Tenby Museum and Art Gallery
 |
|
| Established | 1878 |
|---|---|
| Location | Castle Hill, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales |
| Website | Tenby Museum and Art Gallery |
Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, located in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, is the oldest independent museum in Wales. Established in 1878 the Museum has a collection of local geology, biology, archaeological and maritime artifacts. Accompanying the regular exhibitions since 1976 is a collection of images and crafts by local and national artists such as Augustus and Gwen John.
At the beginning of January 1878 a meeting of a like-minded group of would be trustees of a proposed museum, was held at 10 The Norton, Tenby, the home of one of their number, Charles Allen. The group also comprises: Edward Laws (Hons. Secretary), Dr Frederick Dyser, Rev. George Huntington, James T. Hawkesley, E. Rawdon Power, Dr. John G. Lock and Frederick Walker.
It was the wish of the group to house and display the collection of valuable geological specimens formerly belonging to the late Rev. Gilbert N. Smith, and amateur archaeologist and geologist, who had been the Rector of nearby Gumfreston. The collection had been purchased by the town of Tenby for £100 and was to form the basis of a museum collection together with other promised items of natural history and of scientific books.
The trustees wished these collections to be permanently housed in the town for the benefit of the community and from the onset they decided upon a purely local museum with no ‘cosmopolitan’ collections being accepted. (This basic rule has been adhered to ever since and material unconnected with the area is not collected).
Having agreed in principle to found a museum, the next important step was to secure a suitable building in which to house the collection. Fortunately, the National school building on Castle Hill had recently been vacated, a new school having been built in the centre of the town. In February 1878, a meeting of the Tenby Town Council, presided over by Alderman Charles Allen, passes a resolution to grant the trustees permission to rent the school building at the cost of one shilling per annum for the purpose of forming a permanent museum. The council had no wish to become involved in any other expenditure and therefore the costs of refurbishing the building and administering a museum were to be met by the trustees.
The trustees immediately set about obtaining an estimate for the necessary rebuilding work. Lewis John, a local builder estimated a total cost of £44 12s 11d for initial repair work to the building. His estimate being accepted, Mr John set about repairing the roof, guttering, windows, doorways and staircases together with plastering and some redecoration. His work was regarded as highly satisfactory and he was later employed in further work to the building. Some display cases were also purchased at the time.
...
Wikipedia