Search for Llŷn maritime memories

St Mary's Church in Nefyn is currently home to the Llŷn Maritime Museum

Tales of pirates and plunder, sailors and shipwrecks will support community efforts to breathe new life into a local museum.

Nefyn Maritime Museum was a central part of the Llŷn Peninsula town's historic life for almost 25 years.

Based at St Mary's Church, the museum was forced to close in 2000 when the building fell into disrepair, but a group of volunteers have decided to preserve both the church and the town's maritime memories.

"We're in the process of logging and conserving all the exhibits and papers," said Jamie Davies, who is helping out when he's not busy studying at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor.

''We are working to move the museum's collection into temporary storage so the church can be turned into a heritage centre for the town."

So when the museum finds a new home, the committee would like to expand its reach beyond the maritime history of Nefyn to include all the peninsula.

The locals warned the pirates about the magistrates and they escaped again Jamie Davies

"We want to find out about people's maritime memories of Llŷn," said Jamie. "Everyone's got something to say about the sea; someone in your family was a sailor or you know about a shipwreck. It's all crucial to the story of Llŷn."

You might be able to shed more light on the local tradition of protecting pirates.

"In Pwllheli in 1631, a pirate ship under the command of John Norman arrived into port," said Jamie.

A skull and crossbones carved on a pirate's gravestone

"Some of the pirates were captured, but the rest nicked a 300-ton merchant ship carrying 26 guns. When Vice Admiral Griffiths of Madryn tried to go after them, the local inhabitants refused to help.

"When that same pirate ship returned in 1633, the locals warned them when the magistrates were about to try and capture them and they escaped again!

"The pirates were a good source of food and resources after a bad harvest in the area. There was a local vicar who was known for selling the grain at a high price which the locals couldn't afford."

There are also tales of gorse being set alight near Hell's Mouth beach to lure in ships and the hands and ears of those who came ashore being chopped off for their jewels.

"Two men from Llanbedrog were hanged for that, and their bodies left out to rot as a warning," added Jamie.

German attack

"We've also got a sea captain's chest which was donated to us," said Jamie. "I've discovered it's one of the best examples and was almost going to be thrown away."

They are also interested in World War II defences in the area, which Jamie has discovered are falling into disrepair.

"RAF Nefyn was a radar station aimed towards Ireland, because they thought a German attack would come from there," he said.

"The coastal defences at Hell's Mouth are quite impressive; the artillery range was able to fire on floating targets in the bay."

If you or your relatives worked at these locations, come along and have a chat with Jamie.

While the museum's committee can't accept more artefacts at the moment because of storage issues, they would certainly like to hear about any you might have and be willing to donate when the museum can finally be re-opened.

For further information about the Llŷn Maritime Museum contact: [e-mail] '