Although much altered and rebuilt, the Old Hall has a strongly medieval character, a mixture of spareness and solidity. It dates from before 1400 and was probably the guest house of a small priory outside the walls of Pembroke. Just off the pilgrim route to St David’s, and close to a great castle, the monks could expect to put up any number of people at unexpected times. Since then the house has been left to become ruinous at least twice and then been rescued in the nick of time.

Its Victorian saviour was J. R. Cobb, a scholar and romantic who restored several castles in South Wales. In the 1930s it was discovered again, by Miss Muriel Thompson, another romantic. She repaired the house, with help from Clough Williams-Ellis, and created a garden on a long and possibly ancient terrace cut out of the hillside. She wanted to share her home with others, to revive a monastic sense of hospitality: many people came to stay and her Christmas parties were famous. It was the memory of this and the appeal the Old Hall has, especially for children, that made Mrs Campbell, to whom it was left, think of passing it on to us.

We made the house slightly smaller by removing a decaying nineteenth-century wing and moved a massive stone chimney piece from a bedroom to the hall. To improve this lofty and noble room further we painted its roof timbers a deep Pugin red. With this and the long vaulted undercroft beneath, an empty space for children to let off steam, and the large and interesting garden with its old walls and grandstand view of Pembroke Castle, you may feel little temptation to stray into the lively town just beyond its walls. But should you wish to make your own pilgrimage to St David’s, or explore the cliffs and castles of Pembrokeshire, or just go to the beach, the house will welcome you back to warm yourself by the fire.

View our history sheet for this Landmark

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