Its name is a corruption of the word Hospital, which is also the root of such names as Spitalfields, London, Spital, Merseyside, Spital-in-the-Street, Lincolnshire, etc: the village possessed a hospitium (place of accommodation for pilgrims) belonging to the Cathedral of St David's.
All that remains today are the north and west walls, plus a few other remnants: the half-timbered Pilgrims' Hospitium, the West Gate and the 14th-century timber-framed Abbot's House (now called the King's Manor).