Volume Nine - Pre-Victorian to the present day - even more aspects - Swing Bridge Connections : Penarth Dock, River Taff and Glamorganshire Canal . . .

The Penarth Dock Swing Bridge Technical Detail :

The reference to the swing bridge over the Penarth Dock lock within 'The Rudiments of Civil Engineering' published in 1881 provides some firm detail : The movable bridge situated at Penarth is described within a table as being a single track, roadway bridge traversing a lock. The bridge is 60ft. - 0in. in length, 13ft. - 6in. wide overall, weighs 170 tons (moving parts), and is manually operated. Just as I remember it! [556]

Research at the Glamorgan Archives revealed that there was in fact a swing bridge at the same location when the dock was built in 1865 and a great photograph from the archive confirms this statement. The ironwork of the bridge, however, differs from that in a view from c.1950, hence, another anomaly to research! Help!! I'll keep researching this subject and add more detail as it becomes available.

	A selection of photos of the Penarth Dock swing bridge for comparison - 1865 to 1950.
	2018 - A photograph of the swing bridge pivot which remains in its original location at the northern lockside situated between the former Penarth Dock and the Basin.