Volume One - Into the Victorian Age - Some newspaper reports from the 1870's

• November 1877 - Refusing to go to Sea - "At the Cardiff police court, before Mr R. O. Jones, Alfred Elliott, William Palamore, Mark Flynn, George Webb, John Gammerson, Frederick Randon, and Charles Williams, forming part of the crew of the Lawrence Coster, of London, were charged with refusing to proceed to sea in that vessel. It appeared that the Lawrence Coster belonged to Messrs Hill and Sons, of Bristol, where it had undergone within the last three months very expensive repairs. It was a registered ship of 1,200 tons, and on Wednesday left Penarth with 1,900 tons of coal, bound for Panama.

As it had been recently repaired it was alleged that she would naturally make more water for a time. She had a crew of 20 hands, also a steam-engine for pumping, and had other appliances for saving labour. the captain admitted that the vessel had made half-an-inch of water each hour during the gale of Wednesday night and Thursday, when she dragged her anchors and a steam tug took her in tow, and kept her from damaging other vessels. The men alleged on the other hand that they had to keep working the pumps for several hours on Thursday and Friday.

Mr Treatt, surveyor, said that he had surveyed the ship and found her in every respect seaworthy. The men did not demand that the vessel should be surveyed by the Board of Trade, and the bench sent them each to prison for ten weeks with hard labour." Western Daily Press [022] 27th November 1877.

• December 1877 - The Penarth Dock Extension Scheme - "It is stated, at a meeting of the directors of the Taff Vale Railway Company, on Tuesday, it was decided to abandon the scheme for the extension of the Penarth Docks." Cardiff Times [019] 15th December 1877.

• December 1877 - The Penarth Railway - "Owing to the difficulty of obtaining ballast, on which the sleepers for the iron rails are laid, this railway will not now open for some weeks. the line is formed, the stations and their approaches completed, but the rails are only laid to Cogan. In consequence of the depression of the coal trade only a few vessels in ballast enter the docks." Cardiff Times [019] 22nd December 1877.