Haverfordwest’s Ocky White Travel has seen quite the commotion over the past week following the incredible find beneath the historic Ocky White department store.
Well-known throughout Pembrokeshire and much of Wales, the store was owned and named after Ocky White Travel managing director Mark White’s grandfather, Octavius White, who moved into the building in 1918.
The travel agency had its premises there until the building closed in 2013. At that point, Ocky White Travel – established in 1963 – moved down the road, keeping the name alive on the high street.
Archaeologists were working on the remnants of a medieval priory at the site of the department store – which is undergoing a multimillion-pound redevelopment into a three-storey building with a food emporium, bar and rooftop terrace – when the discovery was made, BBC News reports.
Despite the excitement, White told TTG it was business as usual at the branch – named Wales’s top agency at the 2020 TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies ceremony – albeit with an added talking point for clients.
“It’s incredible what’s going on, and the interest has been massive – the site is practically on our doorstep," he said. “They discovered the first few bodies back in the summer, which initially halted the development. But it was in the past week or so they discovered the full extent of it.
"This area has always been of interest archeologically, but of course we had no idea what was lying beneath the department store when we were in it.
“To see the Ocky White name all over the national news is pretty fascinating, but like I say, Haverfordwest is a medieval town and we’re in the shadow of the castle.”
White said he hoped work on the site would continue soon. “Redevelopment of the town is desperately needed, and the project has the potential to kick-start that regeneration. It should be a focal point and provide an incentive [to attract] other retailers.”
