The town of Milford Haven was founded in 1793 by Sir William Hamilton, who initially invited Quaker whalers from Nantucket to live in his town, and then, in 1797, the Navy Board to create a dockyard for building warships.
Milford Haven Waterway has a longer history as a staging point on sea journeys to Ireland, and was used as a shelter by Vikings.
Early history
From the 790s until the Norman Invasion in 1066, the waterway was used occasionally by Vikings looking for shelter. During one visit in 854, the Viking chieftain Hubba wintered in the Haven with 23 ships, eventually lending his name to the district of Hubberston.Milford Haven Town Council website History, Chronology of Events Retrieved 17 January 2010 It is likely that the area was used as a permanent headquarters in the period after 914, to provide a staging post for traffic in the Celtic Sea.Loyn, Henry, The Vikings in Wales, The Viking Society For Northern Research, 1976. http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ Evidence of metal working in the area was recently excavated, suggesting a level of industrialization in the period 750 - 1100.Medieval Works Found at LNG Site. BBC News article, 5 April 2005 Retrieved 17 January 2010 Additionally, the remains of early hill forts at Thornton and Priory have been identified, which commanded excellent views over the landscape. A medieval castle was constructed towards the east of the town's boundaries, at the head of the inlet known as Castle Pill.
A Benedictine priory called Pill Priory was established at the head of Hubberston Pill in 1170, as a daughter house of St Dogmaels Abbey. Built on virgin land, it stood alongside the priory on Caldey Island as part of the Tironian Order in West Wales, and was dedicated to St Budoc. A History - The 12th Century: Pill Priory - Tironian House , Retrieved 17 January 2010 Founded by Adam de Rupe, it stood until the Dissolution under Henry VIII.A Topographical Dictionary of Wales, Lewis, Samuel (1849) pp. 374–384 Retrieved 17 January 2010 Richard de Clare commenced his invasion of Leinster from the Haven in 1167.Gibbons, Gavin, South Wales Its Valleys, Coasts and Mountains, Geographia Map Company, 1971. In 1171 Henry II designated the area the rendezvous for his Irish expedition. An army of 400 warships, 500 knights and 4,000 men-at-arms gathered in the haven before sailing to Waterford, and on to Dublin,Brennan, Joseph J, A Catechism of the History of Ireland: Ancient, Medieval, and Modern (1878), Kessinger Publishing, 2008. which marked the first time an English king had stood on Irish soil, and the beginning of Henry's invasion of Ireland. Henry's son John sailed form the area twice to subdue the Irish, in 1185 and 1210.Miles, Dilwyn. Portrait of Pembrokeshire, Robert Hale Ltd, 1984. St Thomas à Becket Chapel was dedicated to St Thomas Becket in 1180, a structure which looked out over the Haven from the north shore of the town. In later years it was used as a beacon for sailors in foul weather,McKay & Springer. Milford Haven Waterway & Town, Tempus Publishing Ltd, 1999. and ultimately as a pig sty, until it was reconsecrated in the 20th century.
In his play Cymbeline Act 3, Scene 2 (1611), Shakespeare remarks that Milford is a haven:
George Owen of Henllys, in his Description of Penbrokshire, claimed in 1603 that Milford Haven was the most famous port of Christendom.Owen, George. The Description of Pembrokeshire, Gomer Press, 1994. The area however was a source of anxiety for the Tudor monarchy. Due to its location, it was exposed to attacks from Ireland, a convenient base from which England could be invaded via Wales.Jones, J Gwynfor. Wales & The Tudor State, Cardiff University of Wales Press, 1989. In 1405, the French landed in force having left Brest in July with more than 2,800 knights and men-at-arms led by Jean II de Rieux, the Marshal of France, in order to support Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion. It was here that Henry Tudor landed with his uncle, Jasper Tudor, in 1485 before his march towards Lincolnshire, ending in the Battle of Bosworth.
The Tudor era began to recognise the strategic importance of defence of the area, and Thomas Cromwell highlighted this fact to the Council of the Marches of Wales. Some 40 years later, this led to the construction of device forts at West Blockhouse and East Blockhouse. Milford Haven was one of the objectives during the Spanish Armada of 1597, and possible landing places were examined. George Owen had recommended the construction of forts at Dale Point, Thorn Island and Stack Rock, but no action was taken. Although a storm dispersed much of the Armada, some Spanish ships pressed on and landfall was made in the Cleddau. The arrival of Welsh militia and the dispersal of their fleet however soon forced the Spanish to retreat. One of the ships, a forty-ton caravel Nuestra Senora Buenviage which had been damaged in the storm attempted to flee but was boarded and captured by six Welsh boats and thus pillaged. The cargo included gold and silver and as a result a fight broke out amongst the pillagers in which one man was wounded. Piracy was also recognised as a problem, perhaps encouraged by the lack of fortification and nature of the landscape. The Queen's Remembrancer Roll of 1562 reported that:
In April 1603, Martin Pring used the Haven as his departure point for his exploratory voyage to Virginia.Hoyt, Epaphras. Antiquarian Researches: Comprising a History of the Indian Wars in the Country Bordering the Connecticut River, Kessinger Publishing, 2007. The land comprising the site of Milford, the Manor of Hubberston and Pill, was acquired by the Barlow family following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-16th century. It acquired an additional strategic importance in the 17th century as a Royalist military base. Charles I ordered a fort to be built at Pill which could prevent re-enforcement of the Parliamentarian garrison of Pembroke Castle, and this was completed in 1643. On 23 February 1644, a Parliamentarian force led by Rowland Laugharne crossed the Haven and landed at Castle Pill. The fort was gunned from both land and water, and a garrison was placed in Steynton church to prevent a Royalist attack from the garrison at Haverfordwest. The fort was eventually surrendered, and quickly taken,1643-4: Civil War in Pembrokeshire Retrieved 18 January 2010 along with St Thomas a Becket chapel. Just five years later in 1649 Milford Haven was again the site of Parliamentarian interest when it was chosen as the disembarkation site for Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Ireland. Cromwell arrived in the Haven on 4 August, meeting George Monck,4 August 1649 Timeline: British Civil wars Retrieved 19 January 2010 before Cromwell and over a hundred craft left for Dublin on 15 August. Retrieved 19 January 2010
By the late 18th century, the two creeks which would delimit the future town of Milford's boundaries to the east and west, namely Hakin and Castle Pill, were being used as harbours for ships to load and unload coal, corn and limestone.George, Barbara J; Pembrokeshire Sea Trading Before 1900 Field Studies Journal; pp. 5–6; Retrieved 19 January 2010 A ferry service to Ireland operated from Hakin around the start of the 20th century, although this ceased in the early 19th century. Although surrounding settlements at Steynton, Thornton, Priory, Liddeston and Hubberston/Hakin were established, they were little more than hamlets. The only man-made structures on the future site of Milford were the medieval chapel, and Summer Hill Farm, and its accompanying cottages.
The 18th century − Foundation
By the mid 18th century, the lands had been inherited by Catherine Barlow of Slebech, who at the time was living in London. In 1758 she married Sir William Hamilton, and on her death in 1782, he inherited the land in the Hubberston and Pill area. He became interested in the Pembrokeshire Coalfield, and the idea of developing the land and harbour into a town.Wing Commander Ken McKay A Vision of Greatness: The History of Milford 1790-1990, Brace Harvatt Associates, 1989. Hon. Charles Francis Greville, his nephew, was given responsibility for managing the project, and an act of Parliament, the (30 Geo. 3. c. 55), was granted which made it possible to continue.BBC South West Wales website 'A Brief History of Milford', Jon Gower Retrieved 19 January 2010 In 1791, Mary Morgan visited Hubberston on a tour of Wales, and noted in her journal: