Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - Report upon Penarth Dock - 1984 . . .

When the site was developed the inn was demolished to make way for the Dock and Customs Offices, the boat-building yard on Cwtch-y-Cwm was demolished to make way for part of the main dock and the boat-building yard on Cogan Pill was presumably put out of business when a railway embankment leading to the dock was constructed across the mouth of the inlet. The fate of the small cottage is unknown but it is likely that it too was demolished to make way for the construction of the dock.

2.2 - Construction of the Original Dock

In 1856 Parliamentary Powers were sought to form a company to be called the Ely Tidal Harbour and Railway Company. In addition permission was sought to build a railway from the Taff Vale Railway line at Radyr down to a point on the north bank of the mouth of the River Ely and then construct a tidal harbour on the site. The proposed capital of the Company was £130,00 (of which £43,000 was a loan) and the resultant Bill was examined from an engineering point of view by Mr. Hawkshaw and Mr. Brunel, who supported the project, and Mr. Walker, (concern! : probably not Mr. T. A. Walker) who was against the project. Parliament considered the project to be sound and granted the necessary Powers.

The following year further Parliamentary Powers were sought for permission to change the name of the Company and for permission to build a dock on the south side of the River Ely opposite the Tidal Harbour. Again permission was granted and the Company became the Penarth Tidal Harbour, Dock and Railway Company.

In 1859 construction of the harbour and railway facilities was completed and the tidal harbour opened. At the same time construction work started on the dock. The engineers were Samuel Dobson and John Hawkshaw (later Sir) whilst the contract for the actual construction work was given to the Cardiff firm (correction : of Great George-street, Westminster, London) of Messrs Smith and Knight.

The first stage of the construction was the building of a railway line from the line leading to the tidal harbour at Grangetown to Cwtch-y-Cwm. This served initially to supply the site with raw materials and later to carry imports and exports to and from the dock. In 1861 a dispute arose between the contractors and the dock company and litigation ensued. Eventually a Court of Chancery authorised the dock company to take over the work and this they did. This litigation delayed the completion of the dock quite considerably.