Christmas displays

We have Christmas displays in Brown's Cafe window (Main Street) and in St Mary's Church and wish everyone an enjoyable Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Pembroke Castle Christmas Market

We held a stall at Pembroke Castle Christmas Market, which took place over the weekend November 24th -26th. What an amazing success drawing thousands to Pembroke!

Our raffle, a luxurious Christmas Hamper, proved very popular on our stall and we arranged for the Draw to take place in Pembroke Town Hall. Pembroke Town Crier, Gareth Jones, drew the winning ticket and extended congratulations to the lucky winner Jeremy Coombs, who lives in Haverfordwest. Thanks to all who bought raffle tickets, the proceeds of which will help support the work of our Society, including Pembroke Museum.

Talk by Andrew Shobbrook of DAT

At this morning's meeting of the History Society, Andrew Shobbrook of Dyfed Archaeological Trust gave a fascinating talk about the excavation of the medieval burial site discovered beneath the former Ocky White Store in Haverfordwest. Andrew was the leading archaeologist in this nationally important dig, interest in which was evidenced by the large audience of over 80 people. A coffee morning and raffle were held prior to the talk - money raised covers the cost of hiring the hall so that we can offer free admission. Visitors were also able to look around the Museum and Council Chamber - please not that the Museum will be closing now for the winter months and opening again for the February half-term on February 12th.

Quiz Night November 4th

Our Quiz Night and buffet was a great success! Before Covid we held regular Quiz Night's and they were very popular - but this was the first since covid and we were not sure of the response. We needn't have worried as 8 tables were filled with 45 people participating. The winning team, calling themselves 'the Golden Girls' are pictured here with Quiz Master Rose Blackburn BEM.

November 4th Talk

On Saturday November 4th there will be a Coffee Morning and Talk in Pembroke Town Hall. This month’s speaker is Andrew Shobbrook of Dyfed Archaeology, who will be giving us a presentation about the archaeological dig below what was the old Ocky White department store building in Haverfordwest, where archaeologists discovered the remains of more than 300 burials, as well as remnants of the Dominican medieval friary of St. Saviour’s, established in 1256. Dyfed Archaeological Trust worked at the site on behalf of Pembrokeshire County Council, in conjunction with John Weaver Contractors. The archaeological excavations ran for eight months in 2022 following the discovery of artefacts and human remains dating back to the 14th Century AD. According to DAT, this has been the first major archaeological excavation to have taken place within the boundaries of the medieval town of Haverfordwest and has proven to be a unique opportunity to gather information about the continuous development of the town through the ages, and its vital connection with the Western Cleddau River.

Saturday 7th October - Start of our Autumn Programme

Our Talk yesterday was very well attended - a good start to our Autumn Programme. Gareth Mills, as usual, gave a brilliant talk on Margaret Beaufort, a lady very important in our Pembroke story. A lady who at the tender age 13 gave birth to Henry Tudor in Pembroke Castle. Hard to imagine! Yet a lady who grew up to be a formidable politician who enabled her son to become king and provided a guiding hand in the future destiny of our country. As well, Margaret translated a number of devotional books and was a patron of the English printers William Caxton and Wynkyn de Worde. In 1502 she founded the Lady Margaret professorships of divinity at Oxford and Cambridge, and in 1505 she completed the endowment of Christ’s College. By the provisions of her will, most of her estate was given to endow St. John’s College, which was chartered in 1511. Wow, what a woman!

October Events

Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society begins its new Autumn/Spring programme on Saturday October 7th with a Coffee Morning and Talk in Pembroke Town Hall. Our speaker this month is popular local historian Gareth Mills who will talk about Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII - the woman who forged the Tudor dynasty. A subject of great interest to us here in Pembroke! Perhaps too we will have some update about the progress of the Henry Tudor Centre. Doors will open from 10am for coffee and an opportunity to visit the Museum and Council Chamber, which are situated on the first floor of the Town Hall – a lift is available for disabled access. Following this, at 11am, we assemble in the George Lewis Room for the talk. Everyone is welcome to attend – you do not have to be a member - and entry is free.

Later in the month, on Friday October 20th at 7pm, the Society will be holding a Quiz Night at Foundry House Community Centre, the Commons, Pembroke. Tickets cost £5 and this will include a buffet.

Down on the Range

Down on the Range - Pembroke Museum volunteers went on a PCNP guided minibus tour of the Castlemartin Range yesterday. This was a great opportunity to enjoy the amazing coastal scenery of this restricted area as well as to visit the historic, derelict buildings, buildings, some - like Flimston and Pricaston - dating back to the Middle Ages. So sad to think that these were once thriving farmsteads until the WW2 requisition of this beautiful place for a tank range. It was a most enjoyable tour with Peter Royle, an excellent, interesting guide.

Sunday 23rd July - Farewell HMS Pembroke

An historic occasion on Sunday 23rd July as HMS Pembroke exercised their Right of Freedom for the final time, before being decommissioned. They marched through Pembrke Main Street, saluting the Mayor of Pembroke as they passed the Town Hall before entering the Castle for the ceremony. They finally exited the castle to the sound of bagpipes played wonderfully by Graham Phillips. The sailors of HMS Pembroke were supported by the Sea Cadets of Milford, Tenby and Fishguard and the Royal Marine Cadets and all were invited back to a reception at Pembroke Town Hall.

Pembrokeshire and slavery - Saturday's talk

Saturday's meeting was very well attended - a fascinating talk by Paul Muller on the slave trade and how it affected the country in general and the Pembrokeshire people who were involved in it. Interestingly, In October 1830 an anti-slavery meeting was held here, in Pembroke Town Hall. A powerful speech was delivered by Sir James Mackintosh, a Scottish MP who campaigned against the use of slave labour in Britain’s colonies: (his second wife Catherine (nee Allen) hailed from Cresselly). Other speakers included Anglican clergymen, including Rev James Byers, vicar of Lamphey. There was unanimous support for the Earl Cawdor and Sir Hugh Owen MP to present anti-slavery petitions to the Houses of Parliament

Our next event - Saturday May 13th

Saturday April 1st Coffee Morning and Talk

Another enjoyable morning at Pembroke Town Hall on Saturday. From 10am visitors were able to enjoy a coffee morning, a visit to the museum and, for added interest, a film in the Council Chamber. This was a 2006 recording of ‘The Street' featuring Pembroke Main Street featuring local characters including Connie Brown and Roy Haggar. Also on display were PCC’s plans for the South Quay. At 11am all assembled in the Main Hall first for the raffle and then for the talk by popular local historian Terry John who spoke about a little known 17th Century author/poet named John Taylor.

John Taylor; the Water Poet

Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society meets again on Saturday April 1st with a Coffee Morning and Talk in Pembroke Town Hall, commencing at 10am. Our speaker this month is Terry John and the subject of his talk is ‘John Taylor; the Water Poet'. John Taylor was a remarkable writer of poems, epigrams and prose who was born in the reign of Elizabeth I and became famous for a number of journeys he made around Britain. He made an eccentric tour of Wales in 1652, visiting Pembroke, Tenby and St Davids and described it all in verse and prose. Doors will open from 10am for coffee and an opportunity to visit the Museum and Council Chamber, which are situated on the first floor of the Town Hall – a lift is available for disabled access. Following this, at 11am, assemble in the George Lewis Room for the talk. Everyone is welcome to attend - you do not have to be a member - and entry is free.

Meeting of March 4th

Yesterday's meeting of the History Society didn't quite go to plan - our advertised speaker, Father Gildas, was unable to make the trip from Caldey Island but we had an enjoyable meeting even so. Linda Asman gave a talk about Pembroke's great art heritage with a display of the museum's collection of engravings. Also discussed was the progress of our arts/sculpture trail. The museum attracted a lot of interest as usual and, displayed in the Council Chamber, were the plans for PCC's South Quay development along with heritage photographs of the old quayside.

Our AGM on February 17th

Our next event - Saturday March 4th

We look forward to welcoming Father Gildas of Caldey Island to our next meeting on Saturday March 4th. Father Gildas has spoken to us on other occasions - this time he will be talking about women's much neglected role in history. Largely overshadowed by men, we do not hear much about her story: it's very much his story!

Rose Blackburn is awarded the BEM

At a ceremony at County Hall, Rose Blackburn, Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society Trustee and Vice Chairman, received her award of BEM from the Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed, Sara Edwards. The award was announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last year, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year. Many congratulations from all of us in the Society – so well deserved. So many years of voluntary service to the community in many roles - from the youth justice board to animal welfare and the Pembrokeshire Community Health Council. Rose has been a Town Councillor for many years, a former Mayor and, as Town Crier, cut a colourful figure in Pembroke for 27 years!

Pembroke Stained Glass - a talk by Dr Martin Crampin

Saturday's meeting of the Society was a great success. Around 70 people assembled at Monkton Priory Church to hear Dr Martin Crampin talk about the church stained glass. We all then proceeded to St Mary's Church for the second half of the talk and were treated to coffee and homemade Welsh cakes by Church Warden Marcia James and her team of volunteers. A big thank you to them - catering for so many was a big undertaking! Dr Crampin also brought along his just published book 'Stained Glass from Welsh Churches' and was asked to sign a few. It was a lovely morning with so many joining us.

The Stained Glass of Pembroke - February 4th

We have a change to our usual programme on February 4th. Our next event will not take place in the Town Hall but in our two churches where we have a really interesting talk planned. We will meet in Monkton Priory Church at 10.30am where we will meet Dr Martin Crampin, who is travelling down from Aberystwyth to talk about the stained glass. Then we will make our way - either ride or walk - to St Mary's Church where refreshments will be served and the talk continue. I can promise you a really enjoyable morning. Martin Crampin is as an artist, photographer and designer based in Aberystwyth, where he is a Research Fellow at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. Martin has been researching ecclesiastical art in Wales for around twenty years, and has contributed to a series of research projects exploring aspects of visual culture in Wales and the place of the saints in Wales. His acclaimed Stained Glass from Welsh Churches was published in 2014 and his Welsh Saints from Welsh Churches will be available in early 2023. Since 2019 he has been involved in the ‘Ports Past and Present’ project, funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Ireland Wales Co-operation Programme. The project has been exploring the culture and histories of the five port towns linking Wales and Ireland.

January 7th Meeting

Great start to the New Year with our meeting in Pembroke Town Hall yesterday. Jack Tree gave a fascinating talk entitled 'The History Beneath our Feet': describing his work as a metal detectorist . He brought along an exhibition of artefacts and coins, most of which he had unearthed in Pembrokeshire and which, with the assistance of David Williams, were passed around the audience to examine. We began the morning with a coffee morning - so nice to meet up with friends after a long Christmas break! We also opened up the museum and put on a display about Monkton in the Council Chamber to accompany the sale of our book 'Monkton: a Hidden History', which we published just before Christmas. Sales have been fantastic!