Situated within the castle wall and previously the old prison governor’s house is the town museum which houses exhibitions of art and local history and has artefacts relating to the town’s past. If you’re a lover of local history museums, then Pembrokeshire certainly doesn’t disappoint. What you’ll notice after visiting some of the museums around the area is a strong focus on civic local history, particularly here in Pembrokeshire’s administrative centre of Haverfordwest. The tone is firmly celebratory in the Haverfordwest Town Museum, which outlines how the town has had Mayors here as far back as the Middle Ages. Note the Mayoral robes on display.
Local trade and industry is given attention in the museum, including the big Marychurch Iron Foundry on Bridge Street which employed huge numbers of people in the town at one time. This iron foundry specialised in agricultural implements and decorative iron work for gates and doors.
Haverfordwest Castle is nowhere near as intact as Pembroke Castle, but it has an interesting history nonetheless. Both King Richard II and Oliver Cromwell visited here – you can see copies of Oliver Cromwell’s letters ordering the destruction of Haverfordwest Castle on display in the museum. One of the main functions of this Welsh castle over the years has been as a prison. Find out more in the museum and view a number of prison artefacts including leg irons, locks and an original cell door.