Penarth Dock

Last updated

Penarth Dock
Wales location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Penarth Dock
Location within Wales
Operated1865 (1865)–1963 (1963)
OS grid reference ST1814272491
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
List of places
UK
Wales
51°26′42″N3°10′41″W / 51.445°N 3.178°W / 51.445; -3.178
1882 map with Penarth Dock to the south facing Cardiff Docks across Cardiff Harbour TURNER(1882) Cardiff Harbour and Docks.jpg
1882 map with Penarth Dock to the south facing Cardiff Docks across Cardiff Harbour
Penarth Dock and the River Ely, 1896 BALLINGER(1896) p290 TAFF VALE RAILWAY.jpg
Penarth Dock and the River Ely, 1896

Penarth Dock was a port and harbour which was located on the south bank of the mouth of the River Ely, at Penarth, Glamorgan, Wales. It opened in 1865 and reached its heyday before World War I, after which followed a slow decline until closed in 1963. The site has since been redeveloped to become Penarth Marina, which now opens into Cardiff Bay.

Contents

Early development

Harriet Windsor-Clive, Baroness Windsor, whose Plymouth Estate owned vast areas of Glamorgan, formed the Penarth Harbour Company in 1855 with a view to develop a dock for Penarth. She wanted a facility which could rival the new Cardiff Docks which were being constructed a few miles to the north. She was joined in the venture by several prominent politicians and businessmen and, in 1858, engineer John Hawkshaw designed the dock, curving along the south bank of the River Ely. Work on Penarth Dock began in 1859. [1] [2]

The dock was officially opened on Saturday, 10 June 1865. Though Baroness Windsor and her grandson Robert were intended to perform the ceremony, they failed to arrive in time for the high tide. The event was carried out by James Poole, the chairman of the Taff Vale Railway, who were the lessees of the new dock. [3] Penarth Dock covered 26 acres and had a 270 feet long entrance lock. [4]

The Taff Vale Railway took a 999-year lease on Penarth Dock, despite having to fight a legal action against Cardiff's Marquess of Bute as far as the House of Lords to enable them to do so freely. They had initially been given incentives to build their railway to Cardiff Docks rather than Penarth. When they went ahead in 1865 and took a lease on Penarth Dock, the Marquess unsuccessfully tried to levy them on their trade from Penarth. [4]

In operation

Loading a coal ship at Penarth in 1905 Coal staithes, Penarth Dock (Railway Magazine, 100, October 1905).jpg
Loading a coal ship at Penarth in 1905

Penarth Dock exported 900,000 tons of coal in 1870 and by 1882 was exporting 2 million tons per year. [2] The dock was enlarged in 1884. [4]

In February 1886 Isambard Kingdom Brunel's famous ship, SS Great Britain, in her new role as a coal ship departed from Penarth Docks bound for Panama. It was, however, to be her final voyage when, after a fire on board, she was diverted to the Falkland Islands [2] and remained there until 1937 as a storage vessel.

The Ely Subway, a pedestrian tunnel beneath the river, was opened in 1900 to provide a shortcut for workers walking between the dock and Grangetown, and was in operation until 1963.

Coal exports from Penarth peaked in 1913, with 4,660,648 tons exported in that year. [2] Trade declined after the Great War, despite all the coal production of the western South Wales Valleys being sent via Penarth. In 1932 the Earl of Plymouth had to forego his royalty payments to help keep the dock in business, but Penarth Dock finally closed in 1936 after annual exports had dropped to 685,000 tons. [2]

Penarth Docks being cleared (1984) Shrubs stripped from Penarth Middle Dock 1984.jpg
Penarth Docks being cleared (1984)
Penarth Marina (2008) Penarth Marina.jpg
Penarth Marina (2008)

During the Second World War the dock was revived as a training facility for stevedores and, in 1943, became a base for the United States Navy. [2]

Closure and later use

Penarth Dock was closed in 1963. In the 1980s part of the site was earmarked for a later marina and the rest was drained and used as a refuse land-fill site intended for later redevelopment. [5] The new Penarth Marina opened in 1987. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glamorgan</span> Historic county of Wales

Until 1974, Glamorgan, or sometimes Glamorganshire, was an administrative county in the south of Wales, and later classed as one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known in Welsh as Morgannwg, which was then invaded and taken over by the Normans as the Lordship of Glamorgan. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Norman lords and the Welsh princes. It was defined by a large concentration of castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger Bay</span> Former area name of Cardiff, Wales

Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. Following the building of the Cardiff Barrage, which dams the tidal rivers, Ely and Taff, to create a body of water, it is referred to as Cardiff Bay. Tiger Bay is Wales’ oldest multi-ethnic community, with sailors and workers from over 50 countries settling there from the mid-19th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taff Vale Railway</span> Railway company and line in South Wales

The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penarth</span> Human settlement in Wales

Penarth is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Railway</span> United Kingdom legislation

From 1839 the Trustees of the Marquis of Bute, operated a large dock operation in Cardiff, the "Bute Docks". This was very successful, but was overwhelmed by the huge volume of coal exported through Cardiff. At the same time it was seen that railway companies, especially the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), were making money conveying the coal to the docks.

The Rhymney Railway (RR) was a railway company in South Wales, founded to transport minerals and materials to and from collieries and ironworks in the Rhymney Valley of South Wales, and to docks in Cardiff. It opened a main line in 1858, and a limited passenger service was operated in addition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vale of Glamorgan Line</span> Commuter rail line in Wales

The Vale of Glamorgan Line is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grangetown railway station</span> Railway station in Cardiff, Wales

Grangetown railway station is a railway station serving the Grangetown district of Cardiff, Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 1 mile (1.5 km) south west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry, Penarth and Barry Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penarth railway station</span> Railway station in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

Penarth railway station is the railway station serving the town of Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is the terminus of Network Rail's Penarth branch running from Cogan Junction to Penarth station, 1 mile 12 chains from the junction and 2 miles 67 chains south of Cardiff Central station. The Penarth branch ran from Cogan Junction to Biglis Junction, a rail mileage of 5 miles 65 chains and was officially closed beyond Penarth after the last passenger train ran on Saturday 4 May 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radyr railway station</span> Railway station in Cardiff, Wales

Radyr railway station is a railway station serving the Radyr area of Cardiff, South Wales. It is at the foot of the hill at the eastern edge of the village, alongside the River Taff and adjacent to the Taff Trail. The station is on the Merthyr Line, and is also the northern terminus of the City Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cadoxton railway station</span> Railway station in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

Cadoxton railway station is a railway station serving Cadoxton and Palmerstown near Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is located on the Barry Branch 6½ miles (10 km) south of Cardiff Central. The line continues to the terminus of the Barry Branch at Barry Island but from Barry Junction the line also continues as the Vale of Glamorgan branch to Bridgend via Rhoose for Cardiff International Airport bus link and then Llantwit Major.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Railway Company</span> Former railway and docks company in South Wales

The Barry Railway Company was a railway and docks company in South Wales, first incorporated as the Barry Dock and Railway Company in 1884. It arose out of frustration among Rhondda coal owners at congestion and high charges at Cardiff Docks as well the monopoly held by the Taff Vale Railway in transporting coal from the Rhondda. In addition, the Taff Vale did not have the required capacity for the mineral traffic using the route, leading to lengthy delays in getting to Cardiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cogan, Vale of Glamorgan</span> Suburb of Penarth, Wales

Cogan is a suburb of Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales 2.5 miles (4 km) south of the centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. Cogan contains one of the vale's four major leisure centres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Cardiff history</span> Timeline of notable events in the history of Cardiff

The timeline of Cardiff history shows the significant events in the history of Cardiff which transformed it from a small Roman fort into the modern capital city of Wales.

The Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a standard gauge line in South Wales, connecting Llantrisant and the Taff Vale Railway near Treforest. It ran through thinly populated country, and linked to a number of iron mines, collieries and other mineral sites. It opened in stages in 1863 and 1864. In 1865 through passenger trains from the Cowbridge Railway ran over the line, to Pontypridd, although for some time there were no passenger stations on its own network. At the Llantrisant end, it was reliant on broad gauge railway companies which were not always friendly to it. The company leased its line to the Taff Vale Railway in 1870.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiff Docks</span> Port in Wales, UK

Cardiff Docks is a port in southern Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost 7 mi (11 km). Once the main port for the export of South Wales coal, the Port of Cardiff remains active in the import and export of containers, steel, forest products and dry and liquid bulks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Docks</span> Port in Wales

Barry Docks is a port facility in the town of Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, a few miles southwest of Cardiff on the north shore of the Bristol Channel. The docks were opened in 1889 by David Davies and John Cory as an alternative to the congested and expensive Cardiff Docks to ship coal carried by rail from the South Wales Coalfield. The principal engineer was John Wolfe Barry, assisted by Thomas Forster Brown and Henry Marc Brunel, son of the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ely Valley Railway</span> Railway in south Wales, United Kingdom

The Ely Valley Railway (EVR) was a broad gauge railway company in South Wales, which opened a mineral line between Llantrisant station on the South Wales Railway main line and pits at Mwyndy and Penrhiwfer in 1860.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Windsor-Clive, 13th Baroness Windsor</span> British landowner (1797–1869)

Harriet Windsor-Clive, Baroness Windsor was a landowner and wealthy benefactor in the Penarth and Cardiff area of South Wales. She is probably best known for developing Penarth Dock in competition with the Marquess of Bute's docks in Cardiff and for her charitable donations in the area. A daughter of the 5th Earl of Plymouth, she was granted the title 13th Baroness Windsor in 1855 after the deaths of her sister and brother.

References

  1. "About Baroness Windsor". UK Parliament. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Penarth Mysteries: No 2 The Buried Secrets Of Penarth's Plymouth Park". Penarth Daily News. 4 July 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. "150th anniversary of Penarth Dock opening". South Wales Argus. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Adam Kirkaldy (1914), British Shipping: Its History, Organisation and Importance, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd., pp. 557–8, ISBN   9783861950684
  5. "Penarth Marina". Penarth Civic Society. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. Blain, William; Webber, Norman (1989). Marinas: planning and feasibility. Computational Mechanics. pp. 242–243. ISBN   0945824262.