Sir,

Further to the excellent letter penned by Ruth Roberts (Tenby Observer, September 28 edition), I too was puzzled by the remark made in the council chamber, "Who would want to live in Penniless Cove?"

I can only answer, as the only permanent resident of the Cove for the last quarter-century, "I do!"

And it would appear that other people feel the same. When giving my address as Top Deck, Seamens Rooms, Penniless Cove, I am invariably met with a smile and the comment, "that sounds a lovely place to live."

Furthermore, I have often stepped outside my door to encounter intrigued holidaymakers having their photographs taken next to the Penniless Cove street plate. They obviously find it a charming part of historical Tenby and I applaud our council for keeping this old name. Clr. Christine Brown is quite right that Tenby needs this kind of 'cosy history'. It is our very history that brings so many visitors here.

Incidentally, I can vouch for the fact that the plate has not been "repeatedly taken down." When its plywood backing became waterlogged and could no longer take its weight, it fell down, and was taken to a safe place for storage (As with most safe places, no-one can remember where!).

Whilst not by any stretch of the imagination an historian, or even having family connections to the Cove, I would have been able to tell anyone who bothered to ask about the reasons behind the naming of the Cove and about our 'Mayor'. I could also have explained the significance of both the tiny Seamen's Chapel (St. Julians) and the Seamens Mission (now known as the Seamens Rooms, and the only residential building in the Cove).

The mission was built by the Church in 1874 'to alleviate suffering of fisherfolk'. Tenby Harbour may very well have been a 'source of wealth' in bygone days, but that wealth would not have been enjoyed by all the men and women who lived and worked there, often in poverty. By the way, most of my knowledge came from a very interesting article on the origins of the Cove and its Mayor published about 20 years ago (?) in our very own Tenby Observer!

I look forward to hearing more of Clr. Kerri Durham's excellent suggestion that a mock 'crowning ceremony' of the Mayor of Penniless Cove be introduced to the Winter Carnival, and would also be interested to learn of the findings of the Historical and Conservation Societies with regard to old street names.

Anne Bowles,

Top Deck,

Seamens Rooms,

Penniless Cove.