It is situated on the A40 trunk road, approximately halfway between Haverfordwest and Fishguard.

[1] The village's name is a corruption of the word 'hospital' (Welsh: Ysbyty), which is also the root of place names such as Spitalfields, London, Spital, Merseyside and Spital-in-the-Street, Lincolnshire.

The village possessed a hospitium (place of accommodation for pilgrims) belonging to the Cathedral of St Davids.

The parish was in the Hundred of Dungleddy, and in the early 19th century had a population of 452, including a number of smaller settlements.

The parish church of St Mary is a Grade II listed building of mediaeval origins, restored in the 19th century.