Know your Dockyard! 1

Pembroke  Dock Marine 

The Memory of Pembroke Dock in the Balance

HMS Boadicea at Hobbs Point.

Many of you who follow these posts will be aware of the potential devastation that Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA) proposes to inflict on many of the last remaining buildings and structures that stand in the western part of Pembroke Dockyard. For my earlier interpretation of this see this post.

MHPA has now published online the "Pre-Application Consultation planning documents" for their proposals, and these can be found at:

https://www.mhpa.co.uk/pembroke-dock-marine/


The first impression upon seeing the list of downloadable documents is one of dismay and horror -

"How the heck can I read all this stuff? Where do I start?"

Producing volumes of paperwork is how the planning system works. These papers are not aimed at the inhabitants of Pembroke Dock, but at the largely anonymous officials who have to make a recommendation about whether the application should be passed or not.

The people of Pembroke Dock have been consulted about this (Yes you have) and the focus has been on the proposed benefits - seemingly substantial - that could arise from the scheme. All very encouraging and promising a bright future.....or is it?

This is going to be a long haul.......

The first documents from the list I read were those relating to the heritage assets and landscapes that would be affected by the project. I am biased as I have a high regard for the work of our fore-fathers and the skills that we have long abandoned. So let's see what we have....

The Environmental Statement (ES) and unusually, but selfishly, I will start with Chapter 10 - The Historic Environment.

This chapter :

.......of the ES assesses the effects of the proposed scheme on all aspects of the environment, including buried archaeological remains, historic buildings, historic areas and marine heritage.

It includes 69 pages of legislation and planning guidance that has been referred to in compiling this evaluation of the historic environment within  "The Yard". There are selective quotes that back the general thrust of MHPA's proposal.

The report has been compiled by RPS - Making Complex Easy who have a web presence at:

www.RPSgroup.com

I would suggest that you take a look at the chapter before reading the appendices I mention below Enjoy.

Here it is: Chapter 10 -  Historic Environment

Time for a break and a picture....

Pembroke Dockyard - Slips 1 and 2 c1903 or a little later.

Now, having successfully completed that challenge I will now look at the Appendices. These will have been referred to in Chapter 10 of the Environmental Study(ES).

Appendix 10.1 click here.

This appendix starts with the usual sections on planning regulation and methodology of the following desk based assessment and then moves onto, at about page 11, an interesting potted overview of the history of the dockyard and its development, with a list of further reading at the end.

I do have a few issues with some of what is said, but overall whilst mainly broadly accurate in stating what they had found, it made me defensive and in the end I was aware that this account was written by a big company, with little interest in what local, born and bred Pembroke Dock people might think about their own historic environment. OK, none of the heritage is in the same league as the Taj Mahal or Venice, but it does matter to those of us who know tha place well...at least some of us!

After the "rubric" come the Figures! The Pictures!

I am a sucker for a good picture or map and the figures in the last part of Appendix 10.1 are fascinating and thought provoking.

Figure 1. is a good location map. 

Figure 2. is a location map that places the development site within its wider context. A little bit of jargon has crept in - HLCA - Historic Landscape Character Area. A good introduction to these can be downloaded as a pdf from CADW. It also includes, at the rear,  a useful map of those HLCAs within Wales. 

Figure 3. is a good map that shows the designated historic environment features within Pembroke Dockyard and around. [It has always bemused me that some of the oldest houses in Pembroke Dock have been ignored en masse in the recognition of the heritage of the place. [However, I digress as that is not a problem associated with this project - it rests with the ignorance of some of the very senior officers at Pembrokeshire County Council perhaps.] ]

Figure 4. A fascinating old map that has been misinterpreted in the main write up earlier in Chapter 10. For an alternative interpretation see the series of posts here. 

Figure 5. An oft reproduced image of Paterchurch. 

Figure 6 - 16. A great series of maps and pictures that relate the history of the dockyard and its development. WELL WORTH LOOKING AT.

I am going to stop now and continue next time.......

.........Keep safe and well!

The Dry Dock and Timber Pond in Pembroke Dockyard (Part 3)

How the Pembroke Dockyard is Used  - with Plans for Its Future Too!

The diagram below shows what I believe to be the current usage and proposed usage of Pembroke Dockyard.

I would be delighted to receive more information that might correct or add to the diagram.

Dockyard Buildings under Threat - These are structures that I believe are to be filled in or destroyed by Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA)and replaced by concrete slab.

Dockyard Wall - The line of the present existing dockyard wall. Parts of this are due to be demolished by MHPA.

Ferry Terminal - Land used by the Irish Ferry operation. This includes customs, parking etc. The area may be more extensive.

Listed Building - The grades of listing vary from Grade II through Grade II* to Grade I, Grade I being the most important.

Mainstay Marine - Land used by this company. This company is largely owned by MHPA.

Land owned by Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) - Currently empty and derelict.

PCC Waste Recycling Site - Leased by PCC from MHPA. It is believed that there are about two years left to run on the lease.

Preserved Dockyard Buildings - Many owned by MHPA, some under private ownership.

Super Slip - Surviving slipways 1 and 2 will be converted into one large super slip under current proposals by MHPA.

The Commodore - Privately owned but in a derelict and parlous state.

The Paddock - Former grounds attached to Admiralty House (The Commodore). Owned by MHPA who intend to build on it.

Through Route - MHPA propose to run a route for the movement of large structures through the site.

Waste Transfer Area - Area subject to development as a waste transfer facility, subject to a recent successful application for a license from Natural Resources Wales. A strange one this - perhaps it enables the acquisition of extra funding to carry out works on the western part of the yard? Just a hypothesis.

Unshaded areas on the map are those for which I have no information as yet.

I have yet to see MHPA's latest version of the plans they have for Pembroke Dockyard, so I have not include sheds and other buildings that they propose to build.

If you have anything to add to this post that will improve its veracity, or any other comments, please let me know.

[Edit on 11 March 2020:I have been told that this is a terrible map. Perhaps done in haste - It was quite easy to do on Google Earth. I will see If I can improve on it. Might take a few days! ]

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dockyard - Part 4

Paterchurch Tower - More developments......

Last time I posted about Paterchurch Tower, it was to describe the discoveries that I had made when studying old maps of the place and comparing them with the standing remains of this intriguing and significant site. See the links below:

Pater Church Tower (Part 1)

Pater Church Tower (Part 2)

Pater Church Tower (Part 3)

I have since passed a copy of my findings to CADW, suggesting that the scheduling of the site be reviewed to preserve any remains, that almost certainly lie below the ground, from future unsympathetic development. It will be interesting to see how CADW views the new analysis of the Paterchurch maps.

I have also asked Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) if it would be possible to have an open day at Paterchurch before it passes into an uncertain future. It has proven to be impossible to learn who has bought the site, but rumours abound in the Pembroke Dock area, with much petty "political" (with a VERY small "p") points-scoring going on.

PCC has kindly agreed, in principle, to the open day, and has offered support in running it. However, the proposed date for the event, Sunday 25 May 2014, is seemingly after the sale has been completed and so permission has to be sought from the buyer for it to go ahead.

The original Paterchurch building must have been a defensive domestic structure of some sort. The tall tower, reminiscent of some of the smaller South Pembrokeshire church towers, is a unique survival in the area. The waters of Milford Haven originally came almost to the foot of the walls of the original building, and the tower offers clear views both up and down the waterway. The pictures below, courtesy of Google Earth and www.heywhatsthat.com/,clearly show the view shed from the top of the tower. The red areas are those that, in theory, are visible from the top of the tower. This does not take into account any vegetation that might obscure the view, but it does seem to take account of some man made large structures that clearly post-date the tower (e.g. jetties in the haven(?)).

Paterchurch in Great Britain

Paterchurch in Pembrokeshire,  SW Wales

Paterchurch on Milford Haven

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dock

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dock with panorama of view (vertical exaggeration x9 appx)

The building's location combines access to the sea with a clear view down The Haven towards Dale and any sea borne threat. 

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".

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.

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

Paterchurch in Pembroke Dockyard - Part 1

Paterchurch Tower is a Listed Building (Grade 1) and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is located within the grounds of the former Royal Dockyard Pembroke, Pembroke Dock at (SM9576303558).

Introduction

As part of a response to Pembrokeshire County Council’s sale of the above property, I decided to study the relationship between the standing remains of the tower and early mapping of the Pembroke Dock area. 

The standing structure of the tower had been researched as part of an HLF funded project to celebrate the bicentenary of the founding of Pembroke Dock. This project, involving the construction of a 3D-digital model of the former dockyard as it appeared in 1860, was supported by the Digital Building heritage Group at De Montfort University, Leicester. I was involved in the collection and collation of plans, maps and photographs to facilitate the digital reconstruction. See details of the launch of the model via the link below:

http://digitalbuildingheritage.our.dmu.ac.uk/2014/01/10/pembroke-historic-naval-dockyard-digital-reconstruction-launched/

I have also commented on this in earlier posts.

Pembroke Dock will be 200 Next Year

Pembroke Dock Virtually As It Was

The history of PaterchurchTower is subject to much discussion. The name of the site and the standing remains seeming similarity to a typical Pembrokeshire church tower, has often led to the conclusion that the building was essentially ecclesiastical in origin. It is also clear that the tower once formed part of the remains of an extensive large house, which was derelict by the start of the nineteenth century. Records suggest that there was a building here from at least the fourteenth century.

For more detail on history of Paterchurch see:

Paterchurch: A Mystery Solved, Tiffany MNE, Pembrokeshire Historian, Vol. 5, (1992-93), page 31

Next time we will look at the maps and attempt to draw some conclusions.

See later posts:

Paterchurch Part 2

Paterchurch Part 3

Paterchurch Part 4

Paterchurch Open Day 2014.