Tenby () is a

seaside town A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

and

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

in the county of

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It lies within

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay () is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee list C ...

. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the

Pembrokeshire Coast Path The Pembrokeshire Coast Path (), often called the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, is a designated National Trail in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. Established in 1970, it is a long-distance walking route, mostly at cliff-top level, with a total ...

, the 13th-century medieval town walls, including the Five Arches barbican gatehouse, Tenby Museum and Art Gallery, the 15th-century St. Mary's Church, and the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

's Tudor Merchant's House. Boats sail from Tenby's harbour to the offshore monastic

Caldey Island Caldey Island (Welsh language, Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of trad ...

. St Catherine's Island is tidal and has a 19th-century Palmerston Fort. The town has an operating

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. The

A478 road The A478 road is a major road in Wales. The route is from its junction with the A487 at Cardigan, Ceredigion, to Tenby, Pembrokeshire. It crosses the Preseli Hills and winds through farmland for almost all of its route. The road just touches ...

from

Cardigan, Ceredigion Cardigan (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Principal areas of Wales, county of Ceredigion, Wales. Positioned on the tidal reach of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire, Cardigan was the county to ...

, connects Tenby with the M4 via the A477, the A40 and the

A48 A48 may refer to: * A48 motorway (France), a road connecting the A43 and Grenoble * A48 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Gloucester, England and Carmarthen, Wales * Autovía A-48, a motorway under construction connecting Cadiz and Algecira ...

in approximately .

History

Middle Ages

With its strategic position on the far west coast of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, and a natural sheltered harbour from both the Atlantic Ocean and the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

, Tenby was a natural settlement point, probably a

hill fort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

with the mercantile nature of the settlement possibly developing under Hiberno-Norse influence. The earliest reference to a settlement at Tenby is in '' Etmic Dinbych'', a poem probably from the ninth century. Tenby was taken by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, when they invaded West Wales in the early 12th century. The town's first stone-wall fortification was on Castle Hill. Tenby's mercantile trade grew as it developed as a major seaport in Norman controlled

Little England beyond Wales Little England beyond Wales is a name that has been applied to an area of southern Pembrokeshire and southwestern Carmarthenshire in Wales, which has been English rather than Welsh in language and culture for many centuries despite its remoteness ...

. Flemish settlers from Tenby tried to assassinate Cadell ap Gruffydd, the Welsh prince of

Deheubarth Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

, after which the settlement and castle were successfully attacked and sacked by his brothers Maredudd and

Rhys Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh language, Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. ...

in 1150 highlighting the need for additional defences. Sacking of the town was repeated in 1187 and again by

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ( – 11 December 1282), also known as Llywelyn II and Llywelyn the Last (), was List of rulers of Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd, and later was recognised as the Prince of Wales (; ) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 128 ...

in 1260. After the 1260 attack the

Earl of Pembroke Earl of Pembroke is a title in the Peerage of England that was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title, which is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, has been recreated ten times from its origin ...

at the time, William de Valence, ordered the completion of the Tenby town walls. The stone curtain wall, towers and gates enclosed a large part of the settlementnow known as the "old town". In the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

, Tenby was awarded royal grants to finance the maintenance and improvement of its defences and the enclosure of its harbour. With the construction of the town walls, Tenby Castle was made obsolete and had been abandoned by the end of the 14th century. William de Valence granted Tenby a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

in 1290.

Wars of the Roses

In 1452,

King Henry VI Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne at the age of eight months, upon ...

gave the Marcher Lordship (and associated Earldom) to

Jasper Tudor Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (c. November 143121 December 1495) was the uncle of King Henry VII of England and a leading architect of his nephew's successful accession to the throne in 1485. He was a member of the Tudor family of Penmynydd. ...

, his half-brother and uncle to the future Henry Tudor. In 1457, Tudor agreed to divide the costs of refurbishing and improving Tenby's defences with the town's merchants because of its economic importance to this part of Wales. Improvements included widening the dry ditch along the outside of the town walls to . Raising the wall's height to include a second tier of higher arrow slits behind a new parapet walk and adding additional

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

towers to the ends of the walls where they abutted the cliff edges, and the dry ditch outside walls was widened to . Traders sailed along the coast to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and Ireland and further afield to France, Spain and Portugal. Exports included wool, skins, canvas, coal, iron and oil. It was during this period that the town was so busy and important, it was considered to be a national port. During the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

Henry Tudor, the future King Henry VII of England, sheltered at Tenby before sailing into exile in 1471.

Tudors and the Civil War

In the mid-16th century, the large D-shaped tower formerly known as the "Five Arches tavern" was built following fears of a second

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

. Tenby was formally incorporated as a borough by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

in 1581. Two key events caused the town to undergo rapid and permanent decline in importance. First, Tenby declared for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. It resisted two attempts by the Royalists forces of Charles Gerard, who took most of the rest of South Wales. However in the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 164 ...

the commander of Tenby Castle declared for the King in 1648, although ten weeks later the shattered town was surrendered to the parliamentarian Colonel Thomas Horton, who welcomed

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

shortly afterwards. Second, a plague outbreak killed half of the town's remaining population in 1650. With limited infrastructure, resources and people, the town's economy fell into decline. Most of the merchant and business class left, resulting in the town's decay and ruin. By the end of the 18th century,

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

noted during his visit how: "Two-thirds of the old town is in ruins or has entirely vanished. Pigs roam among the abandoned houses and Tenby presents a dismal spectacle."

The Paxton Revival

Another

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

led to a resurgence in Tenby's fortunes. Since 1798, the French General

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

had begun conquering Europe restricting the rich British upper classes from making their Grand Tours to continental spa towns. In 1802 local resident, merchant banker and politician, Sir William Paxton, bought his first property in the old town. From this point onwards he invested heavily in the area with the full approval of the town council. With the growth in saltwater sea-bathing for health purposes, Paxton engaged engineer James Grier and architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (the same team who had built his home at Middleton Hall) to create a "fashionable bathing establishment suitable for the highest society." His sea-bathing baths came into operation in July 1806 and, after acquiring the Globe Inn, transformed it into "a most lofty, elegant and convenient style" to lodge the more elegant visitors to his baths. Cottages were erected adjoining the baths with adjoining livery stables and coach house. A road was built on arches overlooking the harbour at Paxton's full expense in 1814. He had a private act of Parliament passed that enabled fresh water to be piped through the town. Despite these accomplishments, his 1809 theatre was closed in 1818 due to lack of patronage. The Market Hall was completed in 1829 and remodelled to serve as Tenby Town Hall in 1860. Paxton also took in "tour" developments in the area as required by rich Victorian tourists. This included the discovery of a chalybeate spring in his own park at Middleton Hall, and coaching inns from

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

to Narberth. He built Paxton's Tower, in memorial to

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

whom he had met in 1802 when mayor of

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

. Paxton's efforts to revive the town succeeded and after the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

, the growth of Victorian Tenby was inevitable.

Fashionable Resort

The borough was reformed to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1836. Through both the Georgian and

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

s Tenby was renowned as a health resort and centre for botanical and geological study. With many features of the town being constructed to provide areas for healthy seaside walks, due to the walkways being built to accommodate Victorian nannies pushing prams, many of the beaches today still retain good disabled access. In 1856 writer Mary Ann Evans (pen-name

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

) accompanied

George Henry Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur Physiology, physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippan ...

to Tenby to gather materials for his work ''Seaside Studies'' published in 1858. Tenby Life Boat Stations - geograph

In 1852, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society deployed a lifeboat to the town, taken over in 1854 by the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

. In 1905 a slip-way equipped lifeboat station was built on Castle Hill. It was replaced by a modern station in 2008. Tenby railway station and the Pembroke and Tenby Railway were opened as far as Pembroke on 30 July 1863. The extended line to

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock () is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the constr ...

opened on 8 August 1864. In 1866, the line was connected to Whitland railway station. In 1867, work began on the construction of the Palmerston Fort on St Catherine's Island. The Army had control of the fort during 18871895.

Twentieth Century

From 1860 until 1947 the borough council was based at Tenby Town Hall on High Street. In 1947 the council moved to Croft House on The Norton, later renaming it Guildhall. Tenby Borough Council was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, with a less powerful Tenby Town Coucil taking over. The borough powers were subsumed into a new district of South Pembrokeshire within the county of

Dyfed Dyfed () is a preserved county in southwestern Wales, covering the modern counties Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It is mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel. Between 1974 and 1996, Dyfed w ...

on 1 April 1974, although both the county and district were abolished in 1996 with Tenby became part of a re-established County of Pembrokeshire. The town council left the guildhall for new offices in the mid-1980s. Sections of the old town walls have survived, as does the Victorian revival architecture in a pastel colour scheme. The economy is based on tourism, supported by a range of craft, art and other stores. , there are 372

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s and other structures in and around Tenby.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Tenby, at

(town) and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

level: Tenby Town Council and Pembrokeshire County Council. Although Tenby was an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

since 1290 it is now classed as community was established to cover the area of the former borough, with its council taking the name Tenby Town Council. The town council is based at the De Valence Pavilion on Upper Frog Street.

Education

There are four schools in the Tenby schools area, consisting of three primary schools and one secondary school: Ysgol Hafan-y-Mor, Tenby Church in Wales Primary School, St. Teilo's RC School and Ysgol Greenhill Secondary. Pupils from St. Teilo's School and Tenby Church in Wales School are automatically enrolled in the Greenhill School, but parents can enrol them into a different school. Ysgol Hafan y Môr is a

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

medium school. Most of the pupils go on to Ysgol y Preseli, a Welsh-medium secondary school in

Crymych Crymych () is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a Community (Wales), community (population 1,739) in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Hills, Preseli Mount ...

. Previous schools in the area were Tenby V.C. Infants School which was an English medium school with a Welsh unit. Pupils from this school would automatically enrol in Tenby Junior School which has now been converted into Ysgol Hafan y Môr. Tenby V.C. Infant school was demolished in 2016 and turned into a field for the nearby Greenhill School.

Tourism

Attractions include the two sheltered, sandy beaches and the coastal boat trips to

. St Catherine's Island is tidal and the site of St Catherine's Fort a 19th-century Palmerston Fort. Tenby has shops, pubs and restaurants to cater for visitors. The ''Sunday Times'' rated Tenby's Castle Beach the best beach in the UK in 2019.

Transport

Tenby railway station serves the town on the branch of the West Wales Line operated by

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh State-owned enterprises of the United Kingdom, publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Governme ...

, who also manage the station. Trains run in each direction; westwards towards Pembroke and eastwards to , and . In peak season, trains run direct from Paddington to Tenby on Saturdays. The nearest airport is Cardiff International.

Sport

Tenby United RFC, a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club has existed since 1876. It is a member of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

. In 1970, the Tenby Sea Swimming Association started the

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

Swim. Each swimmer who enters for a charity receives a medal. Tenby hosts the Welsh

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consid ...

in September. There is also the Tenby Aces Cycling Club and the 18-hole Tenby Golf Course that provides

links golf A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. Links courses are generally built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses. The word "links" comes via the Scots langu ...

by the coast.

Notable residents

Robert Recorde Robert Recorde () was a Welsh physician and mathematician. He invented the equals sign (=) and also introduced the pre-existing plus (+) and minus (−) signs to English speakers in 1557. Biography Born around 1510, Robert Recorde was the sec ...

(c. 1512 – 1558), Anglo-Welsh physician and mathematician. * Sir William Paxton (1744−1824), Scottish-born sailor, businessman and Welsh MP for Carmarthen; he developed Tenby into a seaside resort. * Charles Norris (1779–1858), English topographical etcher and writer; moved to Tenby in 1810. * David Thomas (1813–1894), preacher and publisher of ''The Homilist,'' a magazine of liturgical thought. * George Edward Day (1815–1872), Welsh physician. * Fanny Price-Gwynne (1819–1901), Welsh novelist, artist, composer, poet and philanthropist; born in Tenby. * Thomas Purnell (1834–1889), author and London drama critic; born in Tenby. *

Ernle Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, (27 September 1873 – 15 November 1967) was a Royal Navy officer. During the First World War he was present as David Beatty, 1st ...

(1873–1967), senior Royal Navy officer during WW1, educated at St Andrew's School, Tenby *

Gwen John Gwendolen ''Gwen'' Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh people, Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely relat ...

(1876–1939), Welsh artist who worked in France *

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

(1878–1961), Welsh painter, draughtsman and etcher; born in Tenby. * Tenby Davies (1884–1932), Welsh athlete and half-mile world professional champion in 1909 * J. Ernest James B.D. (1884–1945), Congregational minister in Australia *

Nina Hamnett Nina Hamnett (14 February 1890 – 16 December 1956) was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' Sea shanty, shanties, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia. Early life Hamnett was born in the small coastal town of Tenb ...

(1890–1956), Welsh artist and writer, became known as the ''Queen of Bohemia''; born in Tenby * Dick Rees (1894-1951), five-time champion jump jockey, raised in Tenby *

Cecil Woodham-Smith Cecil Blanche Woodham-Smith ( Fitzgerald; 29 April 1896 – 16 March 1977) CBE was a British historian and biographer. She wrote four popular history books, each dealing with a different aspect of the Victorian era. Early life Cecil Woodham-Sm ...

(1896–1977), historian and biographer; she wrote about the

* Kenneth Griffith (1921–2006), Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker; born in Tenby * Alison Bielski (1925–2014), poet and writer; wrote about Tenby * Gwilym Prichard (1931–2015), Welsh landscape painter, lived and died in Tenby * Clive Merrison (born 1945), British actor of film, TV, stage and radio; born in Tenby * Rosie Swale-Pope (born 1946), British author, adventurer and marathon runner; lives in Tenby * Michael Bonacini (born 1960), Welsh-Canadian chef, born and raised in Tenby * Grant Llewellyn (born 1960), Welsh conductor and music director of the North Carolina Symphony * Rhidian Brook (born 1964), Welsh novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster; born in Tenby * Kate Lamb (born 1988), actress, grew up in Tenby."Tenby actress Kate's return to TV's Call the Midwife"
''Western Telegraph'', 28 December 2015. Retrieved 2016-04-07.

Freedom of the Town

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Tenby.

Individuals

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

: 30 October 1959. * Wilfred Harrison: 1969. * Sue Lane: 10 May 2023. * Cllr Trevor Hallett: 10 May 2023.

Military Units

* HMS Tenby, RN: 1970.

Climate

Tenby experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

with cool summers, mild winters and often high winds. Due to its coastal southwest position, it is one of the sunnier locations in Wales.

References

External links

Tenby Town Council

Further historical information and sources on GENUKI

Tenby Memorial Committee
{{authority control Towns in Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire Seaside resorts in Wales Tourist attractions in Pembrokeshire Fortified settlements Populated coastal places in Wales Coast of Pembrokeshire