Renovation work is advancing at the former Temperance Hall in Haverfordwest as a community-led group transforms the long-empty building into a heritage printing centre, temporary exhibition space, a café and private enterprise accommodation.
Historic building given new purpose
The Grade II-listed Temperance Hall at 5 St Mary Street was purchased in February 2024 by the community initiative Haverfordwest Heritage. Permission for the proposed works was granted by county planners in September last year and work on the renovation began in September 2024.
Architectural commentary submitted by agent Acanthus Holden Architects highlights the building’s notable features, including “a grand stuccoed façade, a large central arched fanlight with coloured glazing, and a distinctive pediment inscribed with ‘1888 Temperance Hall’.” The statement records that the hall was originally connected to the 19th-century Temperance Movement and had at various times been earmarked for a free library and museum.
Change of use across generations
Over the 20th century the Temperance Hall’s function evolved repeatedly. The building has been used as a cinema — White’s Cinema de Luxe — a billet for Dutch soldiers during the Second World War, a bingo hall, a Masonic lodge and, more recently, there was an attempted restaurant conversion in the early 2000s. It stood vacant for more than 13 years, during which internal alterations included the loss of original tiered galleries and the insertion of a poorly designed mezzanine.
- Purchased by Haverfordwest Heritage: February 2024
- Planning permission granted: September 2025
- Renovation works commenced: September 2024
- Funding: Community Ownership Fund, Pembrokeshire County Council, UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund
| Item | Date / Detail |
|---|---|
| Purchase | February 2024 |
| Start of works | September 2024 |
| Planning approval | September (previous year to article) |
How the project is funded
The building purchase was supported through the UK Government’s Community Ownership Fund. Current interior renovations are being financed by Pembrokeshire County Council with support from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The combination of community ownership and public funding underpins the project’s ambition to reuse an important historic asset for community benefit.
“to transform empty heritage buildings into vibrant spaces that support learning, local enterprise, arts and culture,”
The applicant’s supporting statement explains Haverfordwest Heritage’s mission to revitalise vacant heritage buildings so they become hubs for learning, local enterprise, arts and culture. The scheme will also include a temporary exhibition area and a café, as well as space for private enterprise.
Local significance and next steps
For Haverfordwest, the repurposing of the Temperance Hall represents both a conservation effort and a potential boost to the town centre’s cultural and commercial life. Restoring lost features and rectifying earlier unsympathetic alterations are part of the current works, which aim to balance the building’s historic character with modern accessibility and use.
As the project progresses through renovation, residents and civic groups will be watching for details about community access, exhibition programming and the range of enterprise uses proposed for the new spaces. The building’s transformation is a rare example locally of a community group using central government and county funds to take direct ownership and stewardship of a prominent historic property.
It remains that the Temperance Hall’s long and varied history — from 19th-century social movement origins through a century of changing uses — will now move into a new chapter as a community-focused cultural and commercial resource in the heart of Haverfordwest.
