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

Chapter Four - The Enlargement and peak period of the dock

In November 1880 a joint meeting of the Taff Vale and Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway Company was held in London and it was agreed to seek Parliamentary powers to increase their capital to £150,000 for the purpose of enlarging the dock. This was only carrying out the full original scheme and powers were not needed for the work, but only for the raising of the capital.

The Penarth Harbour Dock and Railway Act of 1881 authorised an extension of the dock increasing its acreage by 5½ acres to 26½ acres. The width of the new portion was 370 feet with its junction with the old, end 150 feet at the westerly end.

To maintain the curve of the dock a mound on the hillside 125 feet above the dock level representing 1,150,000 cubic yards of earth had to be removed. Four new rail lines were laid to connect with the main line near Penarth Dock Station to serve the four new tips which were erected on the south side. The dock then was 2,900 feet long, and shipments were expected to increase by 4%.

The work was done between November 1881 and April 1884 by the contractor Mr. T. A. Walker who had also been the contractor for the Severn Tunnel. Obviously it had been a happier operation than the original work. Mr. Walker's resident contractors managers were Mr. W. R. Parker and later, Mr. Beetleson. The resident engineer was Mr. H. 0. Fisher, and the designing engineer was Sir John Hawkshaw who had designed the original dock.

Although the extension was officially opened on Wednesday, 9th April 1884 by Lord Windsor the work had not been entirely completed.

The "Western Mail", 10th April 1884 reported : - "The extension of Penarth Dock was formally opened on Wednesday when one of the new tips was brought into use to load an Italian vessel, "Marina Benento". The work is not entirely finished but there is a passage over the old bar which marked the limit of the old dock. The bed of the dock is red marl."

The report went on to say that the contract was worth £160,000 and at the peak of the work 750 men were employed, but at that time 350 men were engaged.