Historic chapel saved by order (From Western Telegraph)

Historic chapel saved by order

A former chapel regarded as an important piece of Pembrokeshire's historical jigsaw is to be preserved and re-developed after its owners were told to hand it over to Pembrokeshire County Council. The National Assembly has granted the authority a compulsory purchase order for the Garrison Chapel, Pembroke Dock. Purchase of this grade two* listed chapel has been protracted because the building and surrounding land is owned by several different parties. These include a business registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The council and the owners were unable to agree on the valuation of the property and a compulsory purchase order was applied for. Now that has been granted, it will be referred to a land tribunal for valuation.

Planning permission is already in place to convert the building into office accommodation under the Pembroke Dock Townscape Heritage Initiative. The Heritage Lottery Fund, which has allocated £2 million to this initiative, regards the Garrison Chapel project as critical to the scheme.

Scaffolding has been erected to secure the building, which has fallen into disrepair after repeated attacks by vandals.

John Turberville, projects officer with Pembrokeshire County Council, said immediate work would be undertaken to protect the chapel from further deterioration. The conversion work will begin in the autumn.

The Garrison Chapel is of major historical importance to this once thriving naval dockyard.

It was built in 1831 to serve as a chapel for the Royal Dockyard and is the second most important building in Pembroke Dock, after the Paterchurch Tower. It was used by both the Admiralty and the RAF as a chapel before it took on the role of a garrison theatre. It then became an entertainment centre for the community in post-war Pembroke Dock.

Its final role was as a motor museum run by Chester Smith before its closure in the 1980s.

Pictured: the National Assembly has granted Pembrokeshire County Council ownership of the Garrison Chapel, Pembroke Dock. PICTURE: Western Telegraph (WTNO1026V03).