Do you live near Tenby? Are you interested in how people used to live in days gone by? Can you sew? Do you like old buildings? If you've answered yes to any of these questions you might want to visit the Tudor Merchant's House in Tenby on Thursday, March 11, between 12 noon and 6 pm.

The National Trust is inviting local people to a special Open Day at the Tudor Merchant's House on Quay Hill, to have their say, share ideas and to discuss how one of the oldest and most interesting buildings within the walled town of Tenby could be developed as a useful resource for the community. The Trust has been the proud owner of the house since 1937 and in 2012, to celebrate 75 years as its custodian, it is proposing a major project to present the house as it may have looked in the year 1500.

Over the years, the Tudor Merchant's House has been furnished to show the house through different periods of history. This new project would change all that and the house would instead reflect life at one moment in time, in 1500 during Tenby's heyday when the port was one of the busiest in Wales trading with the West Country, Spain and Portugal.

Sue Hicks, visitor services manager for the National Trust in Pembrokeshire, explained: "It's an exciting project which will enable us to show visitors what family life in Tudor Tenby was really like. We've already commissioned an expert in historic interiors, Dr. Charles Kightly, to advise us what might be done. His recommendations include furnishing the house with brightly painted replica Tudor furniture, hanging the walls with coloured cloth and decorating the house with items used by a Tudor family. The contents would look authentic, but would not be precious, making it a perfect resource to offer 'hands on' activities for the local community and visitors to Tenby.

"What we would like is for local people to get involved in the early stages of this project, to tell us what they think of our plans, what they would find interesting, how they could use the house and its facilities, and whether they could help us by doing practical jobs like sewing wall hangings, making furniture, or fund-raising."

The ambitious plans are likely to cost around £200K. Some funding has already been allocated to this project by the National Trust, but funding from other sources such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and local fund-raising will also be needed in order to realise the project and be ready for a grand opening in 2012.