Saturday May 2nd - Coffee Morning and Talk

Our next Coffee Morning and Talk will take place on Saturday, May 2nd in Pembroke Town Hall. There has been a change to the original programme: the advertised speaker has withdrawn, but Society Chairman Linda Asman will step in with a talk that is especially relevant to the group —‘Monkton: A Hidden History’. Linda was invited to give a similar talk to the Pembrokeshire History Society last October, following strong interest in the book she co-authored with Keith Johnson and many members of the old Monkton community who contributed their memories. The Society was originally based in Monkton Church Hall, and its very first public meeting was a walk through Monkton led by the late Pauline Waters. That event sparked the sharing of memories and photographs and the beginnings of a local archive. The Society’s very first publication was ‘Monkton: A Sense of Place’, a leaflet written by Linda, illustrated by George Lewis and funded by Planed. Continued research eventually led to the publication of 'Monkton: Hidden History' that proved so popular it is now out of print — though available to read online on the Soceity's website.

Quiz Night on Friday April 24th

April 11th - Coffee Morning and Talk

Saturday was really cold - hailstones and all! Nevertheless many brave souls ventured out to our coffee morning and talk in Pembroke Town Hall which was, I must add, lovely and warm. Our speaker this time was Rose Blackburn who is President of our Society and is well know in Pembroke as Town Crier, a role she has performed for many years - although she will be passing the bell over to Mayor Gareth Jones in May when his term as Mayor will end. He came along to the event and can be pictured here with Rose at the end of her talk 'Romancing the Stones - stories behind personal adornment through the ages'. Rose is a lady of many parts and it was a surprise to many to discover that she is a qualified gemmologist - as well as councillor, community worker etc (work for which she was awarded the BEM). She is also a miniaturist and her lovely displays can be seen in Pembroke Museum.

APRIL EVENTS

Saturday March 7th talk - the life and times of Tudor women

Saturday’s event was a great success. We were honoured to welcome the eminent Tudor historian and author, Melita Thomas. She received a great response - the Town Hall was full with over a hundred people attending. Dressed for the occasion in Tudor costume, Melita gave a most interesting talk on Tudor women, a topic I had requested as, with our latest statue project, we really want to celebrate women’s role in history, a role that is so much neglected. Following the talk, Melita was available for a book signing. Among the books she brought along with her, was her latest title ‘1000 Tudor People’. Three years in the making, it is a compendium of biographies of one thousand people who lived during the Tudor period 1485 to 1603: as well as individuals famous and infamous, it includes lesser-known people drawn from all sectors of society. The book is a great reference source for anyone interested in the Tudor era – academics and teachers as well as generalist history lovers. A copy was purchased for the museum library. Melita helped found the website www.tudortimes.co.uk and regularly writes content for the site. To find out more – visit the site! She also contributes articles to magazines such as BBC History Extra.

Our next talk - Saturday March 7th

In March we welcome Historian and Author, Melita Thomas whose talk is about 'The Life and Times of Tudor Women'. In it Melita delves into her acclaimed book, 1000 Tudor People, to reveal fascinating insights into the lives of Tudor women. What were the social, legal, political, and economic problems that they had to deal with? Were their lives really as constrained as we are led to believe? Join Melita to discover more about the joys and perils of sixteenth century life. And how intrepid women could forge their own path, in trade, in literature, and even in warfare. Melita is passionate about all things Tudor, and is the founder of the Tudor Times as well as being a member of the acclaimed Tudor Players. As well as researching and writing books, she is also currently working on a PhD at University College London.

Saturday February 7th Coffee Morning and Talk

Despite the inclement weather, our Coffee Morning and Talk of February 7th was very well attended. John Brandwick was our speaker this month whose talk was ‘Whitland Abbey: 'The Foundation, Development and Decline of Whitland Abbey’. Many do not realise the importance of Whitland in the history of Wales. Whitland – Hendy-Gwyn in Welsh – is famous as the site where King Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good) called a great assembly of lawyers and leaders from all over his kingdom to draw up a unified legal code for Wales. Whitland Abbey, the subject of John’s talk, is a short distance away from the town and it, too, occupies an important place in Welsh history. Founded in 1151, the Abbey grew in importance to become the motherhouse of the Cistercian order of monks in Wales. Several daughter houses were established including Strata Florida, Strata Marcella and Cwmhir. It thrived during medieval Wales under the patronage of the Welsh princes, but gradually declined in later years until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539. John Brandrick is a retired Engineering Draughtsman, who puts his professional expertise to good use into illustrating and researching Whitland Abbey. He gave us a highly detailed and illustrated presentation, describing how the abbey was built how it fared with the upheavals of the period from its foundation in the 12th Century to its dissolution in the 16th Century. Little remains of this once great Abbey although the foundations have been excavated and there is more to come and, with it, hopes of discovering more of its underground structure. John is a member of the Friends of Whitland Abbey, a voluntary group that takes care of the Abbey site, which is open to the public at all times.