Penarth Dock was a port and harbour which was located on the south bank of the mouth of the

River Ely The River Ely () is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, rising in the e ...

, at

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It opened in 1865 and reached its heyday before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, after which followed a slow decline until closed in 1963. The site has since been redeveloped to become

Penarth Marina Penarth Marina is both a marina for boats, located in the old Penarth Docks, Wales and also the name generally used to describe the surrounding area of modern housing. The marina is adjacent to the waters of the River Ely and Cardiff Bay, close ...

, which now opens into

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

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

. She wanted a facility which could rival the new

Cardiff Docks 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 . Once the main port for the export of South Wales coalfield, South Wales coal, the Po ...

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 Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

John Hawkshaw Sir John Hawkshaw FRS FRSE FRSA MICE (9 April 1811 – 2 June 1891), was an English civil engineer. He served as President of the Institution of Civil Engineers 1862-63. His most noteworthy work is the Severn Tunnel. Early life He was born ...

designed the dock, curving along the south bank of the River Ely. Work on Penarth Dock began in 1859. The dock was officially opened on Saturday, 10 June 1865. Though Baroness Windsor and her grandson

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

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 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 stage ...

, who were the lessees of the new dock. Penarth Dock covered 26 acres and had a 270 feet long entrance lock. 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 Marquess of the County of Bute, shortened in general usage to Marquess of Bute, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1796 for John Stuart, 4th Earl of Bute. Family history John Stuart was the member of a family that ...

as far as the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

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.

In operation

Penarth Dock exported 900,000 tons of coal in 1870 and by 1882 was exporting 2 million tons per year. The dock was enlarged in 1884. In February 1886

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

's famous ship, SS ''Great Britain'', in her new role as a coal ship departed from Penarth Docks bound for

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. It was, however, to be her final voyage when, after a fire on board, she was diverted to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

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. Trade declined after the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, despite all the coal production of the western

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the ...

being sent via Penarth. In 1932 the

Earl of Plymouth Earl of Plymouth is a title that has been created three times: twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The first creation was in 1675 for Charles FitzCharles, one of the dozens of illegitimate ...

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. Shrubs stripped from Penarth Middle Dock 1984

Shrubs stripped from Penarth Middle Dock 1984

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the dock was revived as a training facility for

stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...

s and, in 1943, became a base for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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. The new

opened in 1987.

References

{{reflist

External links

Penarth Dock, South Wales
1865 establishments in Wales Coast of the Vale of Glamorgan Economy of Wales History of Glamorgan Infrastructure completed in 1865 Penarth Ports and harbours of Wales