Pembroke Dock: Difference between revisions

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| static_image_caption        = Pembroke Dock and Cleddau Estuary
| static_image_caption        = Pembroke Dock and Cleddau Estuary
| official_name              = Pembroke Dock
| official_name              = Pembroke Dock
| community_wales            = Pembroke Dock<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/|title=Pembroke Dock Town Council|website=www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk}}</ref>
| community_wales            = Pembroke Dock
| unitary_wales              = [[Pembrokeshire]]
| unitary_wales              = [[Pembrokeshire]]
| lieutenancy_wales          = [[Dyfed]]
| lieutenancy_wales          = [[Dyfed]]
| constituency_westminster    = [[Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire]]
| constituency_westminster    = [[Mid and South Pembrokeshire]]
| post_town                  = PEMBROKE DOCK
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Senedd constituency)|Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire]]
| post_town                  = Pembroke Dock
| postcode_district          = SA72
| postcode_district          = SA72
| postcode_area              = SA
| postcode_area              = SA
| dial_code                  = 01646
| dial_code                  = 01646
| os_grid_reference          = SM965035
| os_grid_reference          = SM965035
| population                  = 9,753
| population                  = 9,657
| population_ref              = (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127456&c=Pembroke+Dock&d=16&e=62&g=6491831&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1429544880219&enc=1|title=4 Wards and community population 2011|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-date=7 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107115751/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127456&c=Pembroke+Dock&d=16&e=62&g=6491831&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1429544880219&enc=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_ref              = (2021)
| module= [[File:2024 Wales Pembrokeshire Community Pembroke Dock map.svg|240px]]<br />Map of the community
| map_type = nomap
| static_image_2_name = 2024 Wales Pembrokeshire Community Pembroke Dock map.svg
| static_image_2_caption = Location of the community within Pembrokeshire
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 11
| mapframe-wikidata = yes
| mapframe-point = on
}}
}}
'''Pembroke Dock''' ({{langx|cy|Doc Penfro}}) is a [[town]] and a [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Pembrokeshire]], [[South West Wales]], {{convert|3|mi}} northwest of [[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]] on the banks of the [[River Cleddau]].
'''Pembroke Dock''' ({{langx|cy|Doc Penfro}}) is a port [[town]] and a [[community (Wales)|community]] in [[Pembrokeshire]], [[South West Wales]], {{convert|3|mi}} northwest of [[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]] on the banks of the [[River Cleddau]].


Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the construction of the [[Royal Navy Dockyard]] in 1814. The [[Cleddau Bridge]] links Pembroke Dock with [[Neyland]].
Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the construction of the [[Royal Navy Dockyard]] in 1814. The [[Cleddau Bridge]] links Pembroke Dock with [[Neyland]].


After [[Haverfordwest]] and [[Milford Haven]], Pembroke Dock is the third-largest town in Pembrokeshire being more populous than neighbouring [[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]].
After [[Haverfordwest]] and [[Milford Haven]], Pembroke Dock is the third-largest town in Pembrokeshire being more populous than neighbouring Pembroke.


== History ==
== History ==
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In 1172, [[Henry II of England|King Henry II's]] fleet and army were prepared in the mouth of the [[Pembroke River]] and sailed to Ireland during the [[Norman Invasion of Ireland]].<ref name=JSGuard>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/pembroke.htm|title=H.M. Dockyard Pembroke – A Brief History|author=J.S.Guard|publisher=J.S.Guard|date=5 January 2004|access-date=23 August 2012}}</ref>
In 1172, [[Henry II of England|King Henry II's]] fleet and army were prepared in the mouth of the [[Pembroke River]] and sailed to Ireland during the [[Norman Invasion of Ireland]].<ref name=JSGuard>{{cite web|url=http://www.gwpda.org/naval/pembroke.htm|title=H.M. Dockyard Pembroke – A Brief History|author=J.S.Guard|publisher=J.S.Guard|date=5 January 2004|access-date=23 August 2012}}</ref>


Prior to 1814, the area was mostly farmland and known as Paterchurch. The first recorded mention of Paterchurch was in 1289. A [[medieval]] tower was built and like nearby 18th century and 19th century fortifications, it may have served as a lookout post. By the 17th century, additional domestic and farm buildings stood close to the tower and the isolated settlement had its own cemetery, whose last recorded burial is that of a Roger Adams, in 1731. The ruin of the tower now lies within the walls of the dockyard.
Until 1814, the area was mostly farmland and known as Paterchurch. The first recorded mention of Paterchurch was in 1289. A [[medieval]] tower was built and like nearby 18th century and 19th century fortifications, it may have served as a lookout post. By the 17th century, additional domestic and farm buildings stood close to the tower and the isolated settlement had its own cemetery, whose last recorded burial is that of a Roger Adams, in 1731. The ruin of the tower now lies within the walls of the dockyard.


[[Paterchurch Tower]] was the centre of an estate said to stretch from Pennar Point to [[Cosheston]]. This changed hands in 1422 when Ellen de Paterchurch married a John Adams. Prior to the building of the town and before the dockyard was thought of, various sales and exchanges took place between the principal local landowners – the Adams, Owen and Meyrick families. These exchanges left the [[Meyrick Baronets|Meyricks]] in control of most of the land on which the [[dockyard]] and new town were to develop. By 1802 the Paterchurch buildings were mostly ruins.
[[Paterchurch Tower]] was the centre of an estate said to stretch from Pennar Point to [[Cosheston]]. This changed hands in 1422 when Ellen de Paterchurch married a John Adams. Prior to the building of the town and before the dockyard was thought of, various sales and exchanges took place between the principal local landowners – the Adams, Owen and Meyrick families. These exchanges left the [[Meyrick Baronets|Meyricks]] in control of most of the land on which the [[dockyard]] and new town were to develop. By 1802 the Paterchurch buildings were mostly ruins.
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During the [[Second World War]] Pembroke Dock was targeted by the German [[Luftwaffe]]. On Monday 19 August 1940 a Luftwaffe [[Junkers Ju 88]] bomber flew up the haven waterway and bombed a series of oil tanks sited at Pennar. The oil-fuelled fire that followed raged for 18 days and was recorded as the largest UK conflagration since the [[Great Fire of London]].<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Wales online|date=19 August 2010|title=Memory of Pembroke Dock's biggest oil fire lives on|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/memory-pembroke-docks-biggest-oil-1903841|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> Bombing on the night of 11 and 12 May 1941 resulted in 30 people killed and many injured in the town. Nearly 2,000 houses were damaged.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Tivyside Advertiser|date=19 September 2020|title=Pembroke Dock's night of terror when 30 people were killed|url=https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/pembrokeshire_news/18719197.pembroke-docks-night-terror-30-people-killed/|access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>
During the [[Second World War]] Pembroke Dock was targeted by the German [[Luftwaffe]]. On Monday 19 August 1940 a Luftwaffe [[Junkers Ju 88]] bomber flew up the haven waterway and bombed a series of oil tanks sited at Pennar. The oil-fuelled fire that followed raged for 18 days and was recorded as the largest UK conflagration since the [[Great Fire of London]].<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Wales online|date=19 August 2010|title=Memory of Pembroke Dock's biggest oil fire lives on|url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/memory-pembroke-docks-biggest-oil-1903841|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> Bombing on the night of 11 and 12 May 1941 resulted in 30 people killed and many injured in the town. Nearly 2,000 houses were damaged.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Tivyside Advertiser|date=19 September 2020|title=Pembroke Dock's night of terror when 30 people were killed|url=https://www.tivysideadvertiser.co.uk/news/pembrokeshire_news/18719197.pembroke-docks-night-terror-30-people-killed/|access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>


== Naval dockyards ==
=== Naval dockyards ===
===1758 naval report===
[[File:Customs House - geograph.org.uk - 209948.jpg|thumb|Former dockyard buildings: offices ('Sunderland House', left) and storehouse (right)]]
The origins of naval shipbuilding on [[Milford Haven Waterway|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"''.<ref name=JSGuard/> No such place as Milford existed at this time, just the village of [[Hubberston]]. Secondly, the report showed early signs of [[lobbying]] existing, with the scale of the local infrastructure and ship building activity exaggerated.<ref name=JSGuard/>
{{main|Pembroke Dockyard}}


===Milford Haven===
The origins of naval shipbuilding on [[Milford Haven Waterway|Milford Haven]] were 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"''.<ref name=JSGuard/> Originally privately owned, the Navy took over the shipyard lease in 1796.<ref name=JSGuard/> In 1809, the Admiralty sought to purchase the facility outright and formally establish it as a Royal Navy dockyard, but failed to agree a purchase price.<ref name=JSGuard/>
{{main|Milford Haven}}
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 [[William Hamilton (diplomat)|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.<ref name=JSGuard/> 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.<ref name=JSGuard/>


In 1809, a naval commission recommended purchase of the Milford Haven facility and formal establishment of a Royal Navy dockyard.<ref name=JSGuard/> After the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and the merging of the two sides of the [[Royal Navy]] under the Admiralty Board, a [[Royal School of Naval Architecture|School of Naval Architecture]] was opened in [[Portsmouth]] in 1810 and, effectively then, Millford was to be set up as a model dockyard under French management (possibly to develop the manoeuvrability of British ships) from which lessons could be learnt for implementation in other dockyards.<ref name=JSGuard/>
Instead, the Admiralty agreed purchase of land across the haven, near the town of Pembroke in a district called Pater (village) or Paterchurch, and in 1814 [[Pembroke Dockyard]] was established, initially called Pater Dockyard. The site was one of the few in the haven suitable for a dock for constructing decent sized ships, as its shoreline was flat but led quickly into deep harbour.<ref name=JSGuard/> Construction started immediately, with a former frigate driven ashore as a temporary accommodation hulk. Orders were placed for the construction of a 74 gun battleship and four frigates. After the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in June 1815, the scheme still seemed ill placed in what would be a smaller Royal Navy, but the final plans were given the go ahead on 31 October 1815.


===New town===
[[File:Disused Dry Dock - geograph.org.uk - 489556.jpg|upright|thumb|Disused former dry dock, Pembroke Dockyard]]
[[File:Customs House - geograph.org.uk - 209948.jpg|thumbnail|Former dockyard buildings: offices ('Sunderland House', left) and storehouse (right)]]
On 10 February 1816, the first two ships were launched from the dockyard – HMS Valorous and Ariadne, both 20-gun [[post-ship]]s, subsequently converted at [[Plymouth Dockyard]] into 26-gun ships. Over the span of 112 years, five [[royal yacht]]s 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.
After failing to agree a purchase price for the existing Millford shipyard with Fulke Greville, Charles Greville's heir, the Admiralty agreed purchase of land {{convert|5|mi}} across the haven from Milford, near the town of Pembroke in a district called Pater (village) or Paterchurch. This was one of the few sites in the haven suitable for building a dock for constructing decent sized ships, as its shoreline was flat but led quickly into deep harbour. Secondly, the [[Board of Ordnance]] had purchased {{convert|50|acre}} in preparation from the 1758 report to strengthen the haven's defences,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/300014390-pater-fort-sw-and-w-walls-pembroke-dock|title=Pater Fort SW and W Walls, Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire|website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk}}</ref> which was added to by the purchase of an adjoining {{convert|20|acre}} for £5,500 from the Meyrick family.<ref name=JSGuard/>


The town of Pembroke Dock was founded in 1814 when [[Pembroke Dockyard]] was established, initially called Pater Dockyard. Construction started immediately, with the former frigate [[HMS Lapwing (1785)|HMS ''Lapwing'']] driven ashore as a temporary accommodation hulk. Orders were placed for the construction of 74 gun battleship, and four frigates. After the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in June 1815, although the scheme still seemed ill placed in what would be a smaller Royal Navy, the final plans were given the go ahead on 31 October 1815. The Naval Dockyards Society published a historical review in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pembrokedock.org/history.htm |title=Pembroke Dock Community Web Project |publisher=Pembrokedock.org |date=15 July 1926 |access-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219213101/http://www.pembrokedock.org/history.htm |archive-date=19 February 2012  }}</ref>
After the [[First World War]], the dockyard was closed by the cash-strapped Admiralty as redundant in 1926. 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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |title=From W.S. Chalmers, The Life and Letters of David, Earl Beatty (1951), p.469 |publisher=Pembrokedock.org |access-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207042402/http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |archive-date=7 February 2012  }}</ref>


===Operations===
The [[Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service]] (RMAS) maintained a base in Pembroke Dock until disestablishment in 2008,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8F4E1958-BAB2-4E59-BB71-76D61C28BD1D/0/desider_01_may2008.pdf|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8F4E1958-BAB2-4E59-BB71-76D61C28BD1D/0/desider_01_may2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2012|title=''desider'' p26|date=May 2008|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> including the MOD Salvage & Marine Team.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ministry of Defence: Salvage and Marine Team|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/OurTeams/FleetTeams/SalvageAndMarineTeam.htm|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/OurTeams/FleetTeams/SalvageAndMarineTeam.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2012|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] sold the freehold of the site to the Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mhpa.co.uk/uploaded/docs/mhpa%20annual%20report%202006.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150056/http://www.mhpa.co.uk/uploaded/docs/mhpa%20annual%20report%202006.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Annual Report Business Review & Accounts 2006|website=Milford Haven Port Authority|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> in 2007.
{{more|Category:Ships built in Pembroke Dock}}
 
[[File:Disused Dry Dock - geograph.org.uk - 489556.jpg|upright|thumbnail|Disused former dry dock, Pembroke Dockyard]]
The dockyard wall is substantially complete and the dry dock also remains, along with two out of ten building slips. Among several surviving Georgian and Victorian buildings on the site is the Terrace, a row of houses for the dockyard officers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/pembrokeshire/pembroke+dock|title=Listed Buildings in Pembrokeshire|website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk}}</ref> [[Garrison 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.
On 10 February 1816, the first two ships were launched from the dockyard – HMS Valorous and Ariadne, both 20-gun [[post-ship]]s, subsequently converted at [[Plymouth Dockyard]] into 26-gun ships. Over the span of 112 years, five [[royal yacht]]s 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.
[[File:The Gun Tower, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 473746.jpg|thumb|Dock wall and [[Martello tower]]]]
 
=== Garrison ===
[[File:Main gate, Defensible Barracks (geograph 3758674).jpg|upright|thumb|Defensible barracks, gatehouse]]
As the dockyard and its importance grew, the need to defend it was addressed and Pembroke Dock became a military town. Work began in 1844 to build [[Defensible Barracks, Pembroke Dock|defensible barracks]]. In 1845 the first occupiers were the [[Royal Marines]] of the Portsmouth Division, followed through the years by many famous regiments. Between 1849 and 1857, two [[Martello tower]]s of dressed [[Portland stone]] were constructed at the south-western and north-western corner of the dockyard; both were garrisoned by sergeants of artillery and their families.{{CN|date=March 2023}}
 
In the 1850s a hutted encampment was established nearby on Llanion Hill. In 1904 this was replaced by four brick-built barrack blocks, designed to house a thousand troops. The new Llanion Barracks was 'the first barracks to be constructed with a separate area for cooking and ablutions and was one of the most modern in the country'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/32085/|title= Llanion Barracks, Pembroke Dock|website=Coflein}}</ref>
 
The town remained garrisoned with troops until 1967. The two [[Martello tower]]s remain: one was a local museum but is for sale by auction in July 2019, while the other is in private hands and has been converted for residential use and is largely intact. A few buildings on the Llanion site still stand. The Officers' and Sergeants' Mess once used as council offices is now occupied by [[Pembrokeshire Coast National Park]]. The original guardroom remains and is now residential accommodation, and a listed Victoria [[Magazine (artillery)|Powder Magazine]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/l/llanion_barracks/index.html|title=Pembroke Dock – Llanion Barracks – 4 Group AAOR for the Milford Haven GDA|publisher=Subterranea Britannica|date=12 November 2002|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> remains set into the coastal slope which is accessible from Connacht Way. The old parade square has recently{{when|date=December 2025}} been converted for housing.
 
=== RAF base ===
{{Main|RAF Pembroke Dock}}
[[Image:Pembroke hanger.jpg|thumb|The hangars dominate the landscape]]
With the closure of the dockyard in 1926, the year of the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|general strike]], unemployment was high through the [[Great Depression]] until 1931 when [[No. 210 Squadron RAF]] arrived equipped with [[Supermarine Southampton|Southampton II flying boats]]. For almost 30 years the [[Royal Air Force]] was based at Pembroke Dock. During 1943, when home to the [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland flying boats]] used to guard the [[Western Approaches]], it was the largest operational base for flying boats in the world.
 
It was announced in 1957 that the RAF would be drastically reducing its presence.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/815006323/ | title = Closure of base shocks a town | date = 1957-02-07 | page = 5 | newspaper = [[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]] | access-date = 2022-06-17}}{{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> The two listed hangars have been rebuilt and are now used for other purposes. The full-scale ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' built for ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' was created in one of the hangars by Marcon Fabrications in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4555455.stm|title=Town's secret Star Wars history|author=Parry, Nick|publisher=BBC News|date=18 May 2005|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref>


In 1925, it was 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. [[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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |title=From W.S. Chalmers, The Life and Letters of David, Earl Beatty (1951), p.469 |publisher=Pembrokedock.org |access-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207042402/http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |archive-date=7 February 2012  }}</ref>
==Governance==
There are two tiers of local government covering Pembroke Dock, at [[Community (Wales)|community]] (town) and [[Local government in Wales|county]] level: Pembroke Dock Town Council and [[Pembrokeshire County Council]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/|title=Pembroke Dock Town Council|website=www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk}}</ref>


The last Pembroke-built ship afloat was the hulk of the iron screw frigate {{HMS|Inconstant|1868|6}}, 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |title=History of Pembroke Dock |publisher=Pembrokedock.org |access-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207042402/http://www.pembrokedock.org/h_dockyard_2.htm |archive-date=7 February 2012  }}</ref>
The town council comprises 16 councillors and is based at 28 Dimond Street, a converted shop in the town centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/your-council/ |title=Your Council – Providing Community Support and Advice |publisher=Pembroke Dock Town Council |access-date=30 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Town Council Meetings |url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/meetings-and-committees/ |website=Pembroke Dock Town Council |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref>


===Aftermath===
In May 2022, Billy Gannon, one of the town councillors, was rumoured to be English street artist [[Banksy]]. He subsequently resigned because this was affecting his ability to carry out the duties of a councillor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-27 |title=Mr Banksy, I presume: the councillor who quit over claims he has a secret |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/may/27/banksy-rumours-wales-councillor-billy-gannon-quit |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
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|Naval Dockyard]], and retained a [[King's Harbour Master|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 [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]], [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]], [[Rosyth Dockyard|Rosyth]] and [[HMNB Clyde|Clyde]]). The [[Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service]] (RMAS) was based in Pembroke Dock until disestablishment in 2008,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8F4E1958-BAB2-4E59-BB71-76D61C28BD1D/0/desider_01_may2008.pdf|archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8F4E1958-BAB2-4E59-BB71-76D61C28BD1D/0/desider_01_may2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2012|title=''desider'' p26  |date=May 2008 |access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> and the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] sold the freehold of the site to the Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mhpa.co.uk/uploaded/docs/mhpa%20annual%20report%202006.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719150056/http://www.mhpa.co.uk/uploaded/docs/mhpa%20annual%20report%202006.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Annual Report Business Review & Accounts 2006|website=Milford Haven Port Authority|archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web|title=Ministry of Defence: Salvage and Marine Team|url=http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/OurTeams/FleetTeams/SalvageAndMarineTeam.htm|archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/MicroSite/DES/OurTeams/FleetTeams/SalvageAndMarineTeam.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2012|access-date=23 March 2015}}</ref> (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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.serco.com/media/pressreleases/2006/marineservices.asp |title=1bn MoD Marine Services Contract |publisher=Serco.com |access-date=25 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204193635/http://www.serco.com/media/pressreleases/2006/marineservices.asp |archive-date=4 February 2012  }}</ref>


===Future===
For representation on the county council, Pembroke Dock is divided into four [[electoral ward]]s: ([[Pembroke Dock Central]], [[Pembroke Dock Llanion]], [[Pembroke Dock Market]] and [[Pembroke Dock Pennar]]), which each elect one county councillor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3141/made?view=plain|title=The County of Pembrokeshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998 |publisher=Legislation.gov.uk  |access-date=30 August 2018 }}</ref>
In 2021 permission was granted for 'ambitious plans to transform Pembroke Dock's historic dockyard' as part of a '£60 million marine energy project'.<ref name="PermissionGranted">{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Katy |title=Permission granted for Pembroke Dockyard plans |url=https://www.tenby-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=131250&headline=Permission%20granted%20for%20Pembroke%20Dockyard%20plans&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2021 |access-date=22 June 2021 |work=Tenby Observer}}</ref> The Welsh Government decided not to [[Development management in the United Kingdom#Delegated powers and committees|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Pembroke Dockyard under threat |url=https://www.spab.org.uk/news/historic-pembroke-dockyard-under-threat |website=SPAB |date=3 March 2021 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref>


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';<ref name="HeritageOrgs">{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Paul |title=Heritage organisation's calls to protect historic Royal Naval Dockyard |url=https://www.pembroke-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=130398&headline=Heritage%20organisation%E2%80%99s%20calls%20to%20protect%20historic%20Royal%20Naval%20Dockyard&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2021 |access-date=22 June 2021 |work=Pembroke & Pembroke Dock Observer}}</ref> 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.<ref name="PermissionGranted" /> 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'.<ref name="HeritageOrgs" />
===Administrative history===
Pembroke Dock formed part of the [[ancient parish]] of Pembroke St Mary, which was part of the [[ancient borough|borough]] of Pembroke.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pembroke Municipal Borough |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10282810 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref> The borough was reformed to become a [[municipal borough]] in 1836, retaining the same boundaries and therefore continuing to include the growing town of Pembroke Dock.<ref>{{cite book |title=First report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the municipal corporations in England and Wales |date=1835 |page=365 |publisher=C. Knight |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433014090470&view=page&seq=501&skin=2021&q1=pembroke |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref> By 1895 Pembroke Borough Council had adopted the practice of holding its meetings alternately at [[Pembroke Town Hall]] and at Pembroke Dock, where the council had established its main administrative offices at 37 Bush Street (renumbered 71 Bush Street in 1906).<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of South Wales |date=1895 |location=London |page=574 |quote=The Corporation meets at Pembroke & Pembroke Dock alternately...}}</ref> The council remained based at 71 Bush Street (and later also expanded into neighbouring 73 Bush Street) until the early 1970s when it acquired Llanion Park, part of the Llanion Barracks at Pembroke Dock, to serve as its headquarters.<ref>1971 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - Administration, Municipal Offices, Bush Street, Pembroke Dock / 1972 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - All Departments, Llanion Barracks, Pembroke Dock</ref>


== Military garrison ==
Pembroke Borough Council was abolished under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], with the area becoming part of the new district of [[South Pembrokeshire]] within the county of [[Dyfed]] on 1 April 1974. A community was established to cover the area of the former borough, with its council taking the name Pembroke Town Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|year=1972|chapter=70|act=Local Government Act 1972|access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Districts in Wales (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|num=34|access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> South Pembrokeshire District Council took over Llanion Park at Pembroke Dock to serve as its headquarters.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Welsh Office |journal=London Gazette |date=11 April 1974 |issue=46263 |page=4706 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/46263/page/4706 |quote=...at the offices of South Pembrokeshire District Council, Llanion Park, Pembroke Dock. |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Main gate, Defensible Barracks (geograph 3758674).jpg|upright|thumbnail|Defensible barracks, gatehouse]]
As the dockyard and its importance grew, the need to defend it was addressed and Pembroke Dock became a military town. Work began in 1844 to build [[Defensible Barracks, Pembroke Dock|defensible barracks]]. In 1845 the first occupiers were the [[Royal Marines]] of the Portsmouth Division, followed through the years by many famous regiments. Between 1849 and 1857, two [[Martello tower]]s of dressed [[Portland stone]] were constructed at the south-western and north-western corner of the dockyard; both were garrisoned by sergeants of artillery and their families.{{CN|date=March 2023}}


In the 1850s a hutted encampment was established nearby on Llanion Hill. In 1904 this was replaced by four brick-built barrack blocks, designed to house a thousand troops. The new Llanion Barracks was 'the first barracks to be constructed with a separate area for cooking and ablutions and was one of the most modern in the country'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/32085/|title= Llanion Barracks, Pembroke Dock|website=Coflein}}</ref>
On 1 April 1986 the community of Pembroke was split into a Pembroke Dock community and a reduced Pembroke community, just covering the older town. This was the first time Pembroke Dock had been administered separately from Pembroke. The Pembroke Dock community council chose to call itself Pembroke Dock Town Council.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Langston |first1=Brett |title=South Pembrokeshire Registration District |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/south%20pembrokeshire.html |website=UKBMD |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref>


The town remained garrisoned with troops until 1967.
South Pembrokeshire was abolished in 1996, with the area becoming part of a re-established Pembrokeshire.


== RAF base ==
==Demographics==
{{Main|RAF Pembroke Dock}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
[[Image:Pembroke hanger.jpg|thumb|alt=.|The hangars dominate the landscape]]
|+ Census population for Pembroke Dock community
With the closure of the dockyard in 1926, the year of the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|General Strike]], unemployment was high through the [[Great Depression]] until 1931 when [[No. 210 Squadron RAF]] arrived equipped with [[Supermarine Southampton|Southampton II flying boats]]. For almost 30 years the [[Royal Air Force]] was based at Pembroke Dock. During 1943, when home to the [[Short Sunderland|Sunderland flying boats]], it was the largest operational base for flying boats in the world.
|-
! scope=col width=18%| Census
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Population <nowiki />
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Female
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Male <nowiki />
! scope=col width=18% class="unsortable"| Households
! scope=col width=10% class="unsortable"| Source
|-
!scope=row| [[2001 United Kingdom census|2001]]  
|| 8,676 <nowiki />
|| 4,481
|| 4,195 <nowiki />
|| 3,695
|| <ref name="wikidata-a08218995ada6ed07e35f13524a292a4b6851935-v20">{{Cite web|at=Tables KS001 (Usual resident population) and KS016 (Household spaces and accommodation type)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2001_ks}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row| [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011]]  
|| 9,753 <nowiki />
|| 4,912
|| 4,841 <nowiki />
|| 4,171
|| <ref name="wikidata-23d93403bbd510e3eaf857bb0207b766770d8bc9-v20">{{Cite web|at=Table KS101EW (Usual resident population) and Table KS105EW (Household composition)|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Key Statistics|access-date=23 June 2025|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2011_ks}}</ref>
|-
!scope=row| [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]]  
|| 9,657 <nowiki />
|| 4,904
|| 4,753 <nowiki />
|| 4,434
|| <ref name="wikidata-1777794f031f3bb865bc1ba87bbd53bc9876131c-v20">{{Cite web|publisher=Office for National Statistics|title=Parish Profiles|access-date=5 August 2024|website=2021 United Kingdom census|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp}}</ref>
|}


It was announced in 1957 that the RAF would be drastically reducing its presence.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/815006323/ | title = Closure of base shocks a town | date = 1957-02-07 | page = 5 | newspaper = [[Western Mail (Wales)|Western Mail]] | access-date = 2022-06-17}}{{subscription required|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Economy==
The Pembrokeshire Technium<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembroke-dock.co.uk/technium_project.htm|title=Technium Project|publisher=Pembroke Dock Community Web Project|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> was built and opened in 2006 and succeeded by Technium Science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Technium Science |url=https://techniumscience.com/ |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=techniumscience.com}}</ref> Although the initial interest was slow the first major uptake on this facility began in 2009 when Infinergy built a wind farm<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewindpower.net/wind-farm-1413-castle-pill-farm-nordtank-ntk500-37.php|title=Castle Pill Farm windfarm, United Kingdom|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> in the local area and based its local office in the centre. Following its removal from the Welsh Government’s [[Technium|Technium network]] it was rebranded as the Bridge Innovation Centre in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 21, 2013 |title=Technium centre rebranded to help build bridges for new businesses |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/business/business-news/technium-centre-rebranded-help-build-1817775 |access-date=2025-12-05 |website=Wales Online |language=en}}</ref> There has been approval given by Pembrokeshire County Council for a new yacht marina to be built alongside Front Street but work has yet to begin.


Pembroke Dock has a link to [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]]: the full-scale ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' built for ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' was created in one of Pembroke Dock's hangars by Marcon Fabrications in 1979.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4555455.stm|title=Town's secret Star Wars history|author=Parry, Nick|publisher=BBC News|date=18 May 2005|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref>
===Dockyard regeneration===
{{main|Pembroke Dockyard#Post-closure preservation and redevelopment}}
In 2021 permission was granted for 'ambitious plans to transform Pembroke Dock's historic dockyard' as part of a '£60 million marine energy project',<ref name="PermissionGranted">{{cite news |last1=Jenkins |first1=Katy |title=Permission granted for Pembroke Dockyard plans |url=https://www.tenby-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=131250&headline=Permission%20granted%20for%20Pembroke%20Dockyard%20plans&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2021 |access-date=22 June 2021 |work=Tenby Observer}}</ref> despite protests from heritage groups. Some buildings within the [[conservation area]] will be 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Pembroke Dockyard under threat |url=https://www.spab.org.uk/news/historic-pembroke-dockyard-under-threat |website=SPAB |date=3 March 2021 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> These will be 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'.<ref name="HeritageOrgs">{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Paul |title=Heritage organisation's calls to protect historic Royal Naval Dockyard |url=https://www.pembroke-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=130398&headline=Heritage%20organisation%E2%80%99s%20calls%20to%20protect%20historic%20Royal%20Naval%20Dockyard&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2021 |access-date=22 June 2021 |work=Pembroke & Pembroke Dock Observer}}</ref>


==Today==
==Transport==
[[File:The Flying Boat Centre, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 4383585.jpg|thumbnail|Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, housed in the former dockyard chapel]]
[[File:The Flying Boat Centre, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 4383585.jpg|thumb|Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, housed in the former dockyard chapel]]
[[Image:Rosslare ferry at Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 1369988.jpg|thumb|Pembroke Dock ferry terminal]]
[[Image:Rosslare ferry at Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 1369988.jpg|thumb|Pembroke Dock ferry terminal]]
Pembroke Dock is served by the [[A477 road|A477 trunk road]] which runs from the [[A40 road|A40]] at [[St. Clears]]. At Waterloo the A477 road crosses the [[Daugleddau]] estuary on the [[Cleddau Bridge]] and continues toward [[Haverfordwest]]. It has a ferry terminal from which ferries sail twice-daily to [[Rosslare Harbour|Rosslare]] in [[Ireland]]. The service is operated by [[Irish Ferries]]. There is also a deep water cargo port (Pembroke Port) adjacent to the ferry terminal which is operated by the Port of Milford Haven. [[Pembroke Dock railway station]] connects with [[Carmarthen]] ''via'' [[Tenby]].
Pembroke Dock is served by the [[A477 road|A477 trunk road]] which runs from the [[A40 road|A40]] at [[St. Clears]]. At Waterloo the A477 road crosses the [[Daugleddau]] estuary on the [[Cleddau Bridge]] and continues toward [[Haverfordwest]]. It has a ferry terminal from which ferries sail twice-daily to [[Rosslare Harbour|Rosslare]] in [[Ireland]]. The service is operated by [[Irish Ferries]]. There is also a deep water cargo port (Pembroke Port) adjacent to the ferry terminal which is operated by the Port of Milford Haven. [[Pembroke Dock railway station]] connects with [[Carmarthen]] via [[Tenby]].
 
The two [[Martello tower]]s remain: one was a local museum but is for sale by auction in July 2019, while the other is in private hands and has been converted for residential use and is largely intact. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wales/pembrokeshire/pembroke+dock|title=Listed Buildings in Pembrokeshire|website=britishlistedbuildings.co.uk}}</ref> The [[Garrison Chapel|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.
[[File:The Gun Tower, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 473746.jpg|thumbnail|Dock wall and [[Martello tower]]]]
A few buildings on the site of the old Llanion Barracks still stand. The Officers' and Sergeants' Mess once used as council offices is now occupied by [[Pembrokeshire Coast National Park]]. The original guardroom remains and is now residential accommodation and a listed Victoria [[Magazine (artillery)|Powder Magazine]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/l/llanion_barracks/index.html|title=Pembroke Dock – Llanion Barracks – 4 Group AAOR for the Milford Haven GDA|publisher=Subterranea Britannica|date=12 November 2002|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> remains set into the coastal slope which is accessible from Connacht Way. The old parade square has recently been converted for housing.


==Amenities==
Two cemeteries in the town both hold many service graves. Pembroke Dock (Llanion) Cemetery contains the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|war graves]] of 23 Commonwealth service personnel, including two unidentified Royal Navy sailors, of the [[First World War]] and 51 of the Second, including four unidentified Royal Navy sailors and an unidentified [[Royal Air Force|airman]].<ref name="cwgc1">[https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/75113/PEMBROKE%20DOCK%20(LLANION)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref> [[Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery]] contains the war graves of 40 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 33 of the [[Second World War|Second]],<ref name="cwgc2">[https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/75114/PEMBROKE%20DOCK%20MILITARY%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref> and is believed to be the only dedicated military cemetery in Wales.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC|date=8 November 2014|title=Pembroke Dock cemetery for soldiers who died at home|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-29959963|access-date=10 November 2014}}</ref>
Two cemeteries in the town both hold many service graves. Pembroke Dock (Llanion) Cemetery contains the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|war graves]] of 23 Commonwealth service personnel, including two unidentified Royal Navy sailors, of the [[First World War]] and 51 of the Second, including four unidentified Royal Navy sailors and an unidentified [[Royal Air Force|airman]].<ref name="cwgc1">[https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/75113/PEMBROKE%20DOCK%20(LLANION)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref> [[Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery]] contains the war graves of 40 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 33 of the [[Second World War|Second]],<ref name="cwgc2">[https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/75114/PEMBROKE%20DOCK%20MILITARY%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report.</ref> and is believed to be the only dedicated military cemetery in Wales.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC|date=8 November 2014|title=Pembroke Dock cemetery for soldiers who died at home|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-29959963|access-date=10 November 2014}}</ref>
The Pembrokeshire Technium<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pembroke-dock.co.uk/technium_project.htm|title=Technium Project|publisher=Pembroke Dock Community Web Project|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> was built and opened in 2006 and succeeded by Technium Science.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Technium Science |url=https://techniumscience.com/ |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=techniumscience.com}}</ref> Although the initial interest was slow the first major uptake on this facility began in 2009 when Infinergy built a wind farm<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewindpower.net/wind-farm-1413-castle-pill-farm-nordtank-ntk500-37.php|title=Castle Pill Farm windfarm, United Kingdom|access-date=14 April 2010}}</ref> in the local area and based its local office in the centre. There has been approval given by Pembrokeshire County Council for a new yacht marina to be built alongside Front Street but work has yet to begin.


== Notable people ==
== Notable people ==
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==Renaming proposals==
==Renaming proposals==
There have been suggestions that Pembroke Dock should change its name, to improve the town's image in respect of a reputation for high unemployment and [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]]. Proposals have included Pembroke Haven, Pembroke Harbour and a reversion to the original pre-1814 name of Paterchurch. A change of name was rejected in a referendum in the 1960s, and was again proposed in 2003.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3034617.stm | work=BBC News | title='Ditch Dock' town is urged | date=16 May 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pembroke Dock may find everything is in a name |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pembroke-dock-find-everything-name-2484750 |work=[[Wales Online]] |date=15 May 2003}}</ref>
There have been suggestions that Pembroke Dock should change its name, to improve the town's image in respect of a reputation for high unemployment and [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]]. Proposals have included Pembroke Haven, Pembroke Harbour and a reversion to the original pre-1814 name of Paterchurch. A change of name was rejected in a referendum in the 1960s, and was again proposed in 2003.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/3034617.stm | work=BBC News | title='Ditch Dock' town is urged | date=16 May 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Pembroke Dock may find everything is in a name |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/pembroke-dock-find-everything-name-2484750 |work=[[Wales Online]] |date=15 May 2003}}</ref>
==Governance==
There are two tiers of local government covering Pembroke Dock, at [[Community (Wales)|community]] (town) and [[Local government in Wales|county]] level: Pembroke Dock Town Council and [[Pembrokeshire County Council]].
The town council comprises 16 councillors and is based at 28 Dimond Street, a converted shop in the town centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/your-council/ |title=Your Council – Providing Community Support and Advice |publisher=Pembroke Dock Town Council |access-date=30 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Town Council Meetings |url=https://www.pembrokedocktc.org.uk/meetings-and-committees/ |website=Pembroke Dock Town Council |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref>
In May 2022, Billy Gannon, one of the town councillors, was rumoured to be English street artist [[Banksy]]. He subsequently resigned because this was affecting his ability to carry out the duties of a councillor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-27 |title=Mr Banksy, I presume: the councillor who quit over claims he has a secret |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/may/27/banksy-rumours-wales-councillor-billy-gannon-quit |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>
For representation on the county council, Pembroke Dock is divided into four [[electoral ward]]s: ([[Pembroke Dock Central]], [[Pembroke Dock Llanion]], [[Pembroke Dock Market]] and [[Pembroke Dock Pennar]]), which each elect one county councillor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3141/made?view=plain|title=The County of Pembrokeshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998 |publisher=Legislation.gov.uk  |access-date=30 August 2018 }}</ref>
===Administrative history===
Pembroke Dock formed part of the [[ancient parish]] of Pembroke St Mary, which was part of the [[ancient borough|borough]] of [[Pembroke, Pembrokeshire|Pembroke]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Pembroke Municipal Borough |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10282810 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref> The borough was reformed to become a [[municipal borough]] in 1836, retaining the same boundaries and therefore continuing to include the growing town of Pembroke Dock.<ref>{{cite book |title=First report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the municipal corporations in England and Wales |date=1835 |page=365 |publisher=C. Knight |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433014090470&view=page&seq=501&skin=2021&q1=pembroke |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref> By 1895 Pembroke Borough Council had adopted the practice of holding its meetings alternately at [[Pembroke Town Hall]] and at Pembroke Dock, where the council had established its main administrative offices at 37 Bush Street (renumbered 71 Bush Street in 1906).<ref>{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of South Wales |date=1895 |location=London |page=574 |quote=The Corporation meets at Pembroke & Pembroke Dock alternately...}}</ref> The council remained based at 71 Bush Street (and later also expanded into neighbouring 73 Bush Street) until the early 1970s when it acquired Llanion Park, part of the Llanion Barracks at Pembroke Dock, to serve as its headquarters.<ref>1971 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - Administration, Municipal Offices, Bush Street, Pembroke Dock / 1972 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - All Departments, Llanion Barracks, Pembroke Dock</ref>
Pembroke Borough Council was abolished under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], with the area becoming part of the new district of [[South Pembrokeshire]] within the county of [[Dyfed]] on 1 April 1974. A community was established to cover the area of the former borough, with its council taking the name Pembroke Town Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|year=1972|chapter=70|act=Local Government Act 1972|access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Districts in Wales (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|num=34|access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> South Pembrokeshire District Council took over Llanion Park at Pembroke Dock to serve as its headquarters.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Welsh Office |journal=London Gazette |date=11 April 1974 |issue=46263 |page=4706 |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/46263/page/4706 |quote=...at the offices of South Pembrokeshire District Council, Llanion Park, Pembroke Dock. |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref>
On 1 April 1986 the community of Pembroke was split into a Pembroke Dock community and a reduced Pembroke community, just covering the older town. This was the first time Pembroke Dock had been administered separately from Pembroke. The Pembroke Dock community council chose to call itself Pembroke Dock Town Council.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Langston |first1=Brett |title=South Pembrokeshire Registration District |url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/south%20pembrokeshire.html |website=UKBMD |access-date=5 August 2022}}</ref>
South Pembrokeshire was abolished in 1996, with the area becoming part of a re-established Pembrokeshire.


==Freedom of the Town==
==Freedom of the Town==

Latest revision as of 14:44, 26 December 2025

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Use British English Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Pembroke Dock (Template:Langx) is a port town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, Script error: No such module "convert". northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau.

Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the construction of the Royal Navy Dockyard in 1814. The Cleddau Bridge links Pembroke Dock with Neyland.

After Haverfordwest and Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock is the third-largest town in Pembrokeshire being more populous than neighbouring Pembroke.

History

The natural harbour (now the Milford Haven Waterway) offering shelter from the prevailing south-westerly winds, has probably been used for many thousands of years. From maps, the first evidence of settlement is the name of the Carr Rocks at the entrance, derived from the Norse-language Skare for rock.[1]

From 790 until the Norman Invasion (1066) the estuary was used by the Vikings. During one visit, either in 854 or in 878, maybe on his way to the Battle of Cynuit, the Viking chieftain Hubba wintered in the haven with 23 ships.[2]

In 1172, King Henry II's fleet and army were prepared in the mouth of the Pembroke River and sailed to Ireland during the Norman Invasion of Ireland.[1]

Until 1814, the area was mostly farmland and known as Paterchurch. The first recorded mention of Paterchurch was in 1289. A medieval tower was built and like nearby 18th century and 19th century fortifications, it may have served as a lookout post. By the 17th century, additional domestic and farm buildings stood close to the tower and the isolated settlement had its own cemetery, whose last recorded burial is that of a Roger Adams, in 1731. The ruin of the tower now lies within the walls of the dockyard.

Paterchurch Tower was the centre of an estate said to stretch from Pennar Point to Cosheston. This changed hands in 1422 when Ellen de Paterchurch married a John Adams. Prior to the building of the town and before the dockyard was thought of, various sales and exchanges took place between the principal local landowners – the Adams, Owen and Meyrick families. These exchanges left the Meyricks in control of most of the land on which the dockyard and new town were to develop. By 1802 the Paterchurch buildings were mostly ruins.

During the Second World War Pembroke Dock was targeted by the German Luftwaffe. On Monday 19 August 1940 a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 bomber flew up the haven waterway and bombed a series of oil tanks sited at Pennar. The oil-fuelled fire that followed raged for 18 days and was recorded as the largest UK conflagration since the Great Fire of London.[3] Bombing on the night of 11 and 12 May 1941 resulted in 30 people killed and many injured in the town. Nearly 2,000 houses were damaged.[4]

Naval dockyards

File:Customs House - geograph.org.uk - 209948.jpg
Former dockyard buildings: offices ('Sunderland House', left) and storehouse (right)

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The origins of naval shipbuilding on Milford Haven were 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".[1] Originally privately owned, the Navy took over the shipyard lease in 1796.[1] In 1809, the Admiralty sought to purchase the facility outright and formally establish it as a Royal Navy dockyard, but failed to agree a purchase price.[1]

Instead, the Admiralty agreed purchase of land across the haven, near the town of Pembroke in a district called Pater (village) or Paterchurch, and in 1814 Pembroke Dockyard was established, initially called Pater Dockyard. The site was one of the few in the haven suitable for a dock for constructing decent sized ships, as its shoreline was flat but led quickly into deep harbour.[1] Construction started immediately, with a former frigate driven ashore as a temporary accommodation hulk. Orders were placed for the construction of a 74 gun battleship and four frigates. After the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the scheme still seemed ill placed in what would be a smaller Royal Navy, but the final plans were given the go ahead on 31 October 1815.

File:Disused Dry Dock - geograph.org.uk - 489556.jpg
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.

After the First World War, the dockyard was closed by the cash-strapped Admiralty as redundant in 1926. 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[5]

The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) maintained a base in Pembroke Dock until disestablishment in 2008,[6] including the MOD Salvage & Marine Team.[7] The Ministry of Defence sold the freehold of the site to the Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA)[8] in 2007.

The dockyard wall is substantially complete and the dry dock also remains, along with two out of ten building slips. Among several surviving Georgian and Victorian buildings on the site is the Terrace, a row of houses for the dockyard officers.[9] Garrison 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.

File:The Gun Tower, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 473746.jpg
Dock wall and Martello tower

Garrison

File:Main gate, Defensible Barracks (geograph 3758674).jpg
Defensible barracks, gatehouse

As the dockyard and its importance grew, the need to defend it was addressed and Pembroke Dock became a military town. Work began in 1844 to build defensible barracks. In 1845 the first occupiers were the Royal Marines of the Portsmouth Division, followed through the years by many famous regiments. Between 1849 and 1857, two Martello towers of dressed Portland stone were constructed at the south-western and north-western corner of the dockyard; both were garrisoned by sergeants of artillery and their families.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

In the 1850s a hutted encampment was established nearby on Llanion Hill. In 1904 this was replaced by four brick-built barrack blocks, designed to house a thousand troops. The new Llanion Barracks was 'the first barracks to be constructed with a separate area for cooking and ablutions and was one of the most modern in the country'.[10]

The town remained garrisoned with troops until 1967. The two Martello towers remain: one was a local museum but is for sale by auction in July 2019, while the other is in private hands and has been converted for residential use and is largely intact. A few buildings on the Llanion site still stand. The Officers' and Sergeants' Mess once used as council offices is now occupied by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The original guardroom remains and is now residential accommodation, and a listed Victoria Powder Magazine[11] remains set into the coastal slope which is accessible from Connacht Way. The old parade square has recentlyScript error: No such module "Unsubst". been converted for housing.

RAF base

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File:Pembroke hanger.jpg
The hangars dominate the landscape

With the closure of the dockyard in 1926, the year of the general strike, unemployment was high through the Great Depression until 1931 when No. 210 Squadron RAF arrived equipped with Southampton II flying boats. For almost 30 years the Royal Air Force was based at Pembroke Dock. During 1943, when home to the Sunderland flying boats used to guard the Western Approaches, it was the largest operational base for flying boats in the world.

It was announced in 1957 that the RAF would be drastically reducing its presence.[12] The two listed hangars have been rebuilt and are now used for other purposes. The full-scale Millennium Falcon built for The Empire Strikes Back was created in one of the hangars by Marcon Fabrications in 1979.[13]

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Pembroke Dock, at community (town) and county level: Pembroke Dock Town Council and Pembrokeshire County Council.[14]

The town council comprises 16 councillors and is based at 28 Dimond Street, a converted shop in the town centre.[15][16]

In May 2022, Billy Gannon, one of the town councillors, was rumoured to be English street artist Banksy. He subsequently resigned because this was affecting his ability to carry out the duties of a councillor.[17]

For representation on the county council, Pembroke Dock is divided into four electoral wards: (Pembroke Dock Central, Pembroke Dock Llanion, Pembroke Dock Market and Pembroke Dock Pennar), which each elect one county councillor.[18]

Administrative history

Pembroke Dock formed part of the ancient parish of Pembroke St Mary, which was part of the borough of Pembroke.[19] The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836, retaining the same boundaries and therefore continuing to include the growing town of Pembroke Dock.[20] By 1895 Pembroke Borough Council had adopted the practice of holding its meetings alternately at Pembroke Town Hall and at Pembroke Dock, where the council had established its main administrative offices at 37 Bush Street (renumbered 71 Bush Street in 1906).[21] The council remained based at 71 Bush Street (and later also expanded into neighbouring 73 Bush Street) until the early 1970s when it acquired Llanion Park, part of the Llanion Barracks at Pembroke Dock, to serve as its headquarters.[22]

Pembroke Borough Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the new district of South Pembrokeshire within the county of Dyfed on 1 April 1974. A community was established to cover the area of the former borough, with its council taking the name Pembroke Town Council.[23][24] South Pembrokeshire District Council took over Llanion Park at Pembroke Dock to serve as its headquarters.[25]

On 1 April 1986 the community of Pembroke was split into a Pembroke Dock community and a reduced Pembroke community, just covering the older town. This was the first time Pembroke Dock had been administered separately from Pembroke. The Pembroke Dock community council chose to call itself Pembroke Dock Town Council.[26]

South Pembrokeshire was abolished in 1996, with the area becoming part of a re-established Pembrokeshire.

Demographics

Census population for Pembroke Dock community
Census Population Female Male Households Source
2001 8,676 4,481 4,195 3,695 [27]
2011 9,753 4,912 4,841 4,171 [28]
2021 9,657 4,904 4,753 4,434 [29]

Economy

The Pembrokeshire Technium[30] was built and opened in 2006 and succeeded by Technium Science.[31] Although the initial interest was slow the first major uptake on this facility began in 2009 when Infinergy built a wind farm[32] in the local area and based its local office in the centre. Following its removal from the Welsh Government’s Technium network it was rebranded as the Bridge Innovation Centre in 2013.[33] There has been approval given by Pembrokeshire County Council for a new yacht marina to be built alongside Front Street but work has yet to begin.

Dockyard regeneration

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". In 2021 permission was granted for 'ambitious plans to transform Pembroke Dock's historic dockyard' as part of a '£60 million marine energy project',[34] despite protests from heritage groups. Some buildings within the conservation area will be 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.[35] These will be 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'.[36]

Transport

File:The Flying Boat Centre, Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 4383585.jpg
Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre, housed in the former dockyard chapel
File:Rosslare ferry at Pembroke Dock - geograph.org.uk - 1369988.jpg
Pembroke Dock ferry terminal

Pembroke Dock is served by the A477 trunk road which runs from the A40 at St. Clears. At Waterloo the A477 road crosses the Daugleddau estuary on the Cleddau Bridge and continues toward Haverfordwest. It has a ferry terminal from which ferries sail twice-daily to Rosslare in Ireland. The service is operated by Irish Ferries. There is also a deep water cargo port (Pembroke Port) adjacent to the ferry terminal which is operated by the Port of Milford Haven. Pembroke Dock railway station connects with Carmarthen via Tenby.

Amenities

Two cemeteries in the town both hold many service graves. Pembroke Dock (Llanion) Cemetery contains the war graves of 23 Commonwealth service personnel, including two unidentified Royal Navy sailors, of the First World War and 51 of the Second, including four unidentified Royal Navy sailors and an unidentified airman.[37] Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery contains the war graves of 40 Commonwealth service personnel of the First World War and 33 of the Second,[38] and is believed to be the only dedicated military cemetery in Wales.[39]

Notable people

Renaming proposals

There have been suggestions that Pembroke Dock should change its name, to improve the town's image in respect of a reputation for high unemployment and industrial decline. Proposals have included Pembroke Haven, Pembroke Harbour and a reversion to the original pre-1814 name of Paterchurch. A change of name was rejected in a referendum in the 1960s, and was again proposed in 2003.[49][50]

Freedom of the Town

HMS Pembroke of the Royal Navy received the Freedom of the Town of Pembroke Dock on 15 September 2006.[51]

See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Milford Haven Town Council website Script error: No such module "webarchive". History, Chronology of Events
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". – via newspapers.com Template:Link note
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ 1971 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - Administration, Municipal Offices, Bush Street, Pembroke Dock / 1972 Telephone Directory: Pembroke Borough Council - All Departments, Llanion Barracks, Pembroke Dock
  23. ↑ Template:Cite legislation UK
  24. ↑ Template:Cite legislation UK
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ [1] CWGC Cemetery Report.
  38. ↑ [2] CWGC Cemetery Report.
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Archives Wales: Pembrokeshire, Wales, Anglican Baptisms, Marriages and Burials; Record Type: Baptism; Name: Henry Stanhope Sloman; Birth Date: 29 August 1861; Baptism Date: 6 October 1861; Baptism Place: St John, Garrison of Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales; Father: John Sloman; Mother: Lydia Anne Sloman; Page number: 9
  41. ↑ Template:Cite EB1911
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". /]
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Riots & Rebellion in the Reign of Henry VIII by Phil Carradice Llantrisant Guildhall
  47. ↑ Andy Goddard Rotten Tomatoes
  48. ↑ Tal Selley and Sam Parry The Western Telegraph
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

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  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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