Paterchurch Tower - Pembroke Dock's Last Link with a Lost Era: Part 2

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dockyard - Part 2

Figure 1

The picture, Figure 1, was taken c.1900, and shows what we now know as Paterchurch Tower. It is taken form the North-West. The gentleman on the left is standing where the main part of the large house stood, and beyond him we can see a stone "shed" that is described in c1860 as a store. This building still stands and has been renovated. the other buildings just in shot have gone, but in the 1860s the building by the horse and cart is described as a blacksmiths shop. The wall behind the cart then enclosed entirely this area of workshops, as shown in the extract below.

The building behind the left hand man does not appear on the 1860s map (Figure 2), so must be later.

Figure 2

Figure 3 below, from c1900, shows the tower and the building ,mentioned above, describing it and the other buildings near it as Works Department Shops.

Figure 3.

Their alignment is very different to the "grain" of all the buildings in the dockyard. The "shed" just to the east of the tower respects the alignment of the tower and is thus probably related to it and not a later building put up as part of the new dockyard.

.......and finally, for the moment, a couple of aerial photographs courtesy of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust. See:Type in search term "Paterchurch" and select the community Pembroke Dock. 

The first photograph, Figure 4,  is of the tower and its environs, taken from the south.

Figure 4.

The second photograph, Figure 5,  was taken from the North-East, with the tower and "shed" partly hidden by trees.

Figure 5.

Now that we know where Paterchurch tower is today, in forthcoming posts I will look further back in time and try to explain why I am worried about the future of this important Scheduled Ancient Monument.