Museum of… Tudor Merchant’s House, Tenby, Wales
Louise Gray gets a glimpse of life in a wealthy 15th-century household
Where
What
The house was given to the National Trust in 1938. The three-storey building has undergone major restoration work over the years and has Grade-I listed status. Its latest project is focused on conserving wall paintings.
“The house transports visitors back 500 years to when Tenby was a busy commercial Tudor trading port that made successful merchants of many,” Jones says. “The house replicates the home of one such middle-class, wealthy merchant.” The titular merchant is really a composite figure and has no identifiable name. “We do think we know him well,” Jones says, adding that staff all admit to calling him Mr Merchant.
Opened
In the 1950s.
Collection
The house specialises in the hands-on school of history, and much of the furniture and objects in the house are replicas, rather than original pieces.
The various spaces in the house illustrate different activities. There is a trading area where the merchant would have sold goods such as wool, spices and salt. The kitchen focuses on the servants’ domain, where food preparation took place close to a blazing fireplace.
Visitors to the bedchamber upstairs can try on traditional costumes, help make the bed and discover how the whole family slept in just one room. The hall chamber and dining area are where the family received visitors and showed off their status. Outside, there is a traditional herb garden and a chance to try out popular Tudor games such as nine men’s morris, fox and geese, and jacks.
Highlights
The house is its own star and its spaces are used in ways that allow us to imagine the past, Jones says. One such example is the exhibition Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite! (from 13 April). This interactive show aims to make visitors understand the nightly rituals of the Tudor family, including the origins of the phrase “sleep tight”.
Help at hand Jones is supported by a team of staff and volunteers. “You will often find us donning replica Tudor dress and bringing the house to life through talks and special events,” she says. “You can do a lot with a cloak.”
Budget
The house is supported by the National Trust. Adult admission is £5.50, a child ticket is £2.75 and a family one is £13.75. Sales from the gift shop help too as there is no cafe.
Sticky moment
Jones and the staff are alert to all the problems that come with 500-year-old houses: dust, damp and pests. “It’s an ongoing challenge to keep our old house in good condition,” Jones says. To that end, there are humidistats all over the house to measure temperature and humidity.
Survival tips
Conservation. “By coming to see the past, visitors are helping to support the house’s future,” Jones says.
Visitors
About 25,000 a year.
Future plans
“Conservation is at the core of everything we do and visitors love seeing our work in action,” Jones says. One of the biggest jobs is looking after the late-medieval wall paintings. “We think they are sensational, but they were sopping wet at one point.” Specialist aid from a conservator at the National Trust and an independent expert is helping with this tricky problem.
The Tudor Merchant’s House is nestled in the heart of Tenby, Pembrokeshire, tucked down a narrow Norman alley just to the west of the harbour. Angela Jones, the property operations manager of the house, says the 1490 stone-built property – owned by the National Trust – is Tenby’s oldest unaltered building.
The stone, probably quarried from nearby cliffs and transported to the town via sea, marks the property out from most period houses, which were constructed with beamed wooden structures. What
The house was given to the National Trust in 1938. The three-storey building has undergone major restoration work over the years and has Grade-I listed status. Its latest project is focused on conserving wall paintings.
“The house transports visitors back 500 years to when Tenby was a busy commercial Tudor trading port that made successful merchants of many,” Jones says. “The house replicates the home of one such middle-class, wealthy merchant.” The titular merchant is really a composite figure and has no identifiable name. “We do think we know him well,” Jones says, adding that staff all admit to calling him Mr Merchant.
Opened
In the 1950s.
Collection
The house specialises in the hands-on school of history, and much of the furniture and objects in the house are replicas, rather than original pieces.
The various spaces in the house illustrate different activities. There is a trading area where the merchant would have sold goods such as wool, spices and salt. The kitchen focuses on the servants’ domain, where food preparation took place close to a blazing fireplace.
Visitors to the bedchamber upstairs can try on traditional costumes, help make the bed and discover how the whole family slept in just one room. The hall chamber and dining area are where the family received visitors and showed off their status. Outside, there is a traditional herb garden and a chance to try out popular Tudor games such as nine men’s morris, fox and geese, and jacks.
Highlights
The house is its own star and its spaces are used in ways that allow us to imagine the past, Jones says. One such example is the exhibition Sleep Tight, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite! (from 13 April). This interactive show aims to make visitors understand the nightly rituals of the Tudor family, including the origins of the phrase “sleep tight”.
Help at hand Jones is supported by a team of staff and volunteers. “You will often find us donning replica Tudor dress and bringing the house to life through talks and special events,” she says. “You can do a lot with a cloak.”
Budget
The house is supported by the National Trust. Adult admission is £5.50, a child ticket is £2.75 and a family one is £13.75. Sales from the gift shop help too as there is no cafe.
Sticky moment
Jones and the staff are alert to all the problems that come with 500-year-old houses: dust, damp and pests. “It’s an ongoing challenge to keep our old house in good condition,” Jones says. To that end, there are humidistats all over the house to measure temperature and humidity.
Survival tips
Conservation. “By coming to see the past, visitors are helping to support the house’s future,” Jones says.
Visitors
About 25,000 a year.
Future plans
“Conservation is at the core of everything we do and visitors love seeing our work in action,” Jones says. One of the biggest jobs is looking after the late-medieval wall paintings. “We think they are sensational, but they were sopping wet at one point.” Specialist aid from a conservator at the National Trust and an independent expert is helping with this tricky problem.
Louise Gray is a freelance writer