Pembrokeshire

Historically, the Flemish people here don't have very fond memories. They were nicknamed "lupi Flandrenses" ("Flemish wolves"). This is related to the behavior of the Flemish, planted in Wales by the English king, as harsh, often cruel border colonists toward the native Welsh.

In that context, Ordericus (Orderic) Vitalis described around 1134 how Flemish people “slaughtered the Welsh like dogs”, which has contributed to this lasting image of predators in Welsh memory.

Under Henry I (and later Henry II), large groups of Flemish refugees were systematically moved to South Pembrokeshire, in the area later nicknamed "Little England beyond Wales." They formed a militant, economically dynamic population on the fringes of the Welsh heartland and were known as reliable allies of the Norman nobility against the Welsh.

Medieval and later authors characterize these colonists as a “hardy race” fit for both plough and sword, but “always hostile” to the Welsh.

The core of this Flemish presence lay in south Pembrokeshire, notably:

Rhôs / Ros (cantref Rhôs): the district around the mouths of the Cleddau, which is explicitly mentioned in sources as the area where Henry I settled “all the Flemings in England”.

Wiston (Wiston Castle): founding centre of the Flemish nobleman Wizo Flandrensis; castle and settlement as a typical Flemish-Norman stronghold in Dyfed.

Haverfordwest and its surroundings: grew into an important centre in “Little England beyond Wales”, with a clear Flemish component in the population.

Entire strip of “Little England beyond Wales”: coastal zone of south Pembrokeshire (including around Dale, Tenby and the lower reaches of the Cleddau), where Flemish colonisation permanently changed the ethnic and linguistic map.

Pascal Brackman