GREVILLE
,
CHARLES FRANCIS
(
1749
-
1809
),
founder of Milford Haven town, Pembs.
;
second son of
Francis
,
earl of Warwick
, and his wife
Elizabeth
Hamilton
. He became the
agent
, and subsequently the heir, of his mother's brother,
Sir
William
Hamilton
(
1730
-
1803
), who had succeeded to a considerable estate in
south Pembrokeshire
through his marriage with
Catherine
Barlow
of
Colby
(d.
1782
). In
1790
Hamilton
obtained a
private act of parliament
which enabled him to develop his property in the manors of
Hubberston
and
Pill
, to
build quays, docks, piers, to establish a market, provide roads, etc.
Since he was absent from the country as
British minister
at the
court of Naples
(
1764-1800
) he entrusted
the carrying out of the scheme to
Greville
. To this task
Greville
devoted himself with great energy. He
built a custom-house for the convenience of shipping and an inn for the accommodation of passengers
to
Ireland
. He invited several families of
American
Quakers
, who had been engaged in
South Sea
whaling
from
Nantucket Island
,
Massachusetts
, to settle at
Milford
. The first of them arrived in
1793
and for some years they carried on
trade in spermaceti oil
which had been used as an illuminant in
London
. He also induced the
navy board
to commission the building of frigates, the first contracts being signed in
April 1797
. In the town itself, which was laid out in three streets parallel with one another, he had a church built which was consecrated in
1808
and dedicated to
S.
Katherine
. A
Friends' meeting house
was opened in
1811
in the enclosure where many members of the
American
immigrants are buried.
Greville
also
projected a school or college of navigation provided with an observatory
, which was never completed. He staged a first-class piece of publicity for his new town by inducing
Sir
William
and
lady
Hamilton
, accompanied by
lord
Nelson
, to visit it in
Aug. 1802
. The event, coinciding with the anniversary of the
battle of the Nile
, was celebrated by a
cattle-show, sports, regatta, and a banquet
at which
Nelson
made a speech in which he highly praised
Greville
's achievements. The presence of
lady
Hamilton
(
1765
-
1815
),
née
Amy
Lyon
and more generally known as
Emma
Hart
, naturally attracted much attention. In her youth she had been a protégée of
Greville
. It was he who introduced her to his friend
Romney
, whose portrait studies of her are so well known. She subsequently went to
Naples
and in
1791
became the second wife of
Sir
William
Hamilton
.
After the death of
Greville
in
April 1809
, the new town entered upon a period of depression.
Greville
was succeeded by his younger brother
ROBERT
GREVILLE
(
1751
-
1824
), sometime
equerry
to
king
George
III
. He took but a tepid interest in his brother's projects. When the
Admiralty
proposed to purchase the site of the dockyard, for which it had been paying a yearly rent, he refused to accept its valuation. It was therefore decided to transfer the establishment to a site at
Paterchurch
, higher up the
Haven
and on the opposite side. This transfer was effected in
1814
and thus was founded
Pembroke Dock
, which remained a royal dockyard for over a century. The demand for spermaceti oil was struck a fatal blow by the growing use of coal gas as an illuminant.
Robert Fulke
Greville
was succeeded by his son, also
ROBERT
GREVILLE
(
1800
-
1867
). He stood for the county in the general election of
1831
against
Sir
John
Owen
of
Orielton
(q.v.)
and was defeated by 109 votes. Both candidates felt the heavy financial strain of the contest. For the next twenty years
Greville
lived abroad. He served with the rank of
major
in the
British Auxiliary Legion
during the
Carlist rising
in
Spain
. Later he lived near
Paris
. In
1853
he
returned to his estate and attempted to retrieve the fortunes of
Milford
. He took up his residence at the 18th cent. country house,
Castle Hall
, to which he made extensive additions. The
South Wales railway
reached
Haverfordwest
in
1854
and
Greville
made every effort to have it extended to
Milford
. When the
directors
decided to make
Neyland
the terminus he sought powers to effect a junction with it at
Johnston
. He also supported a project to construct a railway from
Milford
to
Manchester
through
Mid Wales
to secure for the port a share in the
American
trade. At his own cost
he had a wooden pier, pier-house, and hotel built
for the
Irish
traffic. He also
had two bridges with road approaches constructed
to facilitate lateral communication across the two inlets or pills between which the town lies. Against much local opposition he succeeded in getting an
Improvement Act
(
1857
) for the appointment of
commissioners
with power to levy a rate and raise capital to provide the town with gas-works, water-works, etc. His many schemes exhausted his resources. His estate was mortgaged far beyond its value and it passed to the most important creditor, the
National Provident Institution
.
Greville
d. on
12 Sept. 1867
and was buried in
S. Katherine's church
where his memorial records that
‘he sacrificed his fortune in his endeavour to promote and develop the resources of this place.’
Bibliography:
-
Richard Fenton
,
A Historical Tour through
Pembrokeshire
,
1811
;
-
F. Thomas
,
The Builders of Milford
, 1920
,
1920
;
- Greville-Hamilton Papers in N.L.W.;
- personal investigations.
Author:
Emeritus Professor Sir James Frederick Rees, Ll.D., (1883-1967), Tenby
/ Cardiff
