 Charles I ordered a fort to be built at Pill by Royalist forces and completed in 1643 to prevent Parliamentarian forces from landing at Pembroke Castle and to protect Royalist forces landing from Ireland.On 23 February 1644, a Parliamentarian force led by Rowland Laugharne crossed the Haven and landed at Pill.The fort was gunned from both land and water, and a garrison was placed in Steynton church to prevent a Royalist attack from the garrison at Haverfordwest.