A new interpretation panel is in place in a seafront location in Tenby, giving a reminder of how the town defended itself many centuries ago.

The panel is sited in the Paragon Gardens – otherwise known as Gunfort Gardens - overlooking the South Beach The name Gunfort relates to the fact that there was once a small gun fort in the gardens.

The beach below would have been considered a weak point in Tenby’s line of defences against intruders from the sea.

The panel was researched and designed by local freelance museum, heritage, and art gallery consultant Mark Lewis, with assistance from Tredeml Designs, who also produced and installed it.

It was commissioned by Tenby Town Council, with assistance from the Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund.

Western Telegraph: The gardens overlook the South Beach and St Catherine's Island.The gardens overlook the South Beach and St Catherine's Island. (Image: Tenby Town Council)

The panel gives information about the history of the gardens, and of St Catherine’s Island, and has some interesting images of the view from the gardens.

St Catherine’s Island first gained notoriety when the Earl of Pembroke, the uncle of Henry VII, took ownership of it until the reign of Elizabeth 1.

For many centuries, its sole building was a tiny church, but this was demolished in 1867 to make way for the construction of St Catherine’s Fort – one of the network of ‘Palmerston’s Forts’ constructed to repel attacks on UK dockyards.

In 2014 the island, was opened to the public for visits and tours, and remains open to this day. Since then, it has been used to shoot several films including The Final Problem in 2016 and the BBC series Sherlock, when it served as a maximum security prison.

The island recently received huge national exposure when Eurovision finalist Loreen named it as her favourite place to visit.