Victorian Pembroke School Project

Finding out about what Pembroke would have been like in Victorian times.

How are we going to do this?

1.  By looking around us - there are Victorian buildings in Pembroke.  

     Do you recognise  these?

This is where you would have gone to school

This was a hospital                                     and this was the Victorian Workhouse

 

2  By looking at old photographs and prints

The Castle is the oldest building in Pembroke but to the Victorians it would have looked very different.  It was very much a ruin then as you can see from the old photograph below.

The Victorians loved old ruins - many famous Victorian artist painted Pembroke Castle and made prints - in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign, photography had not been invented. 

 

Here are some Victorian postcards of Pembroke's Main Street.  Has it changed much?

 

 

 

The Main Street has not changed a great deal but some parts of Pembroke have -

The photo below shows us how the South Quay would have looked in Victorian times.  

Pembroke was once a very important port and big ships would travel up the Pembroke River to unload their cargoes on the Quay side. 

 

 

On the Mill Bridge was a huge Victorian Water Mill -  this was destroyed by fire in the 1950s.  It looked like the Mill at Carew but was even taller.

 

The North Gate

Not long before Victoria became Queen, Pembroke lost another important historic building - the old North Gate. 

In the Middle Ages Pembroke was protected by a Town Wall and the only way of getting into the Town was by way of 3 gates - at the East End and at Westgate (which were destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in the Civil War) and this one by The Royal George on the South Quay.  The North Gate was demolished to allow more room for traffic (which at that time meant horse drawn carriages and carts).

 

The Train

A very important Victorian invention was the train and a railway line was built from Tenby to Pembroke Dock. 

The Train had an important effect on Pembroke.  Many goods were carried on the train which otherwise would have been carried by ship and, as a result, Pembroke as a port ceased to be important.

It did mean that travel was much easier and people were able to come here on holidays.

 

This led to the invention of the picture postcard.  Did you know that you were not allowed to write on the back of the first postcards? A margin had to be left around the picture for you to write on.

3. By asking people about their families

We have been able to find out about Pembroke's past by interviewing people who have memories of their family.  Memories of grandparents and old family photographs have given us an idea of what Pembroke looked like in Victorian days and also about people's family life and occupations.

Here are some photographs given to us by Mr and Mrs Peter Hurlow-Jones.

The Victorians were great engineers and in Pembroke there was an important engineering works - the building can still be seen on the East Back - but now it is an old people's nursing home called Cartref.  This was owned by Mr Peter Hurlow Jones' family - the "Knacky Stephens'".

If you look carefully you can still see the gates which still bear the name 'Stephens' The handle on the gate was made from the mould of the hand of Mr Hurlow-Jones' great uncle

Corbett when a 5 year old child.  

And here is Corbett - a Victorian boy with his sister.  Look at the clothes they are wearing.

 

To see more of these photographs click here

Do you think you can help us find out about more about Pembroke's past and add to the Pembroke Story?