PEOPLE power is needed to help raise the funds for a statue in memory of Pembroke’s most famous medieval son, the town council heard at its October meeting.

A public meeting was recently held in Pembroke Town Hall to launch a campaign for a statue of Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, born at Pembroke Castle.

The event, sponsored by Pembroke Town Council, was intended as a public consultation to invite discussion on a project for a statue of Henry VII, and was organised by Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society.

The town council has commissioned a maquette, a miniature of the intended eight foot high statue, with match-funding from Pembrokeshire County Council.

It is expected £20,000 will need to be raised to cover the cost of the statue itself.

Speaking to fellow councillors at the October meeting, Councillor Linda Asman said recent mooted cuts in the county council’s budget had shown the need for self-suficiency: “We are faced with having to raise £20,000; I don’t agree with this mentality of asking for money all the time; in a way these cuts are showing us we’ve got to take more responsibility for ourselves.”

She added: “As soon as we get the maquette we’ll start fundraising.”

Cllr Asman said even more could be made of Pembroke’s links with Henry Tudor with a visitor centre, citing a recent visit to Leicester, where a visitor centre has been built for the recently-interred body of Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet kings, defeated by Henry Tudor, later Henry VII.

“We’re not doing enough for our most famous son, a statue isn’t enough. We’ve put the idea out; it’s the other side of the story.”

Cllr Asman said a meeting with a representative of VisitWales was expected to take place soon.