May 7th - all set for the installation and unveiling of the William Marshal statue

We Open the Museum

Although a stormy day, we were really pleased that so many people came to our Museum Opening – it was like getting back to normal, meeting friends and acquaintances not seen for so long. The Museum has undergone many changes since last opening and we were pleased with the public response and positive comments. Along with the lovely murals painted by George and Jeanne Lewis and also the Council Chamber, the Town Hall has much to interest the visitor. For added interest, we invited other heritage groups to join us and set up displays in the George Lewis Hall – Penvro Modellers, Sunderland Trust, Cosheston History Society, Chapel Bay Fort, Carew Control Tower and the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society. The accompanying coffee morning proved popular which, along with a raffle, enabled us to raise some much needed funds. Thank you to all involved and to all who supported the event. It was a really enjoyable morning.

Pembroke Museum Re-opening, February 19th

Have visited Castle Fine Arts (near Oswestry) with Harriet Addyman to see progress on our William Marshal statue.  Waxes have now been made from the rubber molds transported from Autodromo (see earlier post) and are looking really good.  Importantly, Harriet is very pleased and impressed with the work of this foundry.  Had a tour of the foundry and it's really interesting to see the processes involved.

Great Progress on the William Marshal Statue!

The mould for the William Marshal statue has now been made and taken away to Castle Fine Arts Foundry to be cast in bronze.  

This was done in 3 stages: 1 Applying silicone spray rubber to cover whole piece, then 2 Applying polyester resin in sections

Finally  3 Removing the polyester resin jacket to reveal the completed moulds..

HLF backing for our Monkton book project

 

We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to fund the publication of a new book ‘Monkton – a Hidden History’.

We have long felt that the history of Monkton has been neglected, being in the shadow of Pembroke, which is obviously one of the most historic towns in Wales but Monkton has a rich history in its own right. 

Proudly independent of its larger neighbour, Monkton was virtually a self-contained community for over a century with shops and tradesmen of every kind, farms and quarries, schools and pubs and regular livestock fairs in the village street. Sadly, much of the character of the village was lost in the early 1960s when the local council decided to bulldoze most of the old terraces and replace them with a modern housing estate, the old community shattered. So one aim of the project is to unearth as many old photos and memories as possible in order to recreate the 'old' Monkton. Please contact me if you can help either on Messenger or email pembrokehistory@live.co.uk

William Marshal statue completed

 

Trustees of Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society approve the completion of the William Marshal statue.  They are pictured here (socially distanced!) with sculptor Harriet Addyman (pictured on the right).  The next stage will be the making of the mould  - this done, the statue will be cast in bronze at the Castle Fine Arts Foundry, Oswestry.