Seaweed Hut on foreshore

The Seaweed Hut is a small, 19th-century structure on the foreshore at Freshwater West Bay, built to support the local laver bread trade. Established in 1879 by Swansea speculators who employed women from the nearby village of Angle to gather seaweed, these drying huts were constructed by the men of the village. By the early 20th century, around twenty such huts existed in the area, used for storing and drying seaweed before it was sent to Pembroke and Swansea. The trade ceased around 1940.

This surviving hut, thought to date from before 1906, is smaller than others illustrated in Country Life in 1967, which were approximately twice as long. Originally, a 1975 survey described it as ruinous with only four pairs of rafters, most having a small collar near the apex; planking remained on the east side, and traces of reed thatch, and possibly marram grass thatch, were noted. The hut was restored in 1978 by the Pembroke Borough Junior Civic Trust, and is now owned by the National Trust and cared for by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

The hut measures approximately 3.3 metres wide by 4.5 metres long, standing on a levelled turf platform. It is constructed with six rafters on each side, resting on a base of stones set in the ground, and joined at the apex without a ridge piece. The rafters are horizontally boarded with 5cm gaps and reed-thatched, with turf at the apex. Vertical boarding is present at each gable. The floor is made of sand, where the seaweed would have been dried. The door is now missing.

The hut is listed to recognize its significance as evidence of a local trade in gathering a natural foodstuff, likely rooted in ancient traditions. Despite restoration, it demonstrates simple construction methods.