FISHGUARD: INVASIONS AND PIRATES

DRAWING ON THE SPOT: Lower Town Harbour

Lower Town Harbour Detail. Acrylic on  50 x 35 cm

February 19th.

We sat, sipping our beers, Sian and I, glad to be out of the rain. We’d been to the Royal Oak before a welcoming place in Fishguard’s town centre. 

What we did not know was that this public house was the site of the signing of surrender after the Battle of Fishguard. This brief campaign lasted from the 22nd until 24th February 1797. One thousand four hundred French soldiers landed near Fishguard yet surrendered two days later. 

It almost stopped raining so we popped down Lower Town, which is the old port of Fishguard situated at the mouth of the Gwaun River. This charming setting (in better weather) has been used as a location for many films, including ‘Under Milk Wood’ starring Richard Burton. 

Lower Town Harbour Quick Colour Preparatory:  Acrylic on  21 x 21 cm 

This coastline was the place of many bust ups and invasions. I began wondering why the French were so roundly defeated. I guessed that locals must have got their eye in eighteen years earlier. Lower Fishguard was held to ransom by the privateer Black Prince in 1779, the port was bombarded the town when the payment of a £1,000 ransom was refused. ‘Quite right lads, you can go now’ probably said a representative from the Town Council…