Maenclochog
Maenclochog
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 Maenclochog
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| Maenclochog shown within Pembrokeshire | |
| Population | 731 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SN0834127337 |
| Principal area | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MAENCLOCHOG |
| Postcode district | SA66 |
| Dialling code | 01437 |
| Police | Dyfed-Powys |
| Fire | Mid and West Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | |
Maenclochog is a village and community in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. It is also an electoral ward comprising an area that brings together the villages of Llanycefn, Maenclochog and Rosebush. The electoral ward had a population at the 2011 census of 3,104.
Maenclochog lies south of the Preseli Hills, about one mile southeast of the village of Rosebush on the B4313 Narberth to Fishguard road.
The origin of the name Maenclochog is unclear. It appears to be made up of two Welsh words, maen ("stone") and clochog ("bells"). A local tale reports that there were stones near Ffynnon Fair, ("Mary's Well"), to the south of the village, which rang like bells when struck, but these were blown to bits by treasure-hunters, under the mistaken belief that they concealed a golden treasure. This may represent nothing more than folk etymology. An alternative proposal is that the second part of the name comes from the Irish word, clochog, meaning a craggy place. This theory is supported by the fact that there was Irish migration to Pembrokeshire in the early Middle Ages, as attested to by the Ogham stones found in the locality and elsewhere, and certainly the name suits the topography of the area.
There is evidence of prehistoric occupation in the vicinity of the present village.
Researchers have found what are believed to be the remains of a 13th-century castle at Maenclochog. The village was served by The Maenclochog Railway formally known as the Narberth Road and Maenclochog Railway which ran from Clynderwyn on the Great Western Railway via Maenclochog to Rosebush. The tunnel just outside Maenclochog achieved fame during the war when it was used as a testing site for bombs by Barnes Wallis, creator of the 'bouncing bomb'.
Following the Second World War an attempt by the War Office to take over 16,000 acres of the Preselau slopes, as a permanent military training ground, was thwarted by a strong campaign led by local ministers of religion and headteachers. The acquisition would have meant a loss of farming livelihood and Maenclochog may have become a garrison village.
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Wikipedia