Milford Haven

Milford Haven Welsh: Aberdaugleddau
Clockwise from top: Milford Haven Docks from Hakin; Haven from town; the Tribute to Fishermen on The Rath.
Milford Haven Location within Pembrokeshire
Population	13,907 (Community 2011)[1]
Demonym	Milfordian
OS grid reference	SM899061
Community	Milford Haven
Principal area	Pembrokeshire
Preserved county	Dyfed
Country	Wales
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MILFORD HAVEN
Postcode district	SA73
Dialling code	01646
Police	Dyfed-Powys
Fire	Mid and West Wales
Ambulance	Welsh
UK Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament	Preseli Pembrokeshire
List of places UK Wales Pembrokeshire 51°42′51″N 5°02′34″W / 51.71418°N 5.04274°W / 51.71418; -5.04274

Milford Haven (Welsh: Aberdaugleddau, lit. 'mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau' listen^ⓘ) is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has been used as a port since the Middle Ages.

The town was founded in 1790 by Sir William Hamilton, who designed a grid pattern. It was originally intended to be a whaling centre, though by 1800 it was developing as a Royal Navy dockyard which it remained until the dockyard was transferred to Pembroke in 1814. It then became a commercial dock, with the focus moving in the 1960s, after the construction of an oil refinery built by Esso, to logistics for fuel oil and liquid gas. By 2010, the town's port had become the fourth largest in the United Kingdom in terms of tonnage,^[2] and continues its important role in the United Kingdom's energy sector with several oil refineries and one of the biggest LNG terminals in the world.

Milford Haven is the most populous community in the county, with a population of 13,907 within the community boundary at the 2011 census.^[1] When measured in terms of urban area the population was 13,582, making it the second largest urban area in the county after Haverfordwest (where the urban area extends beyond its community boundary).^[3]

The natural harbour of the Haven was known as a safe port and was exploited for several historical military operations throughout the second millennium. Campaigns conducted from the Haven included part of the invasion of Ireland in 1171 by Henry II and by Cromwell in 1649. Forces which have disembarked at the point include Jean II de Rieux's 1405 reinforcement of the Glyndŵr Rising. In 1485, the future Henry VII landed close to his birthplace in Mill Bay before marching on to England.