Fishguard is within the historic Welsh
cantref of , and part of the Welsh province of , within the historic Principality of . The coasts of Wales were subject to Norse raids during the
Viking Age, and in the latter part of the 10th century Norse trading posts and settlements emerged within Dyfed, with Fishguard established sometime between 950 and 1000 AD. However, the V-shaped stone structures of ancient fish traps can still be seen at low tide on both sides of the bay, and it is believed these were the foundations for wooden fences that would trap the fish as the tide went out. Other examples can be found around the country, and they probably date from Saxon times, though similar devices have been in use since Neolithic times. Called
Fiscard until the turn of the 19th century when the name was Anglicised, Fishguard was a
marcher borough and in 1603 was described as one of five Pembrokeshire boroughs overseen by a
portreeve. The
Norman settlement lay along what is now High Street between the church at its north end and the remains of a Norman
motte at its south end. In 1912,
Denys Corbett Wilson made the first flight between Britain and Ireland. Starting his journey from Hendon aerodrome on 17 April 1912, he eventually landed in Goodwick on 21 April having made a few unscheduled stops along the way. He then set off from a field near Harbour Village at 5:47 on 22 April and crash-landed 100 minutes later in Crane near Enniscorthy in County Wexford. Lower Fishguard developed as a
herring fishery and port, trading with Ireland,
Bristol and
Liverpool. In the late 18th century it had 50 coasting vessels, and exported
oats and salt herring. In 1779, the port was raided by the
privateer Black Prince, which bombarded the town when the payment of a £1,000 ransom was refused. As a result, Fishguard Fort was completed in 1781, overlooking Lower Fishguard. The port declined in the latter half of the 19th century. Fishguard's ancient Royal Oak public house was the site of the signing of surrender after the
Battle of Fishguard. This brief campaign, on 22–24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign force, and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of mainland Britain". A force of 1,400 French soldiers landed near Fishguard but surrendered two days later. A 19th-century vicar of Fishguard, the Rev. Samuel Fenton MA, wrote the book
The History of Pembrokeshire. The ancient Parliamentary Borough of Fishguard was contributory to the Borough of
Haverfordwest. During the
Second World War, the Fishguard Bay Hotel was Station IXc of
Special Operations Executive where
submersibles were tested in Fishguard Bay. Fishguard & Goodwick Golf Club was founded in 1921 and closed in the 1960s. ==Governance==