Temperance Hall Summer Update
This week we were incredibly pleased that our Temperance Hall project received a visit from a special delegation of funders from across the UK. Visitors included representatives from the Architectural Heritage Fund, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government. Whilst the visit is not itself a clear intention to provide more funding, it shows that there is significant interest in Haverfordwest and in our project.
The delegation also spent time at HaverHub, based in the old post office on Quay Street, where they also met with representatives from Pembrokeshire County Council to discuss community-led regeneration in the town. Following this, they enjoyed a walk around the town to see a selection of the town’s stunning historic buildings, and to look at the role that organisations such as ours can play in the regeneration of Haverfordwest.
First PHASE COMPLETE, MURAL REVEALED
At the start of the year the scaffolding came down from Temperance Hall to reveal a beautifully repaired and repainted exterior. Also revealed on the west elevation is a large mural celebrating the reimagining of the building as a community printworks, which will be called Plas Gwasg – in English, the Print Palace. We are extremely grateful to our funders, the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund for enabling us to purchase and start to renovate the building, with further funding support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund delivered by Pembrokeshire County Council with funding from UK Government, and from Haverfordwest-based grant making organisation, Sir John Perrot Trust.
We now have funding in place for the second phase of works, and are once again grateful to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund delivered by Pembrokeshire County Council with funding from UK Government, as well as Cadw and Welsh Government, and the Architectural Heritage Fund for this round of works, which will focus on the internal structure and layout of the building.
About the mural
From an original concept by Haverfordwest Heritage founder Richard Blacklaw-Jones, the mural was designed by a group of local printmakers who are planning to set up the community printworks in the building. Richard says, ‘My original inspiration was old cinema poster graphics since Temperance Hall used to be a cinema in the 1920s.’ The design was developed by local printmaker Heidi Baker, typography designer Theo Knipe and artist Zoe Murphy.
“‘We wanted something with impact, but also something that is reminiscent of the beautiful ghost signs that you see on heritage buildings. It’s tucked away, we hope it will be a lovely surprise for people exploring the town on foot. We were very lucky to have the help of Zoe Murphy who inked by hand all the illustrations of printmaking ephemera. Then Theo Knipe, a young graduate type designer, set out all the elements based on heritage letterpress, which is one of the many printmaking techniques we will have on offer at The Print Palace.’ ”
Thanks go to the Pembrokeshire-based businesses: Lloyd The Graffiti for braving the scaffolding and doing such a brilliant job painting the mural; Marcus Bunce of New Leaf Giclée for the large-format prints that Lloyd used to transfer the design to the wall; Cleddau Press for digital printing of the plans; Tree & Son for the excellent repair and painting of the exterior, and Acanthus Holden as the architects.
More Fundraising
We are currently fundraising for the next phase of works, which will enable us to improve and hopefully finish the interior. After which it is hoped that the Print Palace will be open for business by summer of 2026. The venue will house printers, graphic designers and other visual artists and will offer opportunities for local people to participate in a variety of ways.
More information about Temperance Hall is available here.