Angle, or Nangle - From 'A Topographical Dictionary of Wales' (1849) ANGLE, or NANGLE, a parish, in the hundred of Castlemartin, union and county of Pembroke, South Wales, 10 miles (W.) from Pembroke; containing 388 inhabitants. This place is situated at the south-western extremity of the county, in an angle of Milford Haven, affording excellent anchorage for small vessels; from which circumstance it probably obtained its name. It is traversed by the road from Pembroke to the coast. The parish is bounded on the north by Milford Haven and Angle bay, on the south and south-west by the Bristol Channel, and on the east and south-east by the parishes of Castlemartin and Rhôscrowther. It comprises by computation about 2100 acres, of which 934 are arable, 788 pasture, 160 sandy burrow, 20 wood, and 195 acres cliff, waste, &c.; the soil is generally of a sandy nature, and produces good crops of corn, hay, turnips, and potatoes. Limestone of very excellent quality is found, which, being susceptible of a fine polish, is formed into mantel-pieces; blocks are also occasionally sent for the works in Pembroke dockyard, and portions of it are wrought in various kinds of buildings: the chief part, however, is used by the farmers for manure. The surface in some parts is hilly, and the scenery, both local and distant, picturesque and interesting, the eminences commanding beautiful views of Milford Haven, the Bristol Channel, &c. In the parish are several mansions of some consideration, namely, the Castle, an ancient castellated structure; Bonjiston, formerly the seat of Lord Lion, ancestor of the present Earl Cawdor; and a seat called the Hall, a neat mansion of modern erection. There is a good village, in which the chief part of the population reside. The females are employed in platting straw for bonnets, hassocks, and matting; and during the season, the men are occupied in dredging for oysters.
The living consists of a sinecure rectory and a discharged vicarage, the former rated in the king's books at £10. 10. The latter is rated at £3. 19. 2., and endowed with £600 royal bounty; annual value, £80; patron, the Bishop of St. David's. One-fourth of the tithes is appropriated to the vicarage, and the remaining three-fourths to the rectory. The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, measures eighty-four feet in length, including the chancels, and twenty-one feet in breadth. There is a day school, commenced in 1823, and containing from forty to fifty boys and girls, some of whom are gratuitously taught; also a Sunday school, commenced in 1830, and held in the premises of the day school. The ruins of a building that belonged to a monastic order, are situated here; and near the entrance of the Haven are the remains of an ancient building called the Block-House, directly opposite a similar one in the parish of Dale, in the hundred of Rhôs: from its situation it appears to have been erected for the protection of the entrance, probably in the reign of Henry VIII., or Elizabeth; but, from the excellency of the masonry, some tourists have ascribed to it a Roman origin.
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