Council

In 1479 Edward, Prince of Wales and Lord of Haverford, granted a charter of incorporation to the burgesses which decreed that the town should have a mayor, sheriff and two bailiffs. The charter also conferred county status on the town, and this was confirmed by the Act of Union in 1543 during the reign of Henry VIII.

The affairs of the town were governed by a common council consisting of 'twenty-four of the honestest men of the town', chosen by the mayor at first and later elected by the burgesses at a general meeting. The mayor was appointed annually, as were the other officers, and he was the Coroner, Exchequer, Clerk of the Market, Admiral of the Port and a Justice of the Peace. Two sergeants at mace attended the mayor at the local courts and all civil functions. The sheriff's work was connected with the courts and gaol, and he also conducted the parliamentary elections. The bailiff's chief duties were to collect the rents and tolls.

The statue of 1543 allowed Haverfordwest to return its own MP, a privilege which lasted until the passing of the Third Reform Act in 1884. Haverfordwest's last MP was Lord Kensington, a member from 1868 to 1885. The town also employed the privilege of its own Lord Lieutenant from 1761 to 1931.

Freemen
The earliest know charter, of about 1213, decreed that a man who dwelt in the town of Haverford 'for a years and a day without challenge, shall be free'.

A burgess of Haverfordwest enjoyed the rare privilege of being able to sell his burgage, the standard unit of land, without the lords consent, or he could hand it on to his heir.

The badge of the Gild depicts a trading ship indicating the maritime association of the town. The Prince of Wales's feathers on the sail commemorates the granting of the charter of incorporation of the town by Edward, Prince of Wales, in 1479. The badge was designed by Mayor Francis Jones, Wales Herald of Arms Extraordinary and a burgess.

Another charter of the period gave burgesses, otherwise freemen, the freedom from paying his tolls at markets and fairs, and excluded trading by merchants from outside the town. It also gave them the right to have trade guides.

Grants of incorporation by the mayor and common council were given to guides for the glovers, felt makers, tailors, cordwainers, saddlers, blacksmiths and gunsmiths, among others.

Freemen were admitted by birth or by servitude, that is, having served an apprenticeship with a freeman for seven years. Honorary freedom was conferred on the 102nd Field Regiment (Pembroke Yeomanry) RA in 1946 and upon HMS 'Goldcrest' Brawdy, in 1951.

Only Burgesses were entitled to elect a mayor and the towns other officers, and to vote for a Member of Parliament. Burgesses had 'right of common for all commonable cattle, without stint' on the common of Portfield, which contained some 600 acres of land. In 1554, on account of overgrazing, the corporation ordered that no sheep or goats should pasture the common, nor furze nor fern hacked or hewn, for the next four years.

In 1727 sufficient land was set aside for the purpose of holding races. The Pembrokeshire Hunt Races were held on the racecourse in October each year.

Under the Portfield Enclosure Act of 1838, 174 acres of land, including the racecourse, were allocated to the mayor, aldermen and burgesses 'for a place of recreation and exercise for the neighbouring population', and 251 acres to trustees for the benefit of the freemen, the annual income there from to be distributed in equal shares.

Following the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the Haverfordwest Gild of Freemen was established. The Guild comprises hereditary freemen, together with a number of Burgesses admitted as 'persons of repute……who have rendered outstanding service to the town'. The affairs of the Guild are managed by the Court of Wardens. The founder of the First Master was Colonel J.H.V. Higgon, O.B.E, JP, DL of Scolton and, when he retired in 1983 his place was taken by Colonel John Green, O.B.E, TD, DL.