Stephen Magee is a member of the family that were the proprietors of the former Foresters Arms pub in Holyhead, and a custodian of its history. Stephen sat down with with Ports, Past and Present and told stories of the once-bustling Foresters Arms…

Towards the end of the Civil War, Major Thomas Swift took control of the fort of Holyhead in 1649, and in the following year he was made Postmaster. This gave him responsibility for the ships carrying the mail to Ireland, which was a troublesome…

The oldest building in Pembroke Dock is the tower that stands behind the dockyard wall on Fort Road. Although the Anglican church in Pembroke Dock, dedicated to St John the Evangelist, appears to have a tall tower that is similar to other…

Most Welsh place-names that incorporate the names of saints occur in the form of llan with the name of the saint, and places named Llangybi (the enclosure, church or parish of Cybi) can be found elsewhere in Wales on the Llŷn Peninsula, in…

The two-storey folly was erected in 1868 for Ellin or Ellen Stanley. Ellen came from the Williams family of Bodelwyddan near St Asaph in north Wales and married William Owen Stanley of Penrhos in 1832. They lived at Penrhos mansion near Holyhead,…

The sparkling sculpture on show at the Dockside Art Gallery is almost as dazzling as artist-owner Dawny Tootes and her fabulous gallery manager, Petra Bourne. They are not only a dedicated gallery space, but they are also a place for a welcome and a…

The Ucheldre Centre is the beating heart of culture in Holyhead; it is housed in a former convent in the middle of Holyhead, just minutes from the port. The building was rescued from demolition by local residents in the late nineteen eighties and…

Beth Whitney is a genealogist with a passion for Anglesey family history … this is perhaps why she has been to most of the over 100 graveyards of Anglesey! She is a hunter of the dead, finding the places your ancestors are potentially connected to,…

West Wales Maritime Museum is a working museum situated at Hancock's Yard in Pembroke Dock. Hancock’s Yard has been a boatyard for over 200 years and West Wales Maritime Heritage Society, who run the museum, continue to build and repair boats here,…

The Shipwright Inn is a quaint and welcoming family run gastro pub. Located on Front Street, the pub is perfectly placed to view the historic Cambridge Gun Tower and the beautiful expanse of Milford Haven beyond. The pub is itself historic and may…