Porthgain and Solva history uncovered in Villages by the Sea

In Villages by the Sea archaeologist Ben Robinson travels across the UK to reveal how some of our best loved villages have played a vital role in our history.

In the new series Ben goes beyond England to all nations of the UK for the first time to discover the often-surprising stories of coastal villages and their communities in this 10-part series.

Accompanied by local experts, Ben uses clues from buildings, street patterns, artefacts and the landscape to unravel why the village is there, and how its fortunes changed over time.

Ben visited Solva and Porthgain in the episodes due to air this month.

In episode five he discovers Solva’s impressive lime kilns in Solva and explores how this picturesque, 1800s Welsh port was famous for producing quicklime, a vital ingredient in both our agriculture and building industry.

The kilns in Solva are well preserved and contributed to making the soil in farmers’ fields more alkaline – to increase crop yield at a time when the nation’s population was growing.

Solva is now known as a pretty Pembrokeshire tourist hot spot, but Ben learns how working in this industry would have been a tough life for the locals.

The Solva episode is due to air on November 16.

In episode eight Ben visits Porthgain to unearth its unique past.

This small Pembrokeshire village was built for its industry, first a slate quarry, then a brickworks and finally exporting a granite like stone that helped to make our nation’s roads.

The heavy industrial infrastructure that remains in this tiny village is a sight to behold.

Porthgain’s prosperity rose and fell over the years and many of the houses were owned by the quarry companies who mined there, eventually the villagers took back control and bought the village.

The Porthgain episode is due to air on November 24.

Villages by the Sea airs on BBC Two at 7pm.