Penarth
Contents
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Penarth
Contents
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PENARTH is a parish and rising seaport, about 4
miles from Cardiff, and
172 from London, in the county of Glamorgan, Dynas Powis
hundred, Cardiff union
and county court district, Llandaff Upper rural deanary,
Llandaff archdeaconry
and diocese. This place derives its name from two Welsh
words "Pen" a head, and
"Garth" a ridge; it was used at a very early period as a
beacon, on which a fire
was lighted to warn the county of invasions, the signal was
immediately repeated
on Garth Mountain and Castell Coch, and rom thence to
Merthyr, Breconshire and
Caermarthenshire. In the early part of the sixth century,
according to Tanner,
St. Dochdury came to this county, with Cadvan, and built a
monastry for twelve
monks or canons, which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity,
and endowed by Paulentus,
King of Glamorgan, at Llandough. In the year 1088,
according to Powell, the Normans
landed at Penarth, and marched under the leadership of
Robert Fitzhamon, to Hirwaun
Wrgant, in company of Jestyn's, (the last Prince of
Glamorgan), army, against the
Prince of South Wales, Rees ap Tewdwr whom they defeated;
after the Norman's received
their payment, the treacherous Jestyn refused to fulfil his
promise to Einon,
a Welsh chieftan, who went to London for him to engage the
Normans; Fitzhamon's
troops returned to their vessels at Penarth without loss of
time, Einon went to
Penarth Hill and made a signal for them to return;
Fitzhamon landed and attacked
Jestyn who was with his army at the Heath near Cardiff; the
Normans were victorious
and the whole county was conquered. Robert Fitzhamon kept
the lordships of Cardiff,
Dinas Powis and Kenffig in his own hands; probably Penarth
belonged to the lordship
of Dinas Powys. The old parish church, supposed to have
been built by the Normans,
stood on the promontory, which commands a fine view of the
Bristol Channel.
Until within the last 20 years this was a small and
unimportant village;
it owes its rapid rise to the formation of the docks and
harbour. In 1856 an Act
was obtained for making a railway from the Taff Vale
railway to the river Ely,
and the converting of a part of that river into a tidal
harbour, which has been
carried out. The dimensions of the harbour are - Length,
measuring along the centre
of the river, 13,000 feet; frontage on the Cardiff side, 12,
000 feet; frontage
on the Penarth side, 3,000 feet; average width of water
line at high water for
the first reach of the river, 600 feet; length 4,000 feet;
area, 55 acres; average
width at water line at half tide, 280 feet; area, 26 acres;
number of staiths
for the shipment of coal, 10; with provision for 6 more.
Each staith is capable
of shipping 150 tons per hour; depths of the berths at high
water, ordinary spring
tides, 30 feet; depth of water in the berths at high water;
ordinary neap tides,
20 feet. Vessels of 1,000 tons burthen take the ground, and
are loaded with
great dispatch in this harbour. The maximum run of the tide
is about two knots
per hour. There are 3 cranes for unloading iron ore and
ballast, each of a capacity
of 50 tons per hour. In 1857 an Act was passed enabling the
Penarth Harbour and
Railway Company to construct railways to, and a dock and
other works on adjoining,
the south west branch of the river Ely, and for other
purposes. The dimensions
of this dock are - length, 2,100 feet; width, 370 feet;
area 17½ acres. The
basin - Length, 400 feet; width, 330 feet, and area, 3
acres. The lock is - length,
270 feet; width 60 feet; seagate width, 60 feet; depth of
water - ordinary spring
tides, 35 feet; depth of water - ordinary neap tides, 25
feet. Being a tidal dock
the gates can be opened at high water from sea to dock for
the ingress and egress
of shipping, thereby avoiding the great delay caused at
other docks by locking
through. There are 10 coal staiths in the dock, and 2 in
the basin, for loading
steamers of the largest dimension. All the staiths are on
the high level; the
double staiths appropriated to large steamers are capable
of shipping 300 tons
per hour. Every provision has been made for shipping coal
with the least possible
breakage, with the greatest dispatch, and at a minimum
charge. There are sufficient
cranes worked by hydraulic power for the discharging of
ballast and iron ore.
Hydraulic power is applied to the opening and shutting the
dock gates, and to
other purposes affording facilities in working the dock and
the dispatch of shipping.
The place is supplied with water from the Cardiff Water
Works, and gas is also
laid on; the drainage is very good, and has cost about £12,
000, defrayed by the
Clive family. Near the entrance to the dock is a suite of
offices for the use
of the Customs, also the Dock Company, which are very fine
buildings. A large
trade was carried on here in alabaster, which was carried
away by coasting vessels;
it is still found in some parts. Here is good sea bathing.
On the hill, within
an easy distance of the dock, is a very handsome hotel,
with very fine grounds,
well laid out. The Church of St. Augustine is a stone
building in the Early English
style, erected in 1865, on the site of the old church : it
consists of a nave, aisle,
chancel, and two trancepts, with a porch at the north-west
corner, and a tower,
at the south west, with 6 bells: the chancel window is a
fine specimen of stained
glass, the subject being "The Ascension of Christ": The
reredos is of coloured
marble, with the monogram of I H S let in: above the nave
arches are eight Bath
stone circular panels, in which the eight beatitudes are
painted: the chancel
is 37 feet long, and the nave is 87 feet long, by 51 feet
high: the Pulpit is
of oak and walnut, with tracery panels: it has a massive
stone foundation of rocks
of Radyr and Pentrebach (Newbridge) stones. The roof of the
edifice is formed of red
tiles, and the tower finishes with a "saddle-back" roof,
and the height is 90 feet:
it was built at the sole expense of the late Baroness
Windsor, at an outlay of about
£10,000. The register dates from the year 1802. The living
is a rectory (with Lavernock
rectory annexed), yearly value £250, with residence, in the
gift of Lord Clive, and
held by the Rev. Charles Parsons, M.A., of Jesus
College, Oxford. There is a
National school for boys and girls, with master's residence,
erected at a cost of £1,400,
defrayed mostly by the late Baroness Windsor. There are
places of worship for Roman
Catholics, Baptists, Calvinistic Methodists, Independents,
and Weslyans; the latter is a
handsome stone building, erected 1864. The Kymin is the
residence of James Sydney Batchelor,
esq., J.P. Sea View House is the residence of
William Perch, esq., and Windsor
Villa of Capt. Morgan Price Smith Tozer. Lord Clive, who is
lord of the manor, and
the Marquis of Bute are chief landowners. The soil is
principally clay, subsoil, various.
The chief crops are wheat, barley, roots and pasturage. The
area is 1,507 acres,
including water; and the population in 1861 was 1,406;
gross estimated rental,
£9,441; rateable value, £7,159 11s.
Parish Clerk, Edward Evans
Postal Telegraph Offices, Dock office, Dock head, George James, clerk; & Tidal harbour
Magistrates
Usually Acting for the Hundred of Dynas Powis
John Bruce Pryce, esq. Duffryn
Robert Oliver Jones, esq., Fonmon Castle
Richard Bassett, esq., Bonvilstone house
Rev. Roper Trevor Tyler, Lantrythyd
Col. Rous, Courtyrala
Rev. Hely Hutchinson Rickards, Landough rectory
Edward Romilly, esq. Porthkerry
Frederick Romilly, esq. Porthkerry
Rev. William Bruce, St. Nicholas
R. F. L. Jenner, esq. Wenvoe Castle
Hugh Jenner, esq., Wenvoe
John Stuart Corbett, esq., Cogan Pill
Lewis Knight Bruce, esq., St. Nicholas
James Sydney Batchelor, esq., of Penarth
Griffith Phillips, esq., Dynas Powis
George Williams Griffiths Thomas, esq., Coedriglan
Clerk to the Magsitrates, John Morris
Petty sessions are held in & for the said hundred on the first wednesday in every month, at twleve o'clock at noon, at the Police court, St. Nicholas; & on every Monday, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, at the Police court, Penarth
Petty sessions are also held at the above times & places for the purposes if the Criminal Justice Act, 18 amp; 19 Vict. cap. 126
Insurance Agents
British Empire & Mutual Life, John Williams, Under
cliff
London Assurance, John Williams, Under cliff
Whittington Life, Charles Purvis, Maughan place
Public Establishments
Police Station, Stephen Adams, inspector
Custom House, Dock head, Samuel Arthur & William
Picken, examining
officers; Charles Kerr, Thomas Walter Mitchell, John Isaac
McAllister &
Benjamin Robotham, custom house officers
Dock Office, Lieut. James Poole. R.N.R. dock master;
George Fisher,
engineer; James Edwards, collector & goods
superintendent; John Robins,
clerk
Coast Guard Station, William Evans, chief officer
Places of Worship :-
St. Augustine's Church, Rev. Chas. Parsons, M.A.
, Rector
Baptist Chapel, ministers various
Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, ministers various
Independent Chapel, ministers various
Roman Catholic Chapel, ministers various
Weslyan Chapel, Rev. Charles Williams, minster
National School, John Colston Meredith, master; Mrs. Emma Anne Meredith, mistress
Conveyance to :-
Cardiff. - Omnibuses, Jenkin Davis, to & from,
daily; Richards &
Price's, from Ship hotel, to St. Mary street, to & from
every hour; Williams,
from Dock hotel to St. Mary street
Penarth Ferry. - An omnibus every half hour, from
the 'Cardiff Arms', to the ferry
Carrier to Cardiff . - Sadler, daily
Conveyance by Water :-
Penarth Dock. - The Kate steamer, from Bute docks,
Cardiff, running every
half hour, to and fro, during tide time
Penarth Ferry. - A steamboat plies across the Tidal
harbour, running day & night
Slaters Commercial Directory, Penarth, Glamorgan, 1871
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