TENBY

"TENBY, a parish, seaport, market town, municipal and parliamentary borough, in connection with Milford and Pembroke returning one member, county Pembroke, on the W. side of Carmarthen Bay, 10 miles E. from Pembroke, in the hundred of Narberth, and union of Pembroke, to which it sends guardians. It is a station on the Pembroke and Tenby railway. Tenby was originally built by the Flemish colonists, who were placed in this part of the country by Henry I., though its Welsh name, Dyntych-y-Pyscoed, "the hill fort of fishes," implies that it was a fishing village long before. It was defended by bastioned walls and a strong castle, of both of which there are remains. Its Flemish inhabitants were celebrated for their woollen manufactures, and kept up a considerable trade with the Continent. Henry VII., when Earl of Richmond, found refuge at Tenby after the siege of Pembroke Castle, and the then mayor of the town, Mr. White, a wealthy merchant, provided him with a vessel to convey him and his mother to Brittany. In the reign of Henry VIII. Irishmen came into the town in such numbers, and created so many disturbances, that a petition was sent to Cardinal Wolsey complaining of them. A great part of the town and walls was destroyed in a three-days' bombardment in March, 1644, when it was stormed by Colonel Laugharne. Three years after it stood a longer siege from Cromwell. After this the town fell rapidly into decay, but within the present century it has risen into repute as a watering place, and contains numerous well-built terraces, modern streets, clean, and well-supplied with shops and good hotels. On the N. and S. side are excellent sands, with numerous bathing machines. St. Catherine's is a small mount on the S. side, surrounded by the sea at high tides, with the ruins of a chapel on the summit. The Castle Hill, which divides the port from the S. Sands, is laid out in walks, furnished with numerous seats. Near the summit are the ruins of the old castle, in part of which is the National school, and between the ruins and the town is a statue of the late Prince Consort on a pedestal of native limestone, inaugurated by Prince Arthur, August, 1865. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, was originally built by one of the old Earls of Pembroke. It consists of a nave, side aisles (one of which is curiously sloped off to suit the line of the main street; originally built in this fashion, as appears by an ancient window lately discovered), chancel, and side chapels. The interior, which has lately been restored, contains several stained-glass windows and monuments, especially of the White family. There is a cemetery on the road to Narberth, with a chapel, in which one service is held every Sunday. There is also a service every Sunday in the school of New Hedges, an outlying hamlet. The Wesleyans, Independents, and Baptists have chapels. Baths, with an assembly room adjoining, are situate at the foot of the Castle Hill. There is also a handsome assembly room, lately built? at the back of the Gate House Hotel. There are National and infant schools, a literary institute, a subscription library and reading room, and billiard rooms. Races are held in August, and a regatta in the course of the summer every year; there is also a cricket club."

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2018