The harbour in Saundersfoot was first built in 1829 and it transformed the small fishing village into a thriving industrial port exporting high quality anthracite by sea. Queen Victoria decreed that only coal from Saundersfoot should be used to power the first Royal Steam Yacht because it gave intense heat yet produced very little smoke.

Originally, there were many small, privately owned pits and the coal was transported by horse and cart to Coppid Hall, Swallow Tree and Wiseman's Bridge where it was transferred to boats which were grounded on the beaches at low tide. When fully laden the boats would sail off when they were floated by the next high tide.

The completion of the harbour and the opening of larger and deeper pits producing more coal, saw the construction of rail links bringing coal from the outlying areas of Begelly, Thomas Chapel and the more local Bonvilles Court, as well as Stepaside and Wiseman's Bridge.

In 1870 the horses that had towed the "drams" into which the coal was loaded were replaced by steam engines. "The Rosalind" began the day by towing the drams filled with workmen going eastwards to Stepaside, returning via Wiseman's Bridge through the tunnels along Railway Street as the Strand was then known and also along Milford Terrace to the foot of the Incline, eventually bringing back its human cargo at the end of the day. Another engine " The Bulldog" operated from the top of the Incline to Bonvilles Court, Begelly and Loveston. There were five coal shutes on the harbour to tip the coal into the waiting barges.

Although the former industrial era of Saundersfoot has now passed, the harbour is still very much a working harbour and Saundersfoot Bay offers some of the finest sailing waters in Wales. The boating scene is always bustling with boat owners busy cleaning, painting, launching and sailing or racing their craft. Oher waterborne activities include swimming and watersports and a wide variety of trips are offered such as deep sea and mackerel fishing, powerboat rides and various bird , seal watching and pleasure excursions. All of which continues to provide a lively and colourful focal point for locals and visitors alike.

All the increased activity was organised by the Saundersfoot Railway and Harbour Company from the Old Coal House which for the past forty years has been known as the Barbecue. Since the early 1800s it has been at the centre of Saundersfoot both geographically and industrially. Some time between 1860 and 1870, a second storey was added which coincided with the increase in the villages industrial development. The building was rebuilt in the 1930s after a devastating fire.

Many of the road names , relate to Saundersfoot's industrial past. Incline Way reminds us of the system of moving the coal drams downhill by means of steel chains operated from the winding house at the top of the Incline. Westfield Road was previously named Lower Cart Road and the Ridgeway was Upper Cart Road.

Fan Road gets its name from the fifteen foot fan which operated the ventilation system at Bonvilles Court Colliery until its closure in 1930. It is still possible to find "railway sleepers" ( a wide flat stone with two holes ) along the tracks .