Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - A History of Penarth Dock by Roy Thorne . . .

Chapter Three : The building of the Ely Tidal Harbour works and Penarth Dock.

Antagonism to the Bute Interests was not only commercial, but political, and a challenge came from Cardiff's growing middle class who were becoming richer. In 1851 four hundred of the town’s electors persuaded Walter Coffin, coal owner, Unitarian and Chairman of the T.V.R. to stand for Parliament in the ’commercial interest’ against the Bute nominee, Nicholl. His supporters aim was to "destroy the Bute interest in the Borough". [1161] [p.133]

The supporters included the radicals led by John Batchelor, the colliery owners and coal shippers, and the Non-conformists of the town. Sir John Guest urged the Dowlais agents at Cardiff and the officials of the T.V.R. to support Coffin. Crawshay did the same with the Cyfartha agents and the officials of the Glamorganshire Canal Company. Coffin won, overwhelmingly, but he was an inactive M.P. and resigned his seat in 1857. Nevertheless, he had shown the increasing power of the rising entrepreneurs.

In February 1854 a meeting was held at Cardiff attended by most of the colliery owners, ironmasters and shipping agents with the aim to press more and better facilities for the export of coal. The Mayor of Cardiff, John Batchelor, acted as chairman of the meeting, and he with most of the men present were later to be promoters of either Penarth or Barry Docks.

A later meeting was held on 10th July 1855 of "Ely Tidal Harbour and Railway Company", "to consider the expediency of applying to Parliament in the next session for powers to make a railway from the Taff Vale Railway at some point near to Mr. Booker’s weir to the mouth of the River Ely and to make shipping places in that river." [1162] [10/7/1855]

The junction was made at Glan-yr-Afon in the Parish of Radyr about half a mile south of the weir and south of the Taff.  Just north of the weir was the Melin Griffith Feeder from the Taff to the Glamorganshire Canal. (O.S.Map 1876. Sheet XLIII.5).

The promoters of the scheme were Crawshay Bailey, Thomas Powell, John Nixon, James Insole, Rev. George Thomas and W. S. Cartwright. The Parish of Penarth had been bought by the Windsor Family from the Dean and Chapter of Bristol in 1853, [1163] [Vol. II p.32]  and the landowner Hon. Robert Henry Clive acted as chairman.