Solva

Solva
Solva
Solva shown within Pembrokeshire
Population 865 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference SM802243
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town HAVERFORDWEST
Postcode district SA62
Dialling code 01437
Police Dyfed-Powys
Fire Mid and West Wales
Ambulance Welsh
EU Parliament Wales
UK Parliament
Welsh Assembly

Solva (Welsh: Solfach) is a village, community and electoral ward in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village comprises principally Lower Solva and Upper Solva.

Location

Solva lies on the north side of St Bride's Bay, in North Pembrokeshire in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.[2] It lies on a deep valley at the mouth of the River Solva. In the valley is Lower Solva, consisting of a long street ending at the small harbour. Most of the modern development has been in Upper Solva, on the cliff top to the west of the harbour.

History

Solva c.1830
Solva Harbour showing Lime Kilns
Solvach Bay and harbour, 1748

The village church honors Saint Aidan and is part of the parish of Whitchurch.[3]

The rocks at the entrance to Solva Harbour made it one of the most sheltered anchorages between Fishguard and Milford Haven.[4] Solva became the main trading centre of St Bride's Bay in the medieval period, and was important for lime burning. Several lime kilns are preserved in the harbour area. In the 19th century, Solva had around 30 registered trading ships.[5] The fading coastal trade has been replaced by tourism, and the harbour is now a boating centre.

The village was the location for Wales' first butterfly farm, Solva Nectarium, which opened in 1979.[6]

Geology

Solva Harbour is a good example of a flooded valley known as a ria. Local rocks contain fossils from the Cambrian period.[7] and the village gives its name to this rock sequence.

Governance

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This ward extends to Brawdy and in fact some of the community was transferred there. The total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 1,877.[8]

Traditional events

Every year on Easter Monday Solva hosts a Duck Race for charity. The ducks are released into the River Solva near Middle Mill and float down stream to Solva harbour. The winner is the first to cross under the footbridge in lower Solva car park.[9]

Each summer, Solva hosts a Regatta which features rowing for adults and children.

Amenities and attractions

The local cliff coast is popular with walkers, and the classic cliff exposures of Cambrian rocks attract amateur and professional geologists.

Solva Woollen Mill, located at the nearby village of Middle Mill, claims to be the oldest continuously working woollen mill in Pembrokeshire. Today the mill mostly manufactures carpets and rugs. There is a tearoom and a shop, and visitors are able to see the looms at work.[10]

Notable people

  • The musician David Gray moved with his parents to Solva at the age of 8, and attended Solva Community School.[11][12] His parents ran the "Window on Wales" craft shop in the village.[13]
  • Ex-professional footballer Simon Davies, who played for Fulham and represented Wales, was brought up in Solva. His career started as a teenager at Solva AFC, and it was here that he was talent-spotted.[14]
  • Meic Stevens, the notable Welsh singer/songwriter, was born in Solva, and spent much of his early life here.[15] In 2002 he released a song and album called Ysbryd Solfa ("The Spirit of Solfa") which contained songs about his childhood in Solva during the 1940s and early 1950s.[16][17]

TV & Film

In June 2014 Solva was used as a location for the filming of Dylan Thomas's Under Milkwood.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Community population 2011". Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Pembrokeshire Coast Path Retrieved 18 December 2011
  3. ↑ GENUKI. "[www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/PEM/Whitchurch/ Whitchurch (Tre-groes)]".
  4. ↑ Raggett, Jean; Raggett, P (2003). Solva — An Introduction to Village Life. Paul Raggett. p. 3.
  5. ↑ Raggett, Jean; Raggett, P (2003). Solva — An Introduction to Village Life. Paul Raggett.
  6. ↑ Beauty is a Butterfly, County Echo, 25 September 1984, p.7
  7. ↑ "Solva". Pembrokeshire Outdoors. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  8. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Solva Duck Race". st.davidsinfo.org.uk. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  10. ↑ "Welcome to Solva Woollen Mill". Solva Woollen Mill. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Pembrokeshire website - David Gray Revisits Solva
  12. ↑ The Independent - David Gray profile
  13. ↑ The Times On-Line - Local Knowledge : Pembrokeshire
  14. ↑ "Former Fulham FC star Simon Davies plays in Solva friendly (From Western Telegraph)". westerntelegraph.co.uk. 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  15. ↑ BBC - Meic Stevens biography
  16. ↑ Na-nog website Archived 25 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ BBC Radio Cymru
  18. ↑ "Solva taken over for Under Milkwood filming", BBC News, 23 June 2014.

Further reading

  • Grime, Anna. A Living Thing: Solva Woollen Mill, 104 years on. Pembrokeshire Life September 2011: 18-19

Images of Solva

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