Last Saturday was European Heritage Day and to mark the occasion, Tenby Civic Society led two tours at East Rock House, St. Julian's Street.

The house itself is of both historical and architectural interest. According to the Council Rates records, and the Poor Law Rates books, this house was built on the site of an existing house that was pulled down in 1800. The present house was built to the order of Robert Fulke Greville, who was the third son of the Earl of Warwick.

Greville married the Countess of Mansfield in 1797, his main residence being in Great Cumberland Street, London. It would seem appropriate that he built a new seaside residence for himself and his recent bride.

Part of the house appears to have been constructed well before 1800, possibly as early as the beginning of the 18th century.

East Rock House and Little Rock House were built as two separate houses, though it seems they were constructed by the same local stone mason, Ambrose Smith.

In 1824, the Hon. Robert Fulke Greville leased the house to Ambrose Smith, the rent being five guineas per annum.

Ambrose Smith died in 1857, and his widow Mary Smith bought East Rock House and Little Rock House in an auction for £300. It was she who had the two houses converted into one in around 1860.

East Rock House and Little Rock House, when converted into one dwelling, had communicating doors on the ground floor, first floor, basement and top floor.

As far as can be ascertained, the house is mainly original inside and outside, a few minor changes being made over the years.

The next owner of the house was Miss Francis Milliard, who already owned a considerable amount of property in Tenby. In 1890 the ownership again changed, the new owner being Miss Maria Phelps, who bequeathed the house to Mrs. Jeanette Llewellyn Phelps.

Since that time, the house has had a number of owners, two of whom were high ranking Army officers. It was used for many years by Mrs. Hughes, wife of the chairman of T. P. Hughes and Sons, the Tenby department store.

In 1926 the houses were again separated and the communicating doors walled up. When the bathroom block was added to the house, the original front door of East Rock House was covered up by the extension, a new front door had to be made in Little Rock House, and the driveway closed. The original front entrance to Little Rock House can be seen in the ground floor cloakroom of East Rock House.

In 1951, East Rock House was declared to be of 'Special Architectural and Historical Interest,' and no alteration may be made to the front or rear elevations.

Visitors to the house also learnt of Lord Nelson's visit to Tenby. In 1802, Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma, made a tour of South Wales, accompanied by Lord Nelson, Charles Francis Greville and Robert Fulke Greville. The tour included visits to Milford Haven and Tenby.

It was reported that Lord Nelson was received everywhere with great enthusiasm, but Lady Hamilton's reception was less than so. During their stay, the party were the guests of Robert Fulke Greville at East Rock House; the hotel accommodation available in the town at the time would have been unsuitable for travellers of such high rank.

During their brief stay, Nelson and Lady Hamilton strolled around the town and visited the Blue Ball Theatre situated in Upper Frog Street.

Members of Tenby Civic Society wish to thank Mrs. Joyce Maudsley, the house's present owner, for opening the doors so that the tours could take place.

She in turn wishes to thank all visitors for the donations made to Cancer Research UK, her chosen charity.

Thanks also go to Harry Gardiner, Judy Smith, Emma Geertman, John Beynon, John Hughes, Tony Evans, Kevin Thomas and Albie Smosarski for all their input into making the day a success. The society also thanks Robert Scourfield, conservation officer for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, for his architectural research into the house.

Visitors comments ranged from, "Great Tour: very well researched and explained" to "a most enjoyable experience," ending with "very privileged to see this lovely house."