Following the Norman conquest, the Marcher lordships and their lords were at the centre of events that affected the history of England and Wales, becoming the focus of conflict, devastation, conquest and settlement.

There were nearly fifty Marcher lordships that extended from the Dee estuary down to the Severn estuary and across south Wales to the coast of Pembrokeshire. It became a unique area – a buffer region between Wales and England, with its own laws and with exceptional powers exercised by the Marcher lords.

In Pembrokeshire the lordships were Haverfordwest, Cemais, Cilgerran, Narberth, Pembroke, and Pebediog (Dewisland), the lords being appointed by the king to maintain the security of what was still a volatile frontier region.

For its next meeting, the Pembrokeshire Historical Society will welcome historian and author John Fleming, who will tell the colourful and often violent story of the Welsh Marcher Lordships in Pembrokeshire.

All are welcome to this illustrated lecture which will be on Friday, April 4, at the Pembrokeshire Archives in Prendergast, Haverfordwest, 2.30pm.