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.

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.

Pembroke Dock - Virtually as it was.

Reconstructing "The Yard"

This rather grubby  photograph shows how the dockyard looked in about 1900. The building slip numbers have been added above the huge sheds that cover them. As mentioned before a project to recreate "The Yard" and its surroundings is being undertaken by the Digital Building Heritage team at De Montfort University.

Their latest blog gives some idea about how things are progressing. Early days, but the the model will represent the dockyard as it would have appeared in about 1860.

You can find out more about the project and the interest it has generated at:

http://digitalbuildingheritage.our.dmu.ac.uk/2013/09/20/victorian-cast-iron-buildings-and-royal-navy/

Did you have ancestors who worked or lived at Pembroke Dock in 1860?

I would love to hear from you!

Double Glazing and Monty's Beret

A very pleasant gentleman came round this morning, from KBs in Colchester, to make some minor repairs to the secondary double glazing on one of the windows at the front of the house.

http://www.tankmuseum.org/

He noticed a letter heading on the table under the window - "Friends of the Tank Museum",  and apologising for appearing to be nosy, he told me that the Jim Fraser mentioned in the link below was his grandfather. 



I was suitably impressed and full of admiration for a man who has such a contribution to his gene pool. Read the links to find out why, perhaps, you should be too?



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/army-obituaries/9967708/Jim-Fraser.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/27/jim-fraser-obituary

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/features_2_483/i_was_monty_s_driver_1_822571

Pembroke Dock will be 200 Next Year

In 1814 the construction of a new Naval Dockyard on farmland at Paterchurch, in St Mary's Pembroke, Wales began. Paterchurch was an ancient farmstead with an obscure history, sitting on the southern banks of Milford Haven, over 9 miles from the open sea, but with 6 fathoms of water just a short distance off shore

The Dockyard Wall

The town that grew up around the grey limestone walls surrounding "The Yard" was initially called Pater, but soon the name Pembroke Dock was adopted through common usage. The population grew dramatically in the following decades, with skilled workers moving into the area to build ships for the Navy.

Pembroke Dockyard in about 1830

The first ships slid down the slips in February 1816 - the Ariadne and the Valorous, and over the next 112 years the yard produced a broad range of vessel for the Royal Navy, both large and small, iron and wooden.

The town of Pembroke Dock can trace its origins back to 1814, when the Admiralty started work at Pater. Two hundred years later the time has come to celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of "PD".

The fortunes of the place have ebbed and flowed over the years.This post is an invitation, and indeed a plea,  to all present and former residents of Pembroke Dock to take part in the events planned to celebrate this anniversary and to play a role in leaving a cultural legacy for future generations of "Dockites".







To glean more information come back here soon or visit:

http://www.pembrokedock.org/bicentenary/index.htm


Please do get in touch.
 I'm sure you have a story to tell!

Moving Targets

In  some of the photographs in earlier posts on this blog, there have been distant, incidental,  views of some of the structures built during the Second World War on Castlemartin range. For any gunnery range to work efficiently, whether it be for small arms firing from pistols and rifles or for much heavier weapons, fired by tanks, there needs to be an adequate supply of suitable "targetry". To give adequate practice for the trainee tank crew, there were several distinct types of target:

• Fixed, static targets;
• Pop-up targets, that could be exposed for a few seconds;
• Moving targets to simulate a range of vehicles on the move!

In this post I'll explain a little about the moving targets and their method of working.

Improvised Moving Target Setup

Over the course of the Second World War, many improvised ranges were opened all over the UK to allow tank (and anti-tank) gunners to practice their trade. Initially, the provision of moving targets was accomplished as shown in the diagram (from a contemporary training manual). The target would move back and fore behind an existing hedgerow or hastily thrown up bank. A further refinement was the attachment of the one end of the pulling wire to the front of the vehicle behind the firing point and the other end to the rear, so to move the target back and fore it was just a case of changing between forward and reverse in the towing vehicle.  Sometimes, at locations that might be used in the longer term, rails were laid, but often the target was built upon a sledge (as shown  below) and this dragged along the ground. On ranges intended to be permanent, like Castlemartin Pembrokeshire, the facilities for moving targets were more developed.

Sledge for Moving Target

The range targetry at Castlemartin achieved a quite high degree of sophistication by the end Second World War. Today only two of the areas used for moving targets are still accessible to the public. These are South of Bosherston, on St Govan's Head. They were built in their present form in 1941, and represent just one variation on the theme of "Movers". The picture below shows one of  the two moving target layouts as mentioned above.The target rail described here is at OS Grid Ref:

SR 9735 9296

East end of moving target trench at St. Govan's Head, Pembrokeshire. Note how it was been cut through the limestone bedrock, and the turntable outside the observation dugout.

The picture above shows the western end of a moving target rail, cut through the limestone bedrock of St Govans Head. The photograph was taken from the path to the headland.

The winch dugout at the eastern end of the same target rail.

At the other end of the mover rail track is this dugout, which is of a very different design and was used to house the winches which pulled the moving target back and fore. Again, you can see a turntable in front of the door, which would have allowed the trolleys carrying the targets to be drawn into the dugout or onto the "siding" shown in the next photograph.

Looking west along the target trench from atop the protective mound covering the winch dugout at St. Govan's. Note the "siding" for the storage of other trolleys at photo left and the pit for a pop-up target at top[-centre.

What did the targets look like?

As mentioned earlier, the targets used on St Govan's Head, were mounted on trolleys that were pulled backwards and forwards along the narrow gauge track by a winch housed, in this case, in the larger dugout at the eastern end of the rail track.

It is said that the target hauling winches were similar to barrage balloon winches, with the cable on a continuous loop around the drum. The direction of the target was altered by reversing the gears on the winch when the trolley reached the end of the track. When working on a similar moving target arrangement in the late 1970s, the means of identifying where the target was on the track was by means of pieces of red cloth tied to the correct distance on the winch cable!

Observation Dugout detail.

Observation Dugout

At the opposite end of the track to the winch dugout, there was a much smaller observation dugout. The first picture in this post shows this blocked up to act as a bat roost. The picture to the left shows the same dugout before it was sealed, and that on the right a closer view of the doorway into the shelter, showing the hinges for the steel door and window shutters.The men who manned the observation dugouts had the task of marking and repairing the targets on the trolley after each tank had fired. Sometimes the trolley might be thrown off the track after hitting stones that dropped onto the rails when mis-directed shells hit the bank between the track and the firing point.

Broadside mover target - known as a "Hornet" to all tank gunners.

The target mounted on the trolley were locally produced and made of dark hessian stretched over a wooden frame. The illustration comes from a 1940 military training pamphlet. The target was meant to represent a tank moving broadside to the firing point, and would be pulled along by the winch at about 5 mph. The ranges at St Govan's Head were used to train new recruits, so the targets were not intended to be too difficult to hit!



In later posts I will look at other types of moving targets used at tank/anti-tank gunnery ranges across the UK in the Second World War.

Military Low Flying Mapping in the UK

Maps are fascinating and as a young and keen aviation enthusiast, the "forbidden" territory of military aviation mapping was a permanent attraction. In the 1970s I always wanted to find a copy of the map which set out the military low-flying system in the UK. At the time, it never happened - the security surrounding the availability of this information seemed to me to be out of all proportion to the flying safety gains that might be made by publishing the maps. It was the cold war and times were different!





Then along came eBay!!

The extract below (South-West Wales) shows the information that was published on the late 1960s/early 1970s low flying maps of the UK. There were clearly defined low-level routes around the UK, with designated entry and departure points.

AFCENT Topographical Low Flying Chart - Europe,  Series GSGS 4991, Sheet 6, United Kingdom (South). Edition 7-GSGS, January 1970. 

The airspace in Pembrokeshire was quite congested at this time.
The danger areas shown, clockwise from the south-east, were:

D118 - Pembrey air-to-ground (A/G) range, used mainly by RAF Chivenor;

D117 - Proof and Experimental Establishment Pendine;

D115 - School of Anti-Aircraft Artillery Manorbier;

D114 - A/G range used mainly by Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Brawdy;

D113 - Royal Armoured Corps Range (RACR) Castlemartin;

D112 - Coastal Artillery Range, East Blockhouse - probably defunct by this date;

D111 - A/G ranges at Talbenny airfield and St Brides Bay, used predominantly by RNAS Brawdy;

D201 - Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) Aberporth.

The designations of these danger and restricted areas had been changed since the late 1960s, moving towards the incorporation of the areas latitude into the range identifier. For example, D113 (Castlemartin), is between 51N and 52N. Aberporth range, D201, is between 52N and 53N. This nomenclature remains in use today.

There was also the busy airfield at RNAS Brawdy, whose Military Air Traffic Zone (MATZ) is shown in blue, as is the the zone around Haverfordwest airfield (Withybush).

The area bordered in bright pink was Low Flying Area 7 (LFA 7), the controlling authority for which was Brawdy Air Traffic Control (ATC). The low-flying route passing to the west of the airfield at Fairwood Common on the Gower peninsula was a transit route between LFA 7 and LFA 2 in the south-west of England. This is marked out in purple dots and dashes.

The chart below is an earlier edition of GSGS 4991, Sheet 6.

Topographic 1:500,000Low Flying Chart of United Kingdom (South), Series GSGS 4991,
Edition 2-GSGS, February 1967.

This earlier chart shows the different nomenclature for danger and restricted areas, the W indicating that the area was in the west of the UK. The colour scheme for the Air Information seems, to my eye, a lot less clear than the 1970 chart illustrated above.

I will come back to explain a littler more about the UK Low Flying system in the near future. In the mean time, if you are someone who knows more about this than I, or can add more information about the mapping the Military Airspace over the UK, then I would very much welcome your comments.

Did the Loveston erratic block the roadway?

The oldest maps that I have looked at so far (in these blogs) in relation to Loveston have been the early large scale OS maps of the area. See here:

There are earlier sources we can look at - the tithe map for St Twynnells parish (c.1840), and an even earlier map from a Stackpole Estate map book (c.1782). Extracts from these maps are shown below.

The road south from the church had yet to be improved, and the lane past the farm takes a different path to that today. It maybe, of course that the tithe map is incorrect, because on an earlier estate map from c1786, the road appears to pass to the east of the old building, not to the west, as on the tithe map above.

Perhaps the Loveston stone was part of a gateway into the farm?