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Named after the former landowner Nicholas Hobbs, Hobbs Point was built in the early 1830s to accommodate the mail and packet boats that ran between west Wales and Waterford in Ireland. This service began in 1750 and operated until 1966. The mail and packet service at Hobbs Point ceased operating in 1848 and was transferred to Neyland after the construction of a terminus for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway. The railway terminus, constructed between 1855-56, became the hub around which Neyland grew and new steamship services to Waterford and Cork in Ireland were soon established. Neyland prospered for over 50 years, but the construction of a new harbour at Fishguard led to a decline in Irish traffic. After the publication of the Beeching reports, the railway terminus closed in 1964.
With the mail and packet service transferred to Neyland, Hobbs Point was now free to be used as a fitting-out wharf for the many ships built in Pembroke Dockyard. Massive sheerlegs were erected and used to lift engines, guns, and other pieces of heavy equipment into ships' hulls. Once the ships were completed, they joined the rest of the Royal Navy’s fleet across the world. As the construction of ships in the Dockyard began to wane, the slipway became free for a small ferry service between Pembroke Dock and Neyland. Operating from 1923, the Lady Magdalen was just one of the ferries that would carry passengers and cars across the Cleddau River. Later ferries included the paddle boats, Cleddau Queen and Cleddau King, both built at Hancock’s Yard in Pembroke Dock. When the construction of the Cleddau Bridge was completed in 1975, the ferry service was no longer needed. The fate of the Cleddau Queen is uncertain, however the Cleddau King, renamed Porta Ferry, found a new lease of life in Northern Ireland ferrying cars and passengers across Strangford loch.
As new connections were created, old ones were broken. The railway terminus at Neyland put an end to the packet service at Hobbs Point, and the Cleddau Bridge ended the ferry service that took its place. Hobbs point now sits idle on the edge of the Cleddau River, providing dramatic views of the Milford Haven Waterway. From the slipway, viewers can watch the arrival and departure of the car and passenger ferry which operates between Pembroke Dock and Rosslare. However, this last link to Ireland is tenuous. With a reduction in traffic due to Brexit, the Isle of Inishmore ferry was replaced by the smaller Blue Star 1. If the current drop in demand continues, and with competition from Fishguard, Pembroke Dock may lose its last link to Ireland and the EU.
Enwyd Hobbs Point ar ôl y cyn dirfeddiannwr Nicholas Hobbs, ac fe'i adeiladwyd ar ddechrau'r 1830au ar gyfer y llongau post a arferai deithio rhwng gorllewin Cymru a Waterford yn Iwerddon. Cychwynnodd y gwasanaeth hwn ym 1750 a bu'n gweithredu tan 1966. Daeth y gwasanaeth post i ben yn Hobbs Point ym 1848 ac fe'i trosglwyddwyd i Neyland ar ôl adeiladu terfynfa ar gyfer Great Western Railway Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Daeth y derfynfa rheilffordd, a adeiladwyd ym 1855-56, yn ganolfan a arweiniodd at dwf Neyland ac yn fuan wedi hynny, sefydlwyd gwasanaethau agerlongau newydd i Waterford a Cork yn Iwerddon. Gwelwyd Neyland yn ffynnu am dros 50 mlynedd, ond ar ôl adeiladu harbwr newydd yn Abergwaun, gwelwyd gostyngiad yn y traffig o Iwerddon. Ar ôl cyhoeddi adroddiadau Beeching, caewyd y derfynfa rheilffordd ym 1964.
Ar ôl trosglwyddo'r gwasanaeth post i Neyland, roedd Hobbs Point yn rhydd nawr i gael ei ddefnyddio fel glanfa osod ar gyfer y llongau niferus a adeiladwyd yn Iard Longau Penfro. Codwyd heglau enfawr ac fe'u defnyddiwyd i godi peiriannau, gynnau a darnau eraill o offer trwm i gyrff llongau. Ar ôl cwblhau'r llongau, fe'u gwelwyd yn ymuno â gweddill fflyd y Llynges Frenhinol ar draws y byd. Wrth i'r gwaith o adeiladu llongau yn yr Iard Longau ddechrau arafu, daeth y lithrfa yn rhydd ar gyfer gwasanaeth fferi bychan rhwng Doc Penfro a Neyland. Gan weithredu o 1923, roedd Lady Magdalen un yn unig o'r fferïau a arferai gludo teithwyr a cheir ar draws Afon Cleddau. Roedd y fferïau a welwyd yno yn ddiweddarach yn cynnwys cychod olwyn Cleddau Queen a Cleddau King, a adeiladwyd yn Iard Hancock yn Noc Penfro. Ar ôl adeiladu Pont Cleddau ym 1975, nid oedd angen y gwasanaeth fferi mwyach. Mae tynged Cleddau Queen yn anhysbys, fodd bynnag, ailenwyd Cleddau King yn Porta Ferry, a bu'n gweithio yng Ngogledd Iwerddon yn cludo ceir a theithwyr ar draws llyn Strangford.
Wrth i gysylltiadau newydd gael eu creu, gwelwyd hen rai yn chwalu. Arweiniodd y derfynfa rheilffordd yn Neyland at ddiwedd y gwasanaeth post yn Hobbs Point, a therfynwyd y gwasanaeth fferi gan Bont Cleddau. Bellach, mae Hobbs point yn segur ar lan Afon Cleddau, gan gynnig golygfeydd dramatig o Ddyfrffordd Aberdaugleddau. O'r lithrfa, gellir gwylio'r fferi sy'n cludo teithwyr rhwng Doc Penfro a Rosslare yn cyrraedd ac yn gadael. Fodd bynnag, mae'r cyswllt olaf hwn gydag Iwerddon yn un bregus. Gyda llai o draffig oherwydd Brexit, disodlwyd fferi Isle of Inishmore gyda Blue Star 1, sy'n llai o faint. Os bydd y gostyngiad a welir ar hyn o bryd yn y galw yn parhau, a gyda chystadleuaeth o Abergwaun, gallai Doc Penfro golli ei chysylltiad olaf ag Iwerddon ac UE.