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.OriginsAt 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).