Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the present day - even more aspects - The Cooper family of boat-builders at Penarth and Pill . . .

◊ Cwtsh-y-Cwm - A section of 1830 OS map in the vicinity of Penarth Head. Cwtsh-y-Cwm, or rather Cwtch-y-Cwm, is the pill nearby the Penarth Head Inn. The schooner 'Six Brothers' was built at the boat-yard of Charles Cooper situated in the pill during 1857-58.

◊ 1859 - Penarth Harbour Works - 'The Penarth dock is on the south side of the harbour entrance, and will extend as far seaward as Mr. Cooper's house, which will by and bye be pulled down, to a point inland where the largest indentation has been made in the cliff before us - that is a little above the temporary bridge which connects the railway works with the south side of the river Ely.' - Cardiff Times [019] [361] 30th April 1859.

At this date, George Cooper would have been c.15 years of age and it is feasible that father and son(s) were working out of the Cwtch-y-Cwm boatyard at this date. I also considered that the Pilot's House may have been owned by Charles Cooper but I have no evidence to substantiate my statement. I feel sure that the relocated Cooper boatyard was close by the former entrance to Cogan Pill about a quarter of a mile upstream. I also support this statement with a recollection of my apprentice instructor, Mr. Ted Smith, telling me of an old boat-yard on the site of the A1 Concrete Works on the banks of the River Ely at this location.

◊ The Cooper Boat Yard relocated at Cogan Pill - A section of the c.1880 OS map and an old photograph indicates the location of the new boatyard.

◊ 1861 - Charles Cooper is recorded by Peter J. Stuckley in his fine book 'The Sailing Pilots of the Bristol Channel' [600] to be also working out of a boat building yard at Pill from 1861-62. The Census for 1861 [674] lists Charles, wife Sarah and family living at 13 Bank Street in the parish of St. George, Easton-in-Gordano, Somerset.