We visited the Tudor Merchant’s House in the heart of Tenby. You’ll need to reach the property on foot and there are steps and some short steep bits to negotiate on the way there (never mind inside), so it isn’t one to try with a wheelchair or very limited mobility (there’s also no toilet). We arrived in Tenby by train and walked there (about half a mile), but there are car parks in the town. I think even if you drive you can expect a reasonable walk in as it’s not a town really geared up for parking.
The house is set on 3 levels: kitchen; living room and business area; plus a bedroom. It would have been quite an imposing house in its time and would have attracted the attention of visiting merchants as it isn’t far from the harbour.
The lower floor is the kitchen and I found this very similar to other houses of a similar age that I have visited in the past. I found the middle floor the most interesting as this was the place that business was conducted and I was amazed by the number of phrases that seem to come from the merchant business. The room guide was excellent and brought the past to life. I feel I understand a lot more about how merchants lived and worked in Tudor times – it was very interesting.
Sleep was the theme for this year and we learnt a lot about how Tudor slept. It was a bit of an eyeopener (I don’t think I’d have liked to have lived in those days). Again there were a lot of phrases that we have got in our language that are connected with beds and sleeping. Quite informative.
For children there are dolls to find hidden throughout there house. There are also a number of old fashioned children’s toys to play with on the middle floor.
It’s a lovely house to visit. It’s not very big (just the three rooms), but what is there is fascinating. You couldn’t spend much longer than half an hour there I’d think though.
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