here in 1797, partly thanks to a cobbler called Jemima Nicholas, a pitchfork and a crowd of Welsh women in red shawls.
Key information
- County
- Pembrokeshire
- Nation
- Wales
- Known for
- The last invasion of Britain (1797), the Rosslare ferry, and the 1972 film of Under Milk Wood
- Famous people
- Jemima Nicholas, Lord Cawdor, Colonel William Tate (the invasion's leader)
About Fishguard
The invasion that fizzled out in two days
In February 1797 a French force of around 1,400 men came ashore at Carreg Wastad Point, a rocky headland just west of Fishguard. It was meant to be the start of a bigger campaign. It became known as the last invasion of Britain. The invaders were led by Colonel William Tate, an American-born officer, and many of them were convict-soldiers rather than seasoned troops. They landed on 22 February and found the cliffs hard going. Local forces gathered under Lord Cawdor, and by 24 February Tate had agreed to surrender on Goodwick Sands. A stone memorial stands at Carreg Wastad today, and the whole affair is remembered in Fishguard as the Last Invasion of Britain.
The cobbler, the pitchfork and the red shawls
Fishguard's best-loved heroine is Jemima Nicholas, a local cobbler. Tradition says she marched out armed with a pitchfork and rounded up a dozen French soldiers, and she is buried in the churchyard of St Mary's, where a memorial marks her. Then there is the story of the women of the district, who turned out in their traditional red flannel shawls and tall hats. Seen from a distance, the story goes, they looked like a line of British redcoats, and the French thought twice about fighting. The 200th anniversary in 1997 produced a very large embroidered panel about 30 metres long, telling the story stitch by stitch. It hangs in the town hall.
The port that nearly took on New York
Fishguard owes much of its modern shape to the Great Western Railway, which built a harbour at neighbouring Goodwick, blasting out a huge breakwater and opening the port in 1906. The aim was a fast route to Ireland, and ferries to Rosslare still run from here. The railway company had bigger ambitions too. In 1909 Cunard liners, including the Mauretania, called at Fishguard on transatlantic crossings, since passengers could reach London by train faster than by sailing round to Liverpool. The big liners did not stay, but the harbour and the ferry link did.
Llareggub on the quay
Down the hill from the main square is Lower Town, a small harbour of fishermen's cottages around the mouth of the River Gwaun. In 1971 it became the stand-in for Dylan Thomas's fictional village when the film of Under Milk Wood was shot here. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole starred in the film, which came out in 1972. Locals were extras and the quayside doubled for the dream-village. Above the harbour stands Fishguard Fort. It was built in the early 1780s after a privateer called the Black Prince had threatened the town in 1779 and demanded a ransom.
A valley that still celebrates New Year on 13 January
Just inland, the wooded Gwaun Valley keeps a custom found almost nowhere else. Hen Galan, the Old New Year, is celebrated on 13 January, following the old Julian calendar. Children go from house to house singing, and are given sweets or coins. The valley's best-known pub, the Dyffryn Arms, is known locally as Bessie's, after the landlady who ran it for decades. It is a place where the old ways feel very much alive. Fishguard also has a long-running music festival, founded in 1969, which fills the town with concerts every summer.
Cliffs, lighthouses and a lot of sea
Fishguard sits on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, and the walking is superb. Strumble Head Lighthouse, completed in 1908, stands on a tiny island linked to the mainland by a footbridge. It is a famous place for watching seabirds, seals and passing porpoises. In town, the harbour at Goodwick has a promenade known as the Parrog, with views across the bay. On the sports field, Fishguard Sports AFC play football and Fishguard & Goodwick RFC represent the town at rugby. The town's food leans heavily on local seafood, Welsh lamb and Pembrokeshire cheese.