Paterchurch Tower - Pembroke Dock's Last Link with a Lost Era: Part 3

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dock - Part 3

Mapping

The earliest relatively accurate map of the site known to author at the time of writing is that contained in The National Archives (TNA) file MPI 1/460/3. (See the 1790 map below)

Figure 1. A map of c1790

The site of Paterchurch is shown as a pink block, with two south wings shaded in grey. Other buildings shown as part of the complex, are shaded grey. It is worth noting the “Remains of a Chapel” to the west of the main complex.

Figure2. Map of 1790 overlaid on a later Ordnance Survey Map

When this chart is laid over an accurate background map, as above, it becomes apparent that the location of the still standing remains “38 – Pater Church” and “37 – Store”, (in red), overlap the footprint the two grey south wings shown on the 1790 map. The correspondence is not exact, but this is likely to be due to the differences in accuracy of the two surveys.

The base map is c1860, the red features are buildings that were standing at the time of the survey and still extant now.

Figure 3. View of Paterchurch from the SSE in 1811, just before the dockyard was built.

Figure 4. A portion of  map produced in1815

    The next map, shown in Figure 4 , is part of TNA File WO 98/917, a survey of the lands around Paterchurch in 1815.  The layout of the complex of buildings at Pater church is very similar to the earlier map, but in this case they are all shaded grey and described as “Ruins”. Other, presumably non-ruined and habitable buildings on the map, but not visible, are drawn in pink. This implies that a similar convention may have applied to the earlier map. The 1815 map shows no “Remains of a Chapel” west of the main complex of ruins.

If this map is, in turn, overlaid on the later OS map of 1860, (below).

Figure 5. The 1815 Map overlaid on a later Ordnance Survey map

Again, there is an overlap between the two maps. Again the correspondence is not exact, but this is also likely to be due to the differences in accuracy of the two surveys. 

Discussion

The maps and plans shown above demonstrate that the  present Paterchurch tower  was part of the old mansion called Pater Church. The tower is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, but the scheduling only applies to the footprint of the tower.

The building referred to above as “37 – Store” or “Shed”, just to the east of the tower is on a similar alignment  as  the tower and is shown clearly in the Charles Norris paintings from c1815 held by Cardiff Central Library.

In Figures 2 and 5 the position of the tower and the “shed” next to it overlaps the two southern wings on the old mansion complex. The overlays were prepared by calibrating scans of the older maps against two reference points on modern OS mapping using the mapping software “Map Maker”. The reference points taken for the matching of the overlays were distinctive field boundary features that appeared on both old and modern maps.

If we conjecture that the standing tower corresponds to the square wing  (in grey) on the 1790 map (Figure 1), then the adjacent standing store shed could well be built on the footings of the rectangular southern wing a little further east of the tower, as shown in the same figure.

Furthermore, It is clear that much of the area to the north and west of the tower would have lain in and around the old house and hence it is likely that there will be significant archaeologically important stratigraphy in this area.

Do the above factors make an argument for scheduling the whole area within the boundary of the present tower precinct? The building was clearly one of great significance in the past, with its own associated chapel to the west. Preserving the area for archaeological investigation  will allow the complex and mysterious history of the site to be unravelled in the future. 




Map extracts courtesy of The National Archives under terms of "fair use".