There was very little at Pembroke Dock before 1814. In fact, the place did not exist. Admittedly there were a few scattered cottages, a ruinous, but formerly grand, late medieval house and the scant remains of a chapel. It was probably an idyllic spot....level, well drained land at the foot of the Old Red Sandstone mass of St Patricks Hill. There was good access to the deep waters of Milford Haven via some muddy pills and rock strewn beaches.
In 1814 that all changed. Like Dire Strait's song "Telegraph Road", the Admiralty decided to put down its pack on the shore to build fighting ships and in the words of the song.....
The new town grew quickly and its residents were a highly skilled and hard working community. Shipwright, joiners, carpenters, metal workers, stonemasons - all brought there skills to bear on the building of their own houses and the local land owner made a killing from, initially, selling off plots, to the Admiralty and latterly issuing leases to townspeople for strips of land with a 30 feet street frontage........with conditions attached.
For some streets in the town, in particular those built in the mid-nineteenth century, these plots accommodated single storey cottages, with large, long gardens. I have just bought one such house. Why??
My next series of postings will include an explanation about why I chose to do this and the story behind this "Little Place in PD".
