Haverfordwest Priory was a house of Augustinian Canons Regular

Canons Regular

Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...

 on the banks of the Western Cleddau

River Cleddau

The River Cleddau consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary, which forms the important harbour of Milford Haven....

 at Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales and serves as the County's principal commercial and administrative centre. Haverfordwest is the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire, with a population of 13,367 in 2001; though its community boundaries make it the second most populous...

, Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It was founded around 1200 on land given by Robert Fitztancard, the lord of Haverfordwest. It was dissolved

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...

 in 1536 and was acquired by Richard and Thomas Barlow, brothers of William Barlow, bishop of St David's

St David's

St Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...

, in 1268, who began the process of demolition that results in the ruin seen today. From 1983 to 1996, the site (now under control of Cadw

Cadw

-Conservation and Protection:Many of Wales's great castles and other monuments, such as bishop's palaces, historic houses, and ruined abbeys, are now in Cadw's care. Cadw does not own them but is responsible for their upkeep and for making them accessible to the public...

) has been excavated and the outlines of the buildings are visible. Much architectural material of a high standard was discovered and can be seen in Haverfordwest museum. Also unearthed was a unique medieval garden with raised beds.