'A loose cannon' on Lower Fishguard Quay, originally installed to protect the harbour from American and French privateers.
Eventually a fort was built to the north at the mouth of the harbour at a more strategic location.
The English name Fishguard derives from Old Norse Fiskigarðr meaning "fish catching enclosure", cognate with Modern English fish + yard.
In Welsh, Abergwaun means "the mouth of the River Gwaun", the name of the river referring to the high, wet, level ground of a marsh or moor where it drains from.
Lower Fishguard is believed to be the site of the original hamlet from which modern Fishguard has grown.
Eighteenth Century Fishguard was bustling. Herring boats brought their catch to be dried, salted, smoked and exported. Timber, coal and limestone arrived by sea.
Salmon were fished on the river Gwaun and a small factory produced cloth. Smugglers brought wine and spirits in via isolated coves.
