The great naval value of Pembroke Dockyard arises
from the very advantageous situation it occupies at the head of the
landlocked anchorage of Milford Haven, which is capable of accommodating
a great fleet, as it has many times done during the naval manoeuvres.
The strategic importance of the Haven is due to the fact that it
lies at the mouth of St George’s Channel, giving command of the
approaches to Ireland, and, being the only naval port with facilities
for ship building and repairing which we possess on the west coast, it
is not unreasonable to suppose that a greater future is in store of it,
and that Pembroke Dockyard will yet assume a larger degree of
importance. Up t the
present time it has, indeed, somewhat been neglected, and even in the
naval works act, 1895, it had originally no place, though, later on,
provision was made for the building of the new jetty, which is to be
completed in the financial year 1903-4, and is seen in progress in one
of the pictures accompanying this article.
The place labours under some disadvantages.
Although the Haven is a splendid enclosed anchorage-the dockyard
being some eleven miles eastward from St. Ann’s Head at the mouth-the
deep water channel is narrow, and the visible water area does not
indicate the space available for the mooring of ships.
What, however, Milford Haven lacks in width it possesses in
length, and there is in Dale roads, near its mouth, an anchorage safe in
most of weathers at which vessels can lie in readiness at any hour to
put to sea. In the
construction of ships in the dockyard, great expense and trouble have
constantly been caused by the necessity of berthing them when launched
at Hobb’s point for completion under the enormous shears erected
there. The distance from
the yard to the point is considerable, and the transport of men and
material between the dockyard shops and the vessels in hand there
involves some waste. Nevertheless,
owing to the skilful direction of work, and its excellent organisation,
Pembroke had on several occasions received great credit for the success
with which ship building had been carried on.
A large dry dock and a basin seem necessary, and it may be hoped
that that ways and means will yet be found for adding resource to the
yard. The splendid work
done for the Navy at Pembroke in the past justifiers us in expecting
that when improvements have been made it will rival any other dockyard
in rapidity and economy of construction.
The origon of Pembroke Dockyard as a Naval station is
interesting, and in some ways curious.
Of course, at every period of history vessels operating on the
coast have resorted to Milford Haven, and probably even in the days of
Strongbow, and in the early time of that mighty keep which still frowns
over a branch of the Haven at ancient Pembroke, there must, from time to
time, have been ships of fighting quality in those sheltered waters.
There was much of sap and siege at Pembroke castle in time of
civil broil, and forces must often of come by sea.
Thus in 1643 Admiral Swanley arrived in Milford Haven with the
fleet of the Parliament and reinforced the garrison, so that they were
able to reduce most of the neighbouring fortresses held by the king.
Afterwards, however, the leaders declared for the Royal side, and
Cromwell took the place. Later
on the importance of Milford Haven was impressed upon the Admiralty by
the events of the Great War, more particularly in regard to the defence
of Ireland, against in which the efforts, of the directory were aimed,
and which was constantly menaced under the consulate and the empire.
It was recognised that there would have been immense advantage in
possessing inland waters in such a position, where the ships could be
rapidly repaired and refitted. There
was, at the time, no station to which those stationed off of Cape Clear
and along the south coast of Ireland could resort, save Plymouth.
Nothing, however, was done, but before the war broke out afresh
Milford Haven received some facilities for building war ships.
The old town of Milford, on the northern side of the Haven, about
seven miles from St. Ann’s Head, was a place of some commercial
importance, and small merchantmen and fishing vessels had been built
there. As a Naval base, the importance of the place may be said to
have originated with Nelson. In
that eventful and remarkable period of his life which intervened between
his return from the Mediterranean and his last departure from our shores
he paid a long visit to Wales, and was impressed with the broad expanse
of Milford Haven, and recognised its strategic advantage, which he
appears to have enforced upon the Admiralty.
With Sir William and Lady Hamilton he visited the Hon. Robert
Fulke Greville at his residence at Castle Hill, standing at the head of
a small estuary of the Haven. The singular trio had set a house up together at Merton, as
Emma as “Lady Paramount of all the territories and waters there.”
Poor Sir William Hamilton had expressed his delight at the
arrangement, and Nelson had laughed when he saw Emma and her mother
fitting up pigstyes and hencoops, the canal enlivened with ducks, and
the hens strutting about the walks.
Lord Minto and some others have described that extraordinary
household. During the
journey to Wale, Nelson and the Hamilton’s were everywhere received
with boundless enthusiasm, which Nelson said flattered his feelings, and
although some of the higher powers wished, he thought, to keep him down,
yet the reward of the general approbation and gratitude for his services
was ample recompense for all he had done.
Nelson appears to have instituted a regatta at Milford, and the
principal hostelry there bears his name, while in St. Catherine’s
church is a memorial of his visit.
There may be seen a socket formed to receive part of a mast, with
an inscription describing the relic as the truck of the mainmast of the
“Orient” of 110 guns, blown up in action with the “Vanguard” of
74 guns: “A legacy of Lord Nelson to Emma, Lady Hamilton, who placed
it hear as a record of the Nile, and of its anniversary at Milford, 1st
day of August, the day Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton
were welcomed by the County of Pembroke.”
Unfortunately the piece of the “Orient is no longer there.
It was lent, and some mystery attends its whereabouts.
Mr Greville was an atheistic admirer of Nelson’s, and placed
upon the font an inscription admonishing those baptised therein that
they “be taught that because Lord Nelson’s piety and loyalty, were
equal to his valour, he never exclaimed in vain to his daring fleet,
England expects everyman will do his duty”; the almighty blessed his
coarse, and ending it in victory, permitted him to become a immortal
example of a heroic Navy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, to uphold the honour and the empire of it sovereign on the
So much may serve as an introduction to an account of Pembroke
Dockyard, which grew from the original establishment at Milford.
Mr Greville, who entered into anarrangment with the Admiralty, by
which it was converted to Naval uses, owned the property at the latter
place. The first principal
shipwright at the yard there appears to have been Mr J. L. Barralier,
followed by Mr W. Stone, and the first war ship built there was the
“Nautilus,” of 18 guns, in 1804, followed by the “Milford” 74,
in 1811. Though built at
Milford, this ship was not first of the name in the British Navy, for a
“Milford,” of 28 guns, Captain John Ford, ran ashore and captured
after a long chase the American brig “Cabot” in 1777.
Although good work was done at Milford, and still another
“74” was built there, the “Rochefort,” launched in April 1814,
the position was disadvantageous. The
shore was rocky, the space somewhat restricted, and the work of
excavation costly. Mr
Stone, the master ship Wright for it was long before superintendent was
appointed-advocated that the establishment should be transferred to the
position where Pembroke Dock now is, at the head of the deep-water space
of the Haven, on a kind of Peninsula behind two of its estuaries, and
within a couple of miles of ancient Pembroke.
Pembroke Dockyard thus became a permanent establishment in 1815,
and, from small beginnings, increased to such an extent that it has bee
capable of undertaking the largest-shipbuilding for the Navy.
The “Dreadnought” “Edinburgh” “Collingwood”
“Howe” “Anson” “Nile” “Empress of India” “Repulse”
“Renown” “Hannibal” “Drake” “Spartiate” and many other
battle ships and cruisers have been built there, and now Pembroke
Dockyard is one of those scenes of bustling activity which British Navy
stations always are.
I t would appear that when the establishment was removed from
Milford, there was scarcely a house at Pater, as the site of the
dockyard was then called. It
was no easy matter to procure workmen, and the Admiralty gave facilities
for the building of dwellings. The
dockyard men lived, as many of them do now, at villages upon the shores
of Milford Haven, and were carried to their work in passage boats, as
they still are, in the “Mint” or other dockyard craft.
Originally the dockyard was less extensive than at the present
time. The oldest parts are
to the east, but additional slips and shops have been constructed in a
westerly direction, between the Can Shores and the shore of the
Llanreath. The sea walls
and building sheds were begun about the year 1816 or 1817, and a drawing
of the establishment as it existed at the period is preserved, depicting
one shed and two ships. The
entrance was at a doorway at the eastern side of the yard.
The present main gate, on the western side of the yard, dates
from about thirty years later, when the fine avenue of approach was
planted. The first ships
launched at Pembroke were the “Valorous” and “Ariadne” both of
the 28 guns, which took the water in 1816, followed by the “Thetis”
and “Arethusa” of 46 guns in 1817.
At that time Mr T Roberts was master-ship-Wright at the yard, and
it interesting to note that it was he who introduced iron instead of
wooden knees, thus bringing a couple considerable improvements in
blacksmith’s shop in those early times was on the site of the present
boathouse-that is to say, about 100-yds from the eastern wall of the
yard. It was in this
portion of the establishment that the shipwrights worked, and, as years
passed by, various other shops and offices were built.
Some portions of the old buildings still remain south of the
present mould loft, where was the masters-builder’s office, joinery
works, drawing office, mould loft, and other shops and residences.
There were three rows of these buildings, of which the greater
part has now been demolished.
The apprentices school was begun in 1824, and continued in
existence for more than twenty years, and the present dockyard chapel, a
fine stone building with a square tower and cupola, was erected in 1832.
It consists of nave, chancel, aisles, and galleries, and is
excellently constructed, being in this respect like all the other
buildings at Pembroke Dock.
A description of the yard will in greater detail follow un
another article. Here it
may be useful to say that the first Pembroke ship was built in the open
before the sheds were built. The
“Belleisle,” a 74, and the “Fisguard” 46, were built in 1819,
several smaller vessels in the following years, and the “Clarence,”
84, in 1827. The first
Captain-Superintendent of the yard was Captain Charles Bullen, C.B., who
was appointed in July 1832, and remained in office until 1837.
The growing importance of the yard caused this appointment to be
made, and in April 1833, the “Royal William,” a splendid vessel of
120 guns, was launched there, immediately followed by the “Rodney”
of 92 guns.
Pembroke Dockyard played its part in the development of iron
ship-building and the changes that were due to the introduction of
steam. The paddle-ships “Gleaner,” “Tartarus,” and
“Gorgon” were built there between 1833 and 1837, and were designed
by Sir William Symonds. The
“Duke of Wellington” of 131 guns, laid down as a sailing ship, was
converted to a screw vessel and launched in 1852.
Several Royal yachts have been built at that yard.
Sir William Symonds designed the “Victoria and Albert” paddle
ship, launched there in 1843, and her successor of the same name,
designed by the Surveyor’s Department, when Sir Thomas Pasley was
Captain-Superintendent, was built in 1851.
As is well known, the lates “Victoria and Albert” now His
Majesty’s yacht, was also built in Pembroke.
These are some of the interests of the dockyard, the account of
which shall be supplemented by details of later history, and by a
description of the yard itself, in next week’s issue.
Meanwhile, it may be remarked that this interesting and valuable
Naval establishment, even if it receive the additions and improvements
that are so necessary, can never equal the other dockyards in their
great and special importance. They
are fitted in every sense to be the efficient bases of a fleet, not only
as building and repairing establishments, but as arsenals supplied with
every requirement for the life and work of the fleet, and thus with vast
resources in Naval ordinance and victual ling stores.
A more modest role will always be that of Pembroke, though it can
never be regarded as a great engineering works only.
Pembroke dockyard has also its place in the plans for mobilising
the fleet. It is a link in
the chain of preparation. Yet
its chief function will be the building repairing, and fitting of ships,
and for the convenient conduct of its operations are obviously
Pembroke has taken noticeable part in the
development of ship building-from wood to iron and from iron to steel,
from sail to steam and from paddle to screw.
It has also been successful, notwithstanding its disadvantages,
in economical construction. Thus,
in 1878, the building there, in several remarkable instances, was
brought well within the estimates, and Admiral Hall adduced the facts
before the committee on stores to illustrate the great importance of
constant personal supervision of work in progress in the several
dockyards on the part of the chief constructors.
The officers at Pembroke were able to bestow this attention on
their duty from having time enough at their disposal to give the
requisite attention to the details of construction.
Admiral Fellows made a strong representation on the same subject.
At the time the chief constructor at Pembroke was receiving £700
a year for supervision over a body of men whose aggregate wages amounted
to £97,000, whereas the official at Portsmouth received £850 for
supervision over an annual expenditure of £326,191 on wages, and
perhaps an equal amount on stores.
This is not the only period in which the constructive work a
Pembroke has received commendation, and something of the success is
doubtless attributable to the fact that the duties have not overtaxed
the attention of those responsible for the execution of them.
The Superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard has always been a
captain, as at Sheerness and although the staffs have been able to
devote this full attention to the work, they have never been so numerous
as at the larger dockyards. There
is reason to think that, with the larger future, which seems to be
promised for Pembroke, that yard will sooner or later have an Admiral
Superintendent. In this
connection it may be worth a wile to recall the fact that Mr. Pretyman,
C.M.G., Civil Lord of the Admiralty, and Colonel Raban, R.E., Directors
of works, visited Pembroke last November, not only for the purpose of
inspecting the works and improvements in hand, but to consider on the
spot proposals for the development of Milfred Haven which the Admiralty
had under consideration. Captain
William Price Cumby, a hero of Trafalgar, who died at Pembroke and was
buried there, succeeded Captain Charles Bullen, C.B., superintendent of
the yard from 1832 to 1837. Captain Samuel Jackson, C.B,. Followed him in 1838 and then
came Captain Sir Watkin O Pell in 1842, Captain G.F. Falconer in 1845.
Captain Peter Richards in 1849, and Captain Sir Thomas Pasley,
Bart in the same year. The
last named officer established the
National school at Pembroke docks, and was superintendent of the
yard at an important period in the development of Naval construction.
He was followed by Captain Roberts Smart, 1854, Captain George
Ramsay, C.B. Captain William Loring C.B. Captain Robert Hall C.B.
Captain William Armytage, Captaun R. W. Courtenay, and Captain R. P.
Hamilton, Captain G.H. Parkin, Captain A. J. Chatfield, Captain Edward
Kelly, Captain G. Digby Morant, Captain Samuel Long, A.D.C. Captain
Walter Stewart, C.B. A.D.C,. Captain C.C Penrose Fitzgerald, Captain W.H
Hall, Captain C.J. Balfour, Captain Burges Watson, and Captain C.J.
Barlow, Captain G.W. Russel succeeded the latter officer promoted to
flag rank, in September last.
Recurring now to the development of Pembroke Dockyard itself, it
may be interesting to note that, when the “Falmouth Packest,”
established in 1688 for the conveyance of mails, were taken over by the
Admiralty in 1823, changes were made which many years later caused
Pembroke to become a packet station.
After the inauguration of the yard, the ship-building facilities
were steadily improved, and the old slips, which were roughly
constructed, were successively replaced by more solid buildings, which
have lasted until the present day.
At the same time the original building sheds gave place to others
of larger and better construction.
It was not until after 1830 that the yard was extended from its
original boundary to the westward.
Before that time the Captain Superintendent’s house had stood
near the western boundary, but owing to the enlargement it is now in
approximately in the middle of the dockyard enclosure.
The camber at the opposite end of the yard belongs to the earlier
days of the establishment. There
was a considerable increase in the number of vessels built at Pembroke,
and the “Royal William,” 120, the “Rodney” 92, the
“Vanguard” 80 as well as the “Superb” 80 and the “Centrion”
80, were launched there between 1833 and 1844, as well as a number of
smaller vessels. The
increase in the work of the yard made necessary a number of additions,
and several shops were built and improved, while the appointment of the
Captain Superintendent and an increase in the staff made necessary the
erection of the official residences.
Up to that time the officers of the yard had resided in private
houses. The graving dock
was the work of the same period, and after 1850 it was enlarged to its
present size, and a caisson for closing it was fitted in the place of
the iron gates. This dock
is in length about 420-ft, with a depth of water of 26-ft. over the
sill, but the docking facilities of the yard are not yet adequate to the
larger needs of the fleet.
The principal buildings now in the Pembroke Yard belong to the
period after 1850, and were mostly erected within the next decade,
though building continued at intervals until 1880.
Various improvements have been made from time to time since, and
a new smithery and other works are now completing, as well as a new
stone jetty. The plan of
the yard is simple and good. A
main road runs parallel with the water edge, and behind the building
slips and sheds. Its
direction is east and west, and it is approached from the main gate on
the south side by a broad way. A
beautiful avenue, planted about the year 1850, leads down from Fort Hill
to this entrance; which is characteristic, with anchors and chains
supporting the lamp over the gate. Proceeding from the main gate we have on the left the office
of the Captain Superintendent, with the surgery and the police station,
forming a fine block, and beyond these the offices of the Harbour
master, Captain W.J. Symons, R.N, the works department, and others , and
still further on is the office of the Chief Constructor of the yard, at
the present time Mr A.E. Richards/
On the other side of the way are the mould loft, facing the
last-named building, and store sheds, etc.
We now reach the constructive side of the yard, there being
eleven sheds alone the water frontage of the establishment, each with
its building slip, eight of the slips being covered in.
Near the second slip from the west is the fitting shop, and close
by the dry dock, near which are the armour-plate shops, and the
principal ship fitting shop. Many
years ago No. 3 building slip was filled up and a large machine and
fitting shop erected on the site. The
building slips extend along the frontage to within about 100-yards, of
the eastern boundary wall, the boat slip and the east camber filling the
intermediate space. Close
by are the receiving shed and boathouse. The principal storehouses are to the west of the main road,
and there is a block of storehouses to the south of it, as well as the
fire station. The smithery,
now being replaced, is further to the west, and beyond it the foundry
with the joinery works and sawmills near.
Roads leading lengthwise though the yard give easy communication
to the various parts of it, and the dockyard railway and various parts
of it, and the dockyard railway and various facilities considerably
expedite work. At the
present time the yard is not fitted in such a way that many large
vessels can be in hand at the same time.
As a matter of fact, only two of the slips are available, for the
building of large modern vessels, although it would not be a matter of
great difficulty to adapt others for modern requirements. But perhaps a fitting basin and a large new dry dock are the
greatest wants of the Pembroke yard.
Many most capable shipbuilding offers have served at the yard, or
the successful results, which have been alluded to, could not have been
attained there. Perhaps the
most distinguished of them was Mr. Oliver Lang, whose service at the
yard extended from 1853, when Sir Thomas Pasley was superintendent to
1859. Shortly after he had
assumed the position there, a some what remarkable incident happened at
the launch of the Caesar,” a 90-gun ship, which had been, in hand some
time. The date fixed for
the launch was August 7th, 1853, but the vessel stopped on
the ways, and it was not until after a fortnight, and by extraordinary
efforts, that she was got into the water.
It is stated that soft wood and bad tallow had been used, but
persons inclined to the marvellous are reported to have attributed the
mishap to the maledictions of an old woman regarded as a witch, who had
been denied admission to witness the launch.
The principal officers of the establishment have been alluded to,
but it may be stated that Mr N. A. Hay is Naval store officer, the Rev
J. W. Longrigg, M. A. Chaplain and Mr H. S. R. Sparrow fleet surgeon of
This account of the important Naval establishment at Pembroke
linked with those that have been given former issues of this paper of
Portsmouth, Devonport, and Chatham, and Sheerness, completes the survey
of our home dockyards, but the true function of
a great dockyard is the work of repairing, fitting, and
commissioning ships of war. The
home establishments are great ship building works, it is true, but that
is only part of their function. Their
vast ranges of storehouses, their great coaling facilities, their
magazines, training establishments and Naval depots, are all evidences
of their supremely important work in establishing the efficiency of the
fleet, taking their part in its maintenance, and ready for the final
work of mobilisation.