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Stained glass windows in St Andrew's Chapel:
"Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet",
God's messenger ...
... and the Prodigal Son.
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Pembroke Dock
developed in the nineteenth century, when churches and chapels were centres for
Sunday services, Sunday schools, and a range of cultural and leisure activities.
Chapels were, in the words of Prof. Anthony Jones, the "religious, social,
educational and musical and entertainment centres of each community".
Church of England
services were first held in the beached HMS Lapwing, and in a wooden building.
The Dockyard Chapel was erected around 1831. St. John's was completed in 1848,
and the smaller "mission" churches of St. Patrick's (Pennar) and St. Teilo's
(Llanion) in 1896 and 1903.
Chapel development
followed a similar pattern. Congregations would often use a private house or a
rented room until they could afford to build a chapel. Much of the building work
would be voluntary, using the shipbuilders' skills in carpentry and joinery.
Masonry and plastering tended to be left to paid specialists.
Money for
these chapel projects, and for rebuilding and improvements, was raised by
collections, bazaars and concerts. In the late 1830s the Rev. John Davies of
Gershom Chapel even "travelled the country far and near soliciting
subscriptions... To curtail his expenses he would walk through the streets
of London munching a penny bun, and living on the most frugal fare". Grants
could assist the Church of England - but fundraising and voluntary work were
essential for the established church, too.
George Mason catches
the atmosphere inside the town's first chapel, Bethany, in the early days. "The
choir was led by a band composed of violins, cello, double bass and flute. The
lighting of the chapel consisted of dip tallow candles". The candle wicks needed
frequent adjustment, "a disturbing operation to the elders of the congregation
but a relieving diversion for the children, who watched the operator ascend the
pulpit where the minister had to stand aside to allow the candles to be
snuffed".
As the town grew,
congregations became larger Reported attendance figures at Wesley, for example,
on a sample Sunday in 1851 were: morning, 389 + 191 scholars - evening, 545 + 80
scholars.
Larger buildings
replaced the some of the smaller early chapels. Wesley (1848-) and the
Tabernacle, Albion Square (1867) could accommodate 1300 each. More ornate and
imposing architecture replaced the simpler styles of early chapels. Gas lighting
took over from candles. Harmoniums, then organs, replaced string and wind
ensembles.
By the end of the twentieth century, with many alternative activities,
attendance had declined drastically.
( Sources:
Jones, Anthony, 46 -
Jones, Ieuan 399 - Mason 148, 151, 166, 176, 204-5, 212-3, 187, Peters 100; )
Pictures by courtesy of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church.
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