Pembroke Dockyard

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Former Royal Navy dockyard in Pembrokeshire, Wales

title: "Pembroke Dockyard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["military-installations-in-wales", "pembroke-dock", "military-installations-established-in-1814", "military-installations-closed-in-1926"] description: "Former Royal Navy dockyard in Pembrokeshire, Wales" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembroke_Dockyard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Former Royal Navy dockyard in Pembrokeshire, Wales ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]

FieldValue
namePembroke Dockyard
partof
locationPembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
nearest_town
imageLlanstadwell from Defensible Barracks (Pembroke Dock) -112.jpg
captionThe former Dockyard viewed from the Defensible Barracks
image2
typeDockyard
coordinates
ownership
operator
controlledby
open_to_public
site_other_label
site_other
site_area
code
built
fateClosed 1926
past_commanders
garrison
occupants
footnotes
::

| name = Pembroke Dockyard | ensign = | native_name = | partof = | location = Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales | nearest_town = | country = | image = Llanstadwell from Defensible Barracks (Pembroke Dock) -112.jpg | alt = | caption = The former Dockyard viewed from the Defensible Barracks | image2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | type = Dockyard | coordinates = | image_map = | image_mapsize = | image_map_alt = | image_map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_image = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_mark = | pushpin_marksize = | ownership = | operator = | controlledby = | open_to_public = | site_other_label = | site_other = | site_area = | code = | built = | used = | builder = | materials = | fate = Closed 1926 | condition = | battles = | events = | past_commanders = | garrison = | occupants = | website = | footnotes = Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

History

Early naval presence at Milford Haven

The origins of naval shipbuilding on Milford Haven were in the private shipyard of Jacobs on the north side of the waterway. In November 1757, the Admiralty sent a surveying delegation to the haven, which prepared a report for Parliament recommending, "the construction of a Milford dock yard". No such place as Milford existed at this time, just the village of Hubberston. The report showed early signs of lobbying, with the scale of the local infrastructure and ship building activity exaggerated.

Dockyard development began on the north bank of the waterway. By the late 18th century, much of the village and the lands around Hubberston were owned by diplomat and politician Sir William Hamilton. Together with his nephew, the Hon. Charles Grenville, he proposed a scheme of development under the title "Milford", in reference to the 1758 report. They began by building a shipyard, and leased it to a Messrs. Harry and Joseph Jacob, though after receiving an order in 1796 to build a frigate and later a 74-gun ship-of-the-line, Jacobs went bankrupt. The Navy took over the shipyard lease.

In 1809, a naval commission recommended purchase of the Milford Haven facility and formal establishment of a Royal Navy dockyard. which was added to by the purchase of an adjoining 20 acre for £5,500 from the Meyrick family.

Foundation

The dockyard at Pembroke Dock was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the Prince Regent signed the necessary Order in Council on 31 October 1815, and was known as Pater Yard until 1817. The Mayor of Pembroke had requested the change "in deference to the town of Pembroke some 2 mi distant".

The site selected for the dockyard was greenfield land and the closest accommodations were in Pembroke. Office space was provided by the old frigate after she was beached. The Royal Marine garrison was housed in the hulked 74-gun ship, , after she was run aground in 1832. Many of the workmen commuted by boat from nearby communities until Pembroke Dock town was built up. In 1860 the dockyard's policing was transferred to the new No. 4 Division of the Metropolitan Police, which remained in that role until the 1920s.

Operations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Disused_Dry_Dock_-geograph.org.uk-_489556.jpg" caption="Disused former dry dock, Pembroke Dockyard"] ::

On 10 February 1816, the first two ships were launched from the dockyard – HMS Valorous and Ariadne, both 20-gun post-ships, subsequently converted at Plymouth Dockyard into 26-gun ships. Over the span of 112 years, five royal yachts were built, along with 263 other Royal Navy vessels. The last ship launched from the dockyard was the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker Oleander on 26 April 1922.

Closure

After the end of the First World War, the cash-strapped Admiralty looked for savings. In 1925, it announced that the Royal Dockyards at Pembroke Dock and Rosyth were redundant and would be closed. A petition was sent to Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, stressing the lack of alternative employment and the economic consequences of closure, but the decision was not overturned, and Pembroke closed in 1926. First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty, said, "Whether these Yards are necessary for naval purposes, the Admiralty is the only competent judge. As to whether they are necessary for political or social reasons is for the Government to decide. The fact is, that so far as the upkeep of the Fleet is concerned, they are entirely redundant."

The Royal Air Force, however, built RAF Pembroke Dock on the site during the 1930s to house its flying boats, demolishing many of the existing buildings to make room for the necessary hangars and other facilities.

The last Pembroke-built ship afloat was the hulk of the iron screw frigate , which was broken up in Belgium in 1956. In June of the same year, Admiral Leonard Andrew Boyd Donaldson, the last Captain-Superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard, died aged 81.

Post-closure preservation and redevelopment

Although active warships were not based in Pembroke Dock after the 1940s, and formal dockyard work ceased in 1926, the base remained an official Royal Navy Dockyard, and retained a Queen's Harbour Master, until 2008 (one of the last 5 QHMs in the UK, together with those at the currently (2010) extant bases at Devonport, Portsmouth, Rosyth and Clyde). The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was based in Pembroke Dock until disestablishment in 2008, and the Ministry of Defence sold the freehold of the site to the Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA) in 2007. For most of the last 20 years of MOD usage, the principal RMAS assets seen in the base were the MOD Salvage & Marine Team (formerly CSALMO) vessels located there, the majority of which were relocated to the Serco base in Burntisland on the River Forth upon the activation of the £1bn Future Provision of Marine Services (FPMS) contract in May 2008.

The dockyard wall is substantially complete and has been recently repaired by experts with dressed stone and lime mortar. The dry dock also remains, along with two out of ten building slips. The two listed hangars built to house the Sunderland flying boats used to guard the Western Approaches have been rebuilt and are now used for other purposes. Among several surviving Georgian and Victorian buildings on the site is the Terrace, a row of houses for the dockyard officers. The Dockyard Chapel at the end of the Terrace has been rebuilt using Objective One funding from the European Union and now serves as the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre run by Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/The_Gun_Tower,Pembroke_Dock-geograph.org.uk-_473746.jpg" caption="Dock wall and [[Martello tower"] ::

In 2021 permission was granted for 'ambitious plans to transform Pembroke Dock's historic dockyard' as part of a '£60 million marine energy project'. The Welsh Government decided not to call in the proposal, despite protests from SAVE Britain's Heritage, the Georgian Group, the Victorian Society the Naval Dockyards Society and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, among others. The proposal will see buildings within the conservation area demolished, the grade II* graving dock and the grade II timber pond infilled and built over, the remaining grade II listed building slips partially demolished and the setting of the adjacent grade II Carr Jetty damaged.

The chair of the local Commodore Trust (which has 'long fought to protect and revive the historic dockyard') has argued that 'these plans will see the destruction of a rare, if not unique, group of listed monuments that are a testament to the industry that gave birth to Pembroke Dock, revived the fortunes of Pembroke and gave the Milford Haven waterway a place in Wales, UK and world history'; Pembrokeshire County Council was persuaded by the developers (Port of Milford Haven) that the economic benefits of the project would 'far outweigh' its impact on the historic environment. The project will see the listed structures replaced by two five-storey warehouses (to house future shipbuilding operations) and 'a giant concrete slipway, stretching out into the water alongside the grade II listed Hobbs point causeway'.

Administration of the dockyard

The admiral-superintendent was the Royal Navy officer in command of a larger Naval Dockyard. Portsmouth, Devonport and Chatham all had admiral-superintendents, as did some other dockyards in the United Kingdom and abroad at certain times. The admiral-superintendent usually held the rank of rear-admiral. His deputy was the captain of the dockyard (or captain of the port from 1969).

Some smaller dockyards, such as Sheerness and Pembroke, had a captain-superintendent instead, whose deputy was styled commander of the dockyard. The appointment of a commodore-superintendent was also made from time to time in certain yards.

The appointment of admiral-superintendents (or their junior equivalents) dates from 1832 when the Admiralty took charge of the Royal Dockyards. Prior to this larger dockyards were overseen by a commissioner who represented the Navy Board.

Resident Commissioner of the Navy, Pater Yard (1830–1832)

Included:

Captain-Superintendent, Pembroke Dockyard (1857–1906)

Included:

  • Captain George Ramsay: July 1857-September 1862
  • Captain William Loring: September 1862-March 1866
  • Captain Robert Hall: March 1866-March 1871
  • Captain William Armytage: February 1871-January 1872
  • Captain Richard W. Courtenay: January 1872-March 1875
  • Captain Richard Vesey Hamilton: March 1875-October 1877
  • Captain George H. Parkin: October 1877-October 1882
  • Captain Alfred J. Chatfield: October 1882-January 1886
  • Captain Edward Kelly: January 1886-June 1887
  • Commodore George Digby Morant: June 1887-January 1889
  • Captain Samuel Long: January 1889-August 1891
  • Captain Walter Stewart: August 1891-January 1893
  • Captain Charles C.Penrose Fitzgerald: January 1893-March 1895
  • Captain William H. Hall: March 1895
  • Captain Charles J. Balfour: March 1895-October 1896
  • Captain Burges Watson: October 1896-October 1899
  • Captain Charles J. Barlow: October 1899-October 1902
  • Captain Gerald Walter Russell: October 1902-October 1904
  • Captain John Denison: October 1904-October 1906

Rear-Admiral Superintendent, Pembroke Dockyard (1906–1915)

Captain-Superintendent, Pembroke Dockyard (1915–1926)

  • Captain Frederick D. Gilpin Brown: September 1915-April 1918
  • Captain John G. Armstrong: April 1918-February 1920
  • Captain David Murray Anderson: February 1920-April 1922
  • Captain the Hon. Arthur B. S. Dutton: April 1922-July 1924
  • Captain Leonard A. B. Donaldson: July 1924 – 1926

Listed buildings and Scheduled monuments

The site contains 107 listed buildings. One, the Paterchurch Tower is listed at Grade I and eighteen are listed at Grade II*, including the Defensible Barracks and the Garrison Chapel. The remainder are Grade II. There are three scheduled monuments, two, the Defensible Barracks and the South West Dockyard Tower which are also listed buildings, and the Bomb stores at West end of Fort Road. The list below details those structures graded I or II*, and the bomb store, the only scheduled monument that is not also listed.

|subdivision_iso=GB-PEM}} | name = Paterchurch Tower | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9576303558 | lat = 51.693484302558 | lon = -4.956507736873 | function = Tower | notes = This medieval tower stood outside the dockyard walls prior to realignment of the walls in 1844. | hb = 14341 |image=PaterchurchTower&Storehouse.jpg | commonscat= Paterchurch Tower | name = No 1, The Terrace | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9603803521 | lat = 51.693252420968 | lon = -4.9525128244509 | function = House | notes = formerly listed together with the Commodore Club | hb = 6454 | image = Pembroke Dock No.1 Dockyard terrace and East Gate Lodge.jpg | name = No 2, The Terrace | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9606303504 | lat = 51.693108890757 | lon = -4.9521416787765 | function = House | notes = | hb = 6455 | image = Pembroke Dock 2-3 The Terrace.jpg | name = No 3, The Terrace | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9607403501 | lat = 51.693085963764 | lon = -4.9519809948437 | function = | notes = | hb = 14381 | image = Pembroke Dock 2-3 The Terrace.jpg | name = Dockyard Gates | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9602803524 | lat = 51.693275711881 | lon = -4.9526590610043 | function = | notes = | hb = 14377 | image = Admiralty Way (geograph 5823237).jpg | name = Piers and Lodges on Admiralty Way (formerly listed with Dockyard Wall) | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9601403529 | lat = 51.693315502177 | lon = -4.9528642603192 | function = | notes = | hb = 14378 | image = Admiralty Way, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 2341040.jpg | name = Port Hotel (formerly listed as the Commodore Club/Captain Superintendent's house) | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9599803533 | lat = 51.693345583501 | lon = -4.9530977715249 | function = | notes = | hb = 14379 | image = Gatehouse and Captain Superintendent's House - geograph.org.uk - 5823264.jpg | name = Port Hotel Stable Range to South | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9599103507 | lat = 51.693109572209 | lon = -4.9531837007604 | function = | notes = | hb = 14380 | image = Former Captain-Superindent's House, Royal Dockyard (geograph 7817109).jpg | name = Garrison Chapel | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9628003484 | lat = 51.6930083834 | lon = -4.9489947374375 | function = Museum | notes = | hb = 6458 | image = The Garrison Chapel, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 2341122.jpg | commonscat= Garrison Chapel, Pembroke Dock | name = Former Guard House | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9603603636 | lat = 51.694284295682 | lon = -4.952608975907 | function = | notes = | hb = 6436 | image = Former Guard House, Pembroke Dock (geograph 4753928).jpg | name = The Old Storehouse | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9602503742 | lat = 51.695232075417 | lon = -4.9528299082564 | function = | notes = Situated to W of Sunderland House, behind ferry terminal. | hb = 6441 | image = Dockyard buildings at Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 533195.jpg | name = Defensible Barracks | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9606703083 | lat = 51.689330116781 | lon = -4.9518377478342 | function = Barracks | notes = | hb = 6448 | image = Main gate, Defensible Barracks (geograph 3758674).jpg | commonscat= Defensible Barracks, Pembroke Dock | name = Barracks Platform | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9606703083 | lat = 51.689330116781 | lon = -4.9518377478342 | function = | notes = | hb = 14372 | image = The Defensible Barracks (geograph 6906929).jpg | name = South West Martello Tower | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9551803606 | lat = 51.693825784819 | lon = -4.9600756864769 | function = Martello tower | notes = Fort Road (W End) | hb = 14353 | image = Martello Tower (disused!) - geograph.org.uk - 462600.jpg | commonscat= South West Dock Martello Gun Tower | name = North East Martello Tower | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9640603835 | lat = 51.696205961495 | lon = -4.9473791773459 | function = Martello tower | notes = Front Street (N Side) | hb = 14354 | image = Martello Tower, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 726626.jpg | commonscat= Northern Martello Gun Tower | name = Dry-Moat Walls | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9606703083 | lat = 51.689330116781 | lon = -4.9518377478342 | function = | notes = | hb = 14371 | image = The Defensible Barracks (geograph 6906943).jpg | name = The Graving Dock including Bollards and Capstans (formerly listed with 13 Building Slips and Carr Jet) | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9583903927 | lat = 51.696825350907 | lon = -4.955625697233 | function = Graving Dock | notes = | hb = 14393 | image = The Graving Dock (geograph 7815883).jpg | name = Zion Free Church, Meyrick Street | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9667403435 | lat = 51.692711760614 | lon = -4.943273567296 | function = Church | notes = Built 1846-8, extended 1866-7 and renovated 1882, 1911 and 1986. | hb = 6415 | image = Zion Free Church, Meyrick Street (geograph 2342946).jpg | name = Zion Free Church Forecourt railings, piers and gates, Meyrick Street | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM9669403432 | lat = 51.692692092504 | lon = -4.9429828554186 | function = | notes = | hb = 14420 | image = Zion Free Church, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 4398025.jpg | name = Bomb stores at West end of Fort Road | location = Pembroke Dock | date_listed = | grid_ref = SM955035 | lat = 51.6933 | lon = -4.9596 | function = Bomb store | notes = Likely dating from 1934-39 when the site was redeveloped as an RAF flying boat station. | hb = PE570 | image = WW II remains at Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 5188084.jpg |}

Notes

References

References

  1. J.S.Guard. (5 January 2004). "H.M. Dockyard Pembroke – A Brief History". J.S.Guard.
  2. "Pater Fort SW and W Walls, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire".
  3. Phillips, pp. 12–16
  4. Phillips, pp. 17–20, 40
  5. "British Police History - Royal Marine Police".
  6. "From W.S. Chalmers, The Life and Letters of David, Earl Beatty (1951), p.469". Pembrokedock.org.
  7. Phillips, pp. 46–48
  8. "History of Pembroke Dock". Pembrokedock.org.
  9. (May 2008). "''desider'' p26".
  10. "Annual Report Business Review & Accounts 2006".
  11. "Ministry of Defence: Salvage and Marine Team".
  12. "1bn MoD Marine Services Contract". Serco.com.
  13. "Listed Buildings in Pembrokeshire".
  14. "Permission granted for Pembroke Dockyard plans". Tenby Observer.
  15. (3 March 2021). "Historic Pembroke Dockyard under threat".
  16. "Heritage organisation's calls to protect historic Royal Naval Dockyard". Pembroke & Pembroke Dock Observer.
  17. "Royal Naval dockyard staff". The National Archives, UK, 2016.
  18. (2013). "The Ships of Pembroke Dockyard". Amberley.
  19. "Royal Naval dockyard staff". The National Archives, UK, 2016.
  20. (2009). "Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present". McFarland.
  21. (2010–2018). "Resident Commissioner at Pater Yard". S. Harrison.
  22. "Royal Navy Appointments from 1865". Colin Mackie, p.116, December 2017.
  23. "Listed buildings at Pembroke Dock". British Listed Buildings Online.
  24. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  25. "Paterchurch Tower". British Listed Buildings.
  26. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  27. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  28. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  29. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  30. {{National Historic Assets of Wales
  31. {{Cadw

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

military-installations-in-walespembroke-dockmilitary-installations-established-in-1814military-installations-closed-in-1926