Dockyard Chapel Pembroke Dock

The Dockyard Chapel

I have been busy elsewhere of late, not least preparing material for the launching of a digital 3D-model of the the Royal Dockyard Pembroke. My small part in the proceedings has been to collate material, such as maps, photographs and drawings, to enable the digital modelers at De Montfort University (DMU) to "do their stuff". I have posted about the progress of the project before, and Digital Building Heritage Group at DMU's blog makes very interesting reading.


Pembroke Dockyard Digital Building Heritage Project


The launch event took place in the Dockyard Chapel at Pembroke Dock (PD). The building has gone under different names over the years - Dockyard Chapel, Garrison Chapel, Garrison Theatre and Pembroke Dock Motor Museum - until it fell into disuse and dereliction.

The Side elevation of the Dockyard Chapel as planned in c1830

The chapel was designed by naval architect George Ledwell Taylor in 1830.

The drawing to the left shows the original design. 
TNA ADM 140/465

The Dockyard Chapel c1865

This picture, taken across the roofs of PD from the Barrack Hill before trees obscured the view, shows the chapel in about 1865. The blurred images of the ships in the background betrays the long exposure required for this early photograph. The ships are swinging on their moorings while the film is exposed.

Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser 8 August 1909

Throughout its history the chapel has had its trials and  tribulations. In 1909, on 8 August, The Pembrokeshire Herald and General Advertiser reported on a potentially disastrous fire, but the chapel survived only to be left to its chances more permanently less than twenty years later.

The Dockyard Chapel in camouflage clothing (via Sunderland Trust)

When the Dockyard closed in 1926, the future of the chapel, like the town of PD, became uncertain. The RAF arrived in "The Yard" in the 1930s with their flying boats, and adopted the chapel as a both a church and a Garrison Theatre. Camouflage patterning from the war years can be made out in the picture to the left.

The Chapel - derelict and unloved

The RAF left PD in 1957, taking with them a memorial window that adorned one of the windows in the chapel. The window commemorated those who had served at RAF PD from 1939 to 1945. There was much dismay locally about the removal of this memorial, which is now housed in the RAF Museum at Hendon. See the picture below






However, there was a concerted effort at the end of the 20th century to get a museum established in Pembroke Dock. The town and area has a very diverse and rich heritage and it was left to a gallant band of enthusiasts to set the wheels in motion for what would prove to be a long, drawn out task. During this time the Chapel faced serious attempts to have it demolished by local property developers.

The main focus of the group was the aviation heritage of Pembroke Dock, which had been at the front line of the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. Flying boat squadrons based at PD flew long, hazardous mission over the Western Approaches in search of German U-boats. More about the work of the dedicated enthusiasts striving to establish a museum for PD can be found, in part, at:

The Sunderland Trust

Pembroke Dock Museum Trust

Heritage Lottery Fund


As part of a Townscape Heritage Initiative bid, the Dockyard Chapel eventually found its salvation at the turn of the 20th/21st centuries. Money became available to renovate the building to its former glory and the results can be seen below:

(Ros Bevan via Dyfed Family History Society)

Before

IHBC Archive

During

IHBC Archive

After













Below - The Dockyard Chapel as it was planned and as it is today.

TNA ADM 140/465

The potential of the building has been further enhanced by the addition of a very stylish service block, designed to be complementary to the original building, yet modern and functional in style.

(via Pembroke today)

Within a few days, it is expected that the empty space within the chapel will begin its conversion into a heritage centre. The space inside the Chapel is impressive and could provide a very adaptable venue for a large range of events with a heritage theme:

• Exhibitions;
• Tea Dances;
• Film shows;
• Concerts;
• Banquets;
• Weddings;
• Theme days/weekends;

 .........the list is potentially endless, only limited by imagination.

Information about the design of the Heritage Centre have been hard to come by online. The building is listed Grade II*, and some sources suggest that it is/was a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Both designations give it special protection and any interior partitioning of the space - such as might be required for museum displays -  would have to be easily reversible. Some reports have suggested that a mezzanine floor is to be inserted into the main part of the chapel, to provide office accommodation. This would, in my view, destroy the the character of the place, and deny visitors the chance to appreciate the lofty openness of the chapel interior and its striking white colour scheme.

We will see.

More information about the Dockyard Chapel, Pembroke Dock can be found at the end of the links below. (Update 28/5/19: Many of the links below are broken and the material at the end of the link has been removed.)

Planned Designs £4-£5 million pounds

Acanthus Holden Architects

ATR Construction Ltd

Chapel Open Days September 2013

Fleets to Flying Boats

Pembroke Dock THI

PD Bicentenary Events

Welsh European Funding Office





Dyfed Archaeological Trust describes the Chapel as:

ROYAL NAVAL DOCKYARD CHAPEL;GARRISON CHAPEL

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 4523
Trust : Dyfed
Site Type : Chapel
Period : Post Medieval
Community : Pembroke Dock
NGR : SM96270348
Legal Protection : listed building 2*, scheduled ancient monument 

If you navigate to:

Dyfed Archaeological Trust - Heritage Environment Records - Archwilio

You will be able to use the above information to search for further references to the Dockyard Chapel.