Goodwick

Goodwick Welsh:Wdig
Main Street, Goodwick
Goodwick Location withinPembrokeshire
Population	1,988
OS grid reference	SM945381
Community	Fishguard and Goodwick
Principal area	Pembrokeshire
Preserved county	Dyfed
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GOODWICK
Postcode district	SA64
Dialling code	01348
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire

Goodwick(/ˈɡʊdɪk/;Welsh:Wdig) is a coastal town inPembrokeshire,Wales,immediately west of its twin town ofFishguard.

Fishguard and Goodwickform acommunitythat wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists of Dyffryn, Stop-and-Call, Harbour Village, Lower Town, and Penyraber. AGoodwickelectoral wardexists covering the town with a total population of 1,988 at the2011 census.

History

Goodwick Square (c.1850)

Fishguard Harbour, 1930s

During theViking Age,the coasts of Wales were subjected to raids in the latter 10th century. Norse trading posts and settlements were established. The name probably derives from a combination of the old Norse forms:góðr(good) andvik(bay or cove) givinggóðrvik.Compare formation withReykjavík(Smoking Bay) wherereykr= 'smoke'.The southeast facing hillside of Goodwick is sheltered from prevailing and salty SW winds and therefore naturally well tree-covered compared with the exposed headland above and the wet land of the bay. Many older developments in Goodwick have the name 'Goedwig' meaning forest - Goedwig Terrace, Villas, Chapel etc. Thus an alternative explanation for the name may be that it was Goedwig and Goorvik may just have been a happy coincidence for the invaders.

Goodwick was a small fishing village in the parish ofLlanwnda,but in 1887 work commenced on a railway connection and harbour, and the village grew rapidly to service this. The main industry is now tourism although in the town's industrial past brick making was once an important industry. Some fishing still takes place on a small scale but most activity is centered onMilford Haven.

Goodwick Sands, the local beach, is where the defeated French invasion force assembled prior to their unconditional surrender on 24 February 1797.

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Fishguard Harbour railway station

Fishguard
and Goodwick
railway station

The Parrog

Ferry Port

RNLI Lifeboat Station

  

Map of Goodwick and Fishguard Bay

Fishguard Harbour

Certificate of the Fishguard and Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company

Ferry port at Goodwick

The harbour was constructed by blasting 1.6 million tonnes of rock from the hillside to make a 1,000 yards (910 m) longbreakwater.The quarried-out area became the quay. The harbour was finally opened on 30 August 1906. Planned to be the end of theGreat Western Railway's line and its major sea port, replacingNeyland,problems with the harbour (known as Fishguard Harbour) prevented larger ocean liners from docking. Accordingly, the harbour has a smaller inner breakwater protecting the remaining open side.

TheGreat Western Railwayordered three new steamers for its service to Rosslare,StDavid,StGeorgeandStPatrick.

In 1909, when theRMSMauretaniavisited, the passengers had to disembark and board bytenderwhen transferring to and from theLondontrain. The smaller breakwater was built as part of the preparations for the visit of the RMS Mauretania and is sometimes known as the "MauretaniaMole".The breakwater led to unanticipated silting, and the prospect of future visits from larger liners was abandoned. Directly above the harbour is a small estate known as" Harbour Village ", built to house workers during the construction of the harbour.

The port now accommodates aferryservice toRosslareoperated byStena Line.

TheRNLI,fromFishguard Lifeboat Stationoperates an all weatherTrent class lifeboat,the Blue Peter VII, and a class D inshore lifeboat from within the harbour.

In October 2011, plans forFishguard & Goodwick Marinawere revealed in theWestern Telegraph.The developersConygarwho hope to invest £100 million into the project have submitted plans toPembrokeshire County Councilfor a 450 berth marina, 253 new residential flats and a 19-acre platform for the potential expansion of the existing Stena Line port. The scheme would also create a publicly accessible promenade and waterfront, and visitor parking as well as workshops, stores and ancillary facilities. If approved most of the proposed new developments will be sited by reclaiming land from the sea bed within the two existing breakwaters mainly near the current 'Ocean Lab' and alongside the existing ferry terminal access roads. Conygar have also exchanged contracts to acquire an eleven-acre site for a lorry stop and distribution park on the perimeter of the Stena Line owned port.In January 2018, however, Stena announced it had withdrawn from the project, meaning Conygar could not continue with their plans.

Stop-and-Call

Originally a separate settlement, Stop-and-Call has now become contiguous with Goodwick. It is at the point where Goodwick Hill levels out after climbing 330 feet (100 m) about3⁄4mile (1.2 km) from the centre of Goodwick.The 1841 Census for the Parish ofLlanwndaindicates the presence of three inhabited houses in 'Stop and Call'.However, it does not appear on a map which dates from ca. 1850. The will of Margaret Llewelin Lewis of Goodwick, dated 1878, leaves property at 'Stopancall'. TheOrdnance Surveysix inch map of Pembrokeshire published 1888 (surveyed 1887) shows the settlement of 'Stop & Call' comprising only three substantial buildings. A map dating from 1891 shows the area as being moorland, with very few buildings;Kelly's Directory for 1895 does not mention the Stop-and-Call

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Goodwick, atcommunity(town) andcountylevel:Fishguard and Goodwick Town CouncilandPembrokeshire County Council.The town council is based atFishguard Town Hallin Market Square, Fishguard.

Goodwick historically formed part of the parish ofLlanwnda.When parish and district councils were established in 1894, the parish of Llanwnda was included in theHaverfordwest Rural District,as was neighbouringFishguard.Fishguard was made anurban districtin 1907, but Goodwick stayed in Haverfordwest Rural District at that point, despite much of the developing Fishguard Harbour actually falling within Goodwick rather than within the territory of the new Fishguard Urban District. On 1 April 1923 a parish of Goodwick was created from part of Llanwnda, and the new parish was declared to be an urban district, making it independent from the Haverfordwest Rural District Council. Goodwick Urban District was relatively short-lived, being abolished eleven years later when it merged with Fishguard Urban District on 1 April 1934, becoming Fishguard and Goodwick Urban District.

Fishguard and Goodwick Urban District was abolished under theLocal Government Act 1972,with the area becoming part of the district ofPreseli Pembrokeshireon 1 April 1974. A community covering the former urban district was established at the same time, with its council taking the name Fishguard and Goodwick Town Council.Preseli Pembrokeshire was abolished in 1996 to become part of a re-established Pembrokeshire.

Transport

Newly-opened station; passengers alight the train for the first time in 48 years (14 May 2012)

Fishguard & Goodwick railway stationserved local rail travellers from the town, and from nearby Fishguard, until the line was effectively closed to such passengers by the reduction in service to boat trains only in 1964. After this, trains only servedFishguard Harbourand the station fell into disrepair. Following investment fromNetwork RailandPembrokeshire County Councilthe station has now been re-built and was reopened for passengers again, on 14 May 2012. It is served by the boat trains and the newly introduced local trains.

The harbour is used byStena Lineferries toRosslare Europortin Ireland. In 2024, theMS Stena NordicaRoPax ferry has two sailings each way per day, one around lunch time and one in the early hours of the morning. The high-speed catamaran ferryStena Lynx III(renamedElite Jetin 2023) operated in the summer only until the end of the 2011 season. Her schedule, for instance in the 2010 season consisted of a morning departure to Rosslare and a late afternoon arrival into Fishguard Harbour.

The town is served by the Fishguard town service bus, which runs alternately from Harbour Village or Stop-and-Call toFishguard Town Hall.Two Fishguard - St Davids bus routes also pass through the town.

Early aviation

The first successful flight from Britain to Ireland was made from Goodwick's Harbour Village on 22 April1912byDenys Corbett Wilson,flying aBleriot XI.The flight lasted one hour 40 minutes, with landfall nearEnniscorthy,Ireland. The achievement was commemorated in Centenary Celebrations held in Fishguard and Goodwick on the weekend of 21/22 April 2012 and in a specially commissioned stage play by Derek Webb, called '100 Minutes' which was performed in Fishguard and Wexford the same week.

Notable people

• Thomas James Stretch(1915-1973), clergyman and WW2 army chaplain
• Mark Delaney(born 1976), Premier League & International footballer and football coach

Bibliography

• Cowsill, Miles (1990).Fishguard Rosslare.Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire: Ferry Publications.ISBN1871947065.
• Cowsill, Miles (1993).Ferries from Pembrokeshire(Rev. and 2nd ed.). Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire: Ferry Publications.ISBN1871947146.
• Coswill, Miles (2006).Fishguard-Rosslare: The Official 1906-2006 Anniversary Book.Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications.ISBN1871947820.
• Merrigan, Justin (2010).Fishguard-Rosslare: The Album.Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications.ISBN9781906608248.