Porthclais Harbour comprises a steep-sided narrow inlet, about 420m in length from its head in the north-west to the sea in the south-east. The seaward end of the inlet is afforded additional protection via a stone breakwater which is set back from the mouth of the inlet, leaving a narrow entrance for boats and ships on the western side. A sheltered area, albeit open to the sea, lies to the south of the breakwater at the very mouth of the inlet. A further small quay, known as Cei Coch allows for a landing point halfway up the harbour. Finally, four lime kilns (two on either side) are set at the head of the harbour on two further stone quays.

The main breakwater runs for 38m from the base of the cliff on the eastern side of the inlet to its western end. A shorter return arm then runs for 25m to the north. The breakwater is between 4.5m and 6m in width, and stands around 5m above the surrounding sand. The top of the breakwater is level, with no parapet wall, and topped with modern concrete added during the restoration of the 1970s (below). The exception is the northern 15m of the return arm which are rough stone, which might be assumed to be original. The northern side of the breakwater (on the inside of the harbour) is formed by six, slightly irregular concrete steps created during the 1970s restoration. The south-east corner of the inner harbour (behind the breakwater) is defined by a stone slipway, 22m long and 7m wide that runs south to north from the top of the breakwater to the sandy floor of the inlet. Adjacent to the eastern edge of the slipway, and running to the north is ‘Wal Basil’ which provides a quay along the eastern edge of the inner harbour. Wal Basil is 44m in length with a concrete top 3m wide that abuts the cliff. The southern section of Wal Basil adjacent to the slip has a vertical stone face that varies in height as the slipway inclines to the harbour floor. The northern half of Wal Basil stands c.4m clear of the harbour floor and is formed from four large steps, each c. 0.7-0.8m high and c.0.5m deep. These are made from stone, with concrete tops. Two small flights of concrete steps are cut into Wall Basil to facilitate access down the upper three larger steps.

Event & Historical Information

The sheltered nature of the inlet at Porthclais dictates that it is likely to have been used as a landing point since the earliest maritime activity in the area. Documentary sources (see George, 1964: 5; Davies, 1989: 13) attest to cargoes being landed at Porthclais, destined for the Cathedral in the 1380s, while Davies postulates the landing of lime at Porthclais in conjunction with the construction of the Norman Cathedral as taking place in the early 1100’s. Elizabethan documents (Bowen, 1972: 64) list Porthclais amongst the harbours of Pembrokeshire in 1566, and with ships belonging to the harbour in the 1560s. Fenton (1811: 119-120) on his historical tour of Pembrokeshire reports that the breakwater at Porthclais was built “at a very early period” and was in the process of being “built-up”, perhaps meaning being extended or heightened in 1722. Fenton’s observations were largely repeated by Lewis in 1833.

Porthclais is also noted as the historical landing place of the mythical boar Twrch Trwyth in the Mabinogian although sadly no trace of this event is visible today.

By the early 20th century the breakwater was in a ruinous state, attested by historic photographs that show only the return wall at the western end as being standing; the main arm being comprised of little more than a series of boulders and rocks. Despite this, several historic photos show a range of sailing trading vessels within the harbour – both beached and afloat, depending on the state of the tide. The harbour was visited by Douglas Hague (RCAHMW) in the early 1970s whose photos indicate further deterioration of the breakwater, although the western face of the return arm appears to still be intact. Hague’s visit took place shortly before the breakwater and adjacent quays were restored under the stewardship of the National Trust.

The main breakwater and adjacent structures were recorded by the RCAHMW in February 2022 and a 3D model of the resulting dataset can be viewed online here

Cymraeg: https://skfb.ly/oEQDU

English: https://skfb.ly/oFGH9

Sources include:

Bowen, E. G., 1972. Seafaring along the Pembrokeshire Coast in the Days of the Sailing Ships. The Pembrokeshire Historian 4: 63-69.

Davies, P. B. S., 1989. Dewisland Limekilns. St Davids: Merrivale.

Dyfed Archaeological Trust HER PRN 12153 https://archwilio.org.uk/her/chi3/report/page.php?watprn=DAT12153

Dyfed Archaeological Trust HER PRN 24759 https://archwilio.org.uk/her/chi3/report/page.php?watprn=DAT24759

Fenton, R., 1811. A Tour Through Pembrokeshire. London: Longman

George, B., 1965. Pembrokeshire Sea-Trading before 1900. Field Studies No. 2

Lewis, S., 1833. Topographical Dictionary of Wales.

J. Whitewright, RCAHMW, April 2023