This report is about how West Wales Maritime Heritage Society opened one of their sheds as a museum in the summer of 2015, and how we intend to develop the museum in future years.

Maritime heritage’s contribution to our nation’s culture has been undervalued. Even here in West Wales, where navigable water is never very far away, attention has concentrated on the holiday resort beaches. Pembroke Dock is well served by The Sunderland Trust, but they only cover the 150-year history of The Royal Dockyard and they focus on the 20 years when the flying boats were here. Our story starts in the Stone Age and continues to today. Boats were used for transport, for fishing and by the military. Pembroke and Haverfordwest were major ports and Milford Haven once had UK’s largest fishing fleet. The Pembroke coalfield exported coal by sea all over the world.

The society’s long-standing plans for a museum had been held back because the public was not allowed into our premises in the old Hancock’s Shipbuilding Yard. There is planning permission to build a marina in Pembroke Dock and our site tenure depends on the marina. Milford Haven Post Authority gave us a grant to improve the safety fencing in the yard and then, in May 2015, our landlords, Pembrokeshire County Council, gave us permission to allow the public in.

Converting the workshop shed: We were very short of time to open for the 2015 summer season and so our aim was open for only 32 days. Our yard has no electric supply and mains water only in the largest workshop. We rely on natural light through roof panels and the open access doors. We had a space of 25 x 5 metres, but it was full of boats, spare wood and lots and lots of junk. The walls were unfinished breezeblock and covered with graffiti. They needed to be painted white to maximise the light. There were internal walls in the wrong places that had to be demolished and rebuilt. Pembroke Dock Royal Engineers Association gave us two grants to help with the cost of paint and materials. Doing the museum has been the catalyst to smartening up the outside of all of the buildings. We have had fantastic support from local businesses to complete this ongoing, massive task.

There are four boats on display inside:

• ‘Agnes’ was built on Front Street by a local man and used for fishing by his family. It had two masts and could be sailed, but it was mainly rowed.

• ‘K3’ was a compass fishing boat. It was rescued from the river mud, having been built and used in Langham, a small town on the Cleddau. There is a display about compass fishing and a working model next to ‘K3’. The boat is in a very fragile state.

• A member, Stuart Cochran, built the coracle in 2015. It is the design used locally, but modern materials were used in places because the old ones were unavailable.

• ‘Rosyth Dinghy’ was built by navy apprentices in the 1960s and used aboard working ships until it was donated to us. It is rigged with paddles and a net so that small children can pretend to go on a fishing trip!

In the grade 2-listed dock outside, there are two heritage boats:

• ‘Quest’ is a 1930s Flamborough Head fishing coble.

• ‘General Picton’ is a lifeboat from a Trinity House light vessel.

Other displays in the museum include:

• Model boats.

• Local history photos and stories.

• Maps.

• Maritime steam engines.

• Boat building tools.

• Boat equipment.

• A sextant that visitors can use to take a ‘star shot’, and an explanation about how sextants were used.

Plans for 2016: We plan to refit the museum over the winter and be open for more days in 2016. If we can connect to the electric main supply, we will be able to light the displays much better.

We are going to build a replica of ‘Agnes’ in the museum. Visitors will be able to follow the build, which will probably take two years.

Volunteers wanted: Next year’s plans are ambitious and we desperately need more members to be museum stewards if we are to meet our target of opening for 80 days. People don’t have to be history experts or have experience in maritime matters. Society members do take our boats to local regattas and events, but we also welcome people who don’t want to go sailing. If you are interested:

• See our Facebook page – WestWalesMaritimeHeritageSociety.

• Speak to Brian King on - 01646 690554/07790005869

• Visit Hancock’s Yard, Front Street, Pembroke Dock, on a Monday morning. Coffee break is 11 am.

We welcome visits from other organisations and especially from schools. We want to run an education programme that will be part of the Key Stage 2 syllabus from 2017. In 2016, we are helping Pauline Le Brittan, who is running a project in Pembroke Dock Community School, which will include some of our equipment. This will give us valuable experience as well as benefiting the pupils. Please speak to Brian King (phone number above) to discuss dates and times.

We are also working with on projects with long term unemployed young people and both Llanion Communities First and PLANED.