PEMBROKE Rotary Club has backed an ambitious scheme for a statue of Tudor dynasty founder Henry VII in the town with a £1,000 donation.

The donation to the Henry VII statue appeal was part of the funding required from a public appeal to match the £20,000 received from the Pembrokeshire County Council's Town Centre Support Programme.

Nearing completion, the mould of the statue is now in the foundry and in the hands of the caster who will continue the process until the statue appears in bronze.

Local enthusiasm is growing and the Rotary Club is proud and delighted to be associated with the community's vision and enterprise, and looks forward to the finished article that will add to the attraction of visitors to Pembroke and surrounding areas.

Pembroke is hoping to celebrate its connection with the Tudors with a stunning bronze statue of Pembroke Castle-born King Henry VII which will, in the near future, stand proud on the Mill Bridge to greet visitors to the historic town.

The proposed eight foot high bronze statue – designed by sculptor Harriet Addyman – will cost around £40,000, with half of that amount match funded by Pembrokeshire County Council’s Town Centre Support Programme.

A miniature maquette of the statue, commissioned by Pembroke Town Council, was unveiled earlier this year in Pembroke Town Hall at a fundraising event organised by Pembroke & Monkton Local History Society.