New Moat

New Moat (Welsh: Y Mot) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It extends from the southern edges of Mynydd Preseli to the Pembrokeshire-Carmarthenshire border.

New Moat Welsh: Y Mot
St Nicholas's Church, New Moat
New Moat Location within Pembrokeshire
Population	434 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference	SN064255
Community	New Moat
Principal area	Pembrokeshire
Preserved county	Dyfed
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Clarbeston Road
Postcode district	SA63 4
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
List of places UK Wales Pembrokeshire 51.89°N 4.81°W / 51.89; -4.81 Map of the community

Demographics

New Moat community includes the villages of New Moat, Bletherston, Llys y Fran, and Penffordd, with a combined population recorded in the 2001 census of 426,^[2] increasing to 434 at the 2011 Census.

History

Historically in the hundred of Dungleddy, the village takes its name from an ancient motte and bailey defence of which only the artificially built mound now survives.^[3] The Black Book of St Davids 1326 records state that the Lord of New Moat paid one penny a year to the Bishops of St Davids at Castle Morris.^{[citation needed]}

New Moat was once the seat of the Scourfield family, who are reported to have resided in the area since the reign of Edward I.^[4] The Scourfields provided the area of Pembrokeshire and Haverfordwest with several sheriffs and mayors, as well as Members of Parliament, including William Henry Scourfield and Sir John Scourfield. The family resided at Mote and Robertson Hall until the 19th century when the family moved to Robeston Hall in the parish of Robeston West. Mote and Robertson Hall became ruinous and has since been demolished.^[2]

Church

At the centre of the village is St Nicholas's church, mainly rebuilt in the 1880s, which retains its medieval tower and 17th-century altar tomb^[2] and is a grade II* listed building.^[5][6]