Many workers in the Dockyard were Nonconformists and in favour of the Temperance Movement. In about 1845 the speeches of a noted temperance orator called Scott encouraged large numbers of the residents to become complete abstainers from alcohol, thus making the plentiful Public Houses in the town no longer viable as places for them to meet socially. A Temperance Hall was built on the corner of Dimond Street and Lewis Street, with the intention that it should be used to host Temperance Meetings. Its use soon broadened to include a number of social functions including concerts, readings and exhibitions. In 1868 the Temperance Hall’s mortgage was paid off by a generous benefactor called Griffiths and the Hall was given to the Temperance Society. The original hall no longer exists, having been destroyed by bombing during World War II.

This building, the Pater Hall, now stands on the site of the Temperance Hall.