St Julian's Church (AKA Fisherman's Church)

St Julian’s church was built in 1878 and is better known by tourists and locals as the Fisherman’s Church as it replaced the previous Fisherman’s Chapel on the beach of Penniless Cove. It was built to serve the sea-faring people of Tenby and as there was a large fishing community there. The close ties resulted in the parallel name. The church was constructed from the irregular shaped stones from nearby Caldey Island. The clergy from the larger St. Mary’s Church in town would sometimes officiate at St. Julian’s, and were often paid in seafood caught by the fishermen, rather than in coin. After the decision was made to alter the stone harbour due to silt collecting and creating problems for fishermen, the harbour wall was altered and the chapel was knocked down. The congregation began to attend services at St Mary’s Church (see other entry on Darkives). However, the congregation was not overly welcoming, complaining of the strong smell of tar, salt and fish (one wonders how the vicar’s sermon about the feeding of the 5,000 was received….?). The church is now a Grade II Listed Building. There are numerous ghostly stories around the church due to the connection with the sea. One such story is the recovery of the body of Hugo Turnbull Pohl in November 1892. The boat he was on was a brand new tug named ‘Secret’ which had set sail from Lytham in Lancashire and had run into a storm en route to the Thames. The Tenby crew that found his body received £50. It is said that on a stormy night Pohl’s spirit walks along the harbour walls and enters the chapel, as if searching for the other five men who perished at sea. There are claims that Fairies exist and live in the harbour – not the nice ones but poltergeists that are mischievous, sometimes malevolent, and play tricks on people. Some say that half-human half-mermaid sirens coax seafarers onto the rocky outcrop where the RNLI buildings are around from the harbour and have been heard singing in the water at high tide, while others claim any sounds are the echoes of waves lapping against the side of the church. Or are the claims simply tales retold by a pipe-smoking old sea dog sitting next to a roaring winter fire in a nearby hostelry, the tale-teller loosening his tongue for the price of a pint? In Elizabethan times fishermen set sail from Tenby on a calm sunny day to fish. As the day passed, the skies clouded over and the mood of the sea changed and so they decided to return to Tenby. Families gathered along Castle Hill to espy their return. As they counted the boats in they noticed a larger ship, separate from the fleet, apparently struggling, strange lights swaying in the wind. The sharp-sighted amongst them claimed to see phantom figures either walking on the deck or possibly dancing. None could see anyone at the helm. The ship approached the land and those watching heard an unearthly, loud and thunderous noise as the ship began to break apart. The watchers raced to the beach to offer assistance to the crew, yet when they got there, there was no wreck – nor any ship in the bay. They fled the beach, seemingly pursued by howling and wailing noises as if the ghostly crew had somehow come ashore, following them. The next morning some of the braver residents ventured to the shore where a man was found asleep on the beach. He claimed he had lived a ‘wicked life’, refused all offers of help and eventually went to live on St. Catherine’s Island (see additional story on Darkives).