62-760: Glamorganshire Golf Club is located in Lower Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales , 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) south west from the capital city of Cardiff and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Wales. The club was founded by the Earl of Plymouth . The club played a leading role in the founding of the Welsh Golf Union, and it twice hosted the Welsh Amateur Championship as well as
124-674: A United States Navy Base was established at Penarth Docks (now Penarth Marina) – a base from which many of the troops which took part in the D Day invasion set out for the Normandy beaches. The base was under the command of Captain Arnold Winfield Chapin USN. Captain Chapin presented a painting of Penarth Docks in 1944 to "the people of Penarth", which now hangs in town council's Kymin House, Penarth. In 1944, Penarth dock and
186-811: A call from the Air Ministry telling him that he had been awarded the VC. Ernest Moore immediately telephoned the steward at Glamorganshire and asked to lay on as many drinks as he could find and the whole family went down to celebrate in style at the clubhouse. Gibson was an enthusiastic golfer and often returned to his favourite course at the Glamorganshire club while on leave until his death. 51°25′16.95″N 03°11′00.78″W / 51.4213750°N 3.1835500°W / 51.4213750; -3.1835500 Penarth Penarth ( / p ɛ ˈ n ɑːr θ / pen- ARTH , Welsh: [pɛnˈarθ] )
248-466: A halt at an early stage, when the London contractors went into liquidation . The Penarth Pier Company was formed to make a second attempt at building a permanent pier. The foundations were laid in 1894 and the pier successfully opened in 1895, at 750 feet (230 m) long. 51°26′6.31″N 3°9′59.43″W / 51.4350861°N 3.1665083°W / 51.4350861; -3.1665083 In 1907,
310-592: A hundred years of commercial operations, the docks area lay unused and derelict, and much of it was used for landfill . The largest basin, No 2 dock at the Cogan end, is now completely filled in, grassed over and surrounded by roadways. In 1987, the new Penarth Marina village opened on the disused docks site. The No 1 dock and outer basin were re-excavated or dredged out to provide some 350 yacht berths, surrounded by extensive modern waterside homes and several marine engineering yards. The original dock office and Excise House
372-482: A population of 27,226, but this figure does not include nearby suburb Dinas Powys . The town retains extensive surviving Victorian and Edwardian architecture in many traditional parts of the town. Penarth is a Welsh placename and could be a combination of pen meaning head and arth meaning bear, hence 'Head of the Bear' or 'Bear's Head'. This was the accepted translation for several hundred years and
434-645: A remarkable forty two points. There is no indication of what the members thought about the alternative of scoring by points or, indeed, whether they tried it out on any other occasions. Dr Stableford, who was a resident of Whitchurch, Cardiff at the time, left the Glamorganshire Golf Club when he set off to serve as an Army Surgeon in the Boer War . On his return to Wales he joined the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club where he won
496-450: A small wooden "Concert Party" theatre was built at the seaward end. In 1929, the pier was bought by Penarth Urban District Council, who added a new pier-head berthing pontoon, and in 1930 the current art deco pavilion was added. In 1931, a fire started in the seaward-end theatre, which, after a sea and land-based rescue, saved all 800 people on board at that time. The pier was rebuilt, strengthened with additional concrete columns, but without
558-437: A thriving shopping centre and many new community facilities. What is now the main shopping area of Windsor Road was originally residential housing, but the owners sacrificed their front gardens to build shop extensions, although the original house architecture can still be seen above the shops. Most of the town's fine architectural features owe their origin to the landowners of the time and the results of their vision can be seen by
620-653: Is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales , approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay . Penarth is a seaside resort in the Cardiff Urban Area , and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the administrative centre of Barry . During the Victorian era Penarth
682-637: Is now in use as a popular restaurant, with only the Grade II listed Marine Hotel remaining derelict and boarded up, awaiting suitable redevelopment plans. The Penarth Marina development was one of the key catalysts to the similar later redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay area. Penarth is one of the most affluent areas in the Vale of Glamorgan and property prices continue to remain high. Marine Parade or ' Millionaires' row ', with its grand, substantial Victorian houses or modern designer villas with views across
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#1732783720332744-484: Is now vacant. The rear yard, once used to stable horses for the horse-drawn Penarth to Cardiff bus service, is still used by the Post Office for mail and parcel sorting. The contract for the building of Penarth Dock was placed in 1859 and the dock was opened six years later, constructed by a workforce of around 1,200 mostly Irish ' navvies ' under the direction of chief engineer Harrison Hayter and implementing
806-490: Is regarded a major part of the Barbarians legend and, in the eyes of most of their players, was almost of equal importance to the weekend's rugby. The competitive sporting drive of the rugby stars was as evident on the golf course as it was on any rugby field. In 1924–25 in recognition of the generosity of the golf club, ninety five Barbarian members subscribed a total of £52.17s.0d for a 95-ounce perpetual silver cup called
868-609: Is remembered among the Royal Navy memorials at Portsmouth . At one time, Penarth had two grand and decorative cinemas. The first was the Windsor Kinema on Windsor Road, originally converted from a 19th-century Territorial Army drill hall and later used as Monty Smith's garage until it closed in October 2015. The even grander Washington Cinema was built opposite the library in 1936 with a classical ' Art Deco ' frontage, on
930-483: Is still reflected in the town's coat of arms which depicts bears. Modern scholars have suggested that the name is shortened from an original " Pen-y-garth ", where garth means cliff, hence 'Head of the cliff' or 'Clifftops'. and the Welsh-English dictionary Y Geiriadur Mawr (The Big Dictionary: Gomer Press) reveals that penardd/penarth eb (feminine noun) means 'promontory'. The civic town coat of arms
992-724: The Bristol Channel , is considered to be the finest street in Penarth, although several larger properties are now split as apartments or adapted as residential care homes . Houses in Penarth vary from imposing three storey red brick Victorian houses found on both Plymouth and Westbourne Roads to compact stone terraces in Cogan and upper Penarth. Many of the Plymouth Road, Westbourne Road, Victoria Road and Archer Road houses, originally large family homes with servants' quarters on
1054-526: The Earls of Plymouth of St. Fagans Castle . In 1853 the family purchased the manor outright. Because the surrounding land was owned by religious institutions from an early date, there was no need for a large family house in Penarth. The oldest building in the area is a Tudor mansion , owned by the Herbert family, on the hillside at Cogan Pill. This has since been converted into a chain restaurant. Piracy
1116-532: The English Channel to France. The Glamorganshire Golf Club, in Lower Penarth, was the site of an experimental rocket battery that regularly scared residents during practice firings. Lavernock Point was the location of Lavernock Fort , with its heavy naval guns, anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries and the town's Royal Observer Corps observation post, that sounded the air raid sirens nightly in
1178-511: The Hundred of Dinas Powys , with a combined population of just over 300. Before the pier and dock were built, there was a tiny fleet of local sail-powered fishing vessels based on the main town beach that tied up on the seafront quayside. The Plymouth estate office retained control over the planning, building and development of the new town, offering 99-year leases and remaining the ground landlord. All householders in Penarth were tenants of
1240-483: The 1980s and stood empty for many years before being demolished for a new development of residential housing. In 1965, the combined Cardiff Universities built the multi-storey International House on Plymouth Road near the end of Cliff Parade to provide Halls of Residence for up to 300 overseas students attending University College, Cardiff and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. Abandoned in
1302-542: The Barbarians Challenge Cup, to be completed for annually by club members on Easter Monday to commemorate the eagerly anticipated Easter visits by the Barbarians. The mounted head of a Springbok , presented to the Barbarians team after they defeated the South African national team in 1961, remains on display in the golf club's bar to this day. During World War II Glamorganshire Golf Course
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#17327837203321364-473: The Cardiff Steam and Navigation Company started a regular ferry service between Cardiff and Penarth. This continued until 1903. Boats were loaded and unloaded at Penarth using a landing stage on wheels which was hauled up the beach. In the 1880s, an attempt was made to construct a permanent pier . This was possibly because of the need to find a safer way to unload boats. However, construction ground to
1426-640: The Cement Factory, were constructed in the club grounds and on the land that now forms part of Cosmeston Country Park. Guy Gibson the leader of the legendary Dam Busters raid over Germany in World War II, was not only an honorary member of Glamorganshire Golf Club but when the news came that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross he celebrated that night in the clubhouse. Wing Commander Gibson's association with Glamorganshire began when
1488-732: The Coastal Communities Fund. Work was completed and the pavilion reopened in Autumn 2013. With its busy commercial docks and the proximity to Cardiff Docks and steelworks, Penarth became a target for Nazi German bombing raids during the Second World War . The air raids started in 1941 and continued almost constantly for the next four years. Penarth had its own Home Guard detachment. Scrap metals were needed to build tanks and aircraft, so hundreds of Penarth homes lost their traditional Victorian iron railings from
1550-490: The Earl of Plymouth gifted an extensive plot of land in Lower Penarth and the club was founded initially as a nine-hole course. The club undertook an expansion programme to the full eighteen-hole course during 1896 and the following year enabling the 1897 Welsh Amateur Championship to take place in Penarth for the first time. The Stableford method of golf scoring, a system now utilised and revered, particularly by amateur golfers,
1612-595: The Fixed Defences, Severn Scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping convoy de-grouping zones. In 1943 there was a Battalion of American Seabees, the US Construction Corps , living on a merchant vessel tied up in Penarth docks, while they built a large number of Quonset huts for the rapid temporary expansions of Llandough Hospital and Sully Hospital . One night, in 1942, All Saints' Church
1674-543: The Plymouth Estates, paying an annual ground rent. The situation would not change until the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, that gave householders the choice of purchasing their freehold or negotiating 999 year extensions on their short leases. The earliest homes built in the town were streets of terraced houses with busy corner shops and public houses on almost every corner, following the contours of
1736-576: The Royal Porthcawl Championship in 1907 and in the same year reached the semi -final of the Welsh Amateur Championship. It is probable that no other golf club in the world can lay claim to have hosted so many great rugby players from all over the world, because the famous Barbarians visited the Glamorganshire club every Easter Sunday between 1901 and 1996 as part of their traditional Easter weekend touring fixtures against famous Welsh clubs. Their Sunday 'official golf frolic'
1798-461: The Welsh Ladies inaugural Championships in it early years. In 1898 the club was the testing ground of Dr Frank Stableford's new Stableford revolutionary golf scoring system still used today. Although near the sea, the Glamorganshire course is not a links , but an 18-hole parkland course on gently undulating ground at the eastern edge of what is now Cosmeston Lakes Country Park . In 1890
1860-602: The air ace met a young Penarthian, Eve Moore, at a party in Coventry during early December 1939 while he was on three days rest leave at his brother's house. The following year Gibson and Eve were married at All Saints Church in Penarth. Guy Gibson flew his Blenheim bomber from his airbase in Lincolnshire to RAF Pengam Moors for the wedding. Eve's parents, Mr and Mrs Ernest Moore, lived in Archer Road, Penarth, and
1922-499: The cost of maintenance becoming uneconomical. The tunnel entrance at the Penarth end was located near the lock gates, between the outer basin and the number one dock. This historic short cut route was 'almost' replicated and replaced in June 2008 with the opening of a pedestrian and cycle route across the new Cardiff Bay Barrage . Because of the growing popularity of Penarth beach and the need for better communications with Cardiff, in 1856
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1984-565: The couple moved in with them while they considered buying a home of their own. Ernest Moore was a keen golfer and invited his new son-in-law to join the Glamorganshire club as an honorary member. After the Dambusters raid took place in May 1943, widely hailed as a turning point of the War, Gibson spent his two-week post-raid leave in Penarth, playing golf on most days. While he was on that leave he had
2046-466: The design of civil engineer John Hawkshaw . At the Welsh coal trade's zenith in 1913 ships carried 4,660,648 tons of coal in a single year out of Penarth docks. In 1886 Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's SS Great Britain , originally a passenger vessel but later converted as a coal trader departed from Penarth Dock on what would become its final voyage. A disastrous fire, during the voyage, all but destroyed
2108-565: The dock beach, as far as the Penarth Headland, was full of invasion barges that departed for the "Operation Overlord" D-Day landings . Many of the defensively equipped merchant ships were loaded with American Sherman tanks and their US Army crews that had been billeted in Penarth after training, housed in a vast village of Quonset or Nissen huts that had been built in 'Neale's Wood', now the Northcliffe Estate next to
2170-532: The food rationing by landing fresh fish. There was a non-profit ' British Restaurant ' at the top end of the Windsor Arcade, where families made homeless by the bombing, had run out of ration coupons or otherwise needed help, could buy a three-course meal for ninepence. Many Penarth Yacht Club members volunteered for the Dunkirk evacuation and sailed their yachts and motor boats around the coast and across
2232-542: The front gardens during the war years. Even All Saints' Church in Victoria Square lost its magnificently ornate gates and the railing fence that surrounded the square's green. Strict wartime food rationing meant that food had to be found wherever possible. The town's parks, recreation grounds, open spaces and front gardens of houses were dug up and converted to allotments planted with vegetables. The seafront and pier were packed daily with people trying to supplement
2294-662: The headland and in the rapidly expanding Cogan area near the docks. Local grey limestone, quarried from what is now Cwrt-y-vil playing fields, gave a particular character to the surviving older buildings of the town. To the south of the town centre, imposing detached villa residences along the cliff tops looked across the Channel to the Somerset coast and the islands of Flat Holm ( Welsh : Ynys Echni ) and Steep Holm ( Welsh : Ynys Rhonech ). The villas were built by wealthy shipping and dock owners from Cardiff who were moving out of
2356-538: The hotels were the Esplanade Hotel on the seafront built in 1887, The Marine Hotel at the mouth of the docks, The Royal Hotel at the top of Arcot Street, The Washington Hotel opposite the library and The Glendale and Lansdowne hotels on Plymouth Road. Apart from the major hotels, accommodation was also available at the smaller Dock Hotel, Penarth Hotel, Ship Hotel, Westbourne Hotel, Plymouth Hotel, Windsor Hotel, Railway Hotel and dozens of mariners' lodging houses at
2418-584: The industrialised city for a more genteel and sophisticated lifestyle. By 1861, the number of people in the five parishes had increased to 1,898 and to 3,382 by 1871. In 1875, three of the constituent parishes - Penarth, Cogan , and Llandough - were merged into the Penarth Local Board, giving a population of 6,228 persons by 1881. This figure had doubled by 1891 with the opening of the railway and had increased even further by 1901 to 14,228 persons. The town of Penarth thus owes its development to
2480-509: The many grand buildings and parks which make Penarth what it is today. Thanks to the generosity of those far sighted landowners, Penarth earned its wide reputation as "The Garden by the Sea" because of its beautiful parks and open spaces. Furthermore, many of the buildings and features of the town have led to a substantial part of the town being designated as a Conservation Area because of its Victorian / Edwardian architecture. Penarth's town library
2542-519: The massive expansion of the South Wales coalfield in the 19th century. Its proximity to Cardiff, which was the natural outlet for the industrial valleys of Glamorgan , and its natural waterfront meant that Penarth was ideally situated to contribute to meeting the world's demand for Welsh coal through the construction of the docks. The development of the town continued to be rapid and Penarth soon became self-sufficient, with its own local government,
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2604-573: The pier to re-open the pavilion as a major tourist attraction. The new plans included a cinema and observatory. In September 2012, the restoration work began on the pavilion, with a projected cost estimated at £4 million, funded by the lottery , the Welsh government , the Vale of Glamorgan council , Cadw (part of the Housing, Regeneration and Heritage Department of the Welsh Government) and
2666-437: The present-day Headlands School. British Commando units trained on the Penarth cliffs in preparation for scaling the Normandy cliff faces. Several of the invasion barges were not used and lay rotting on the dock beach well into the 1950s used as playthings by local children. Thousands of incendiary and explosive bombs were dropped on Penarth during the war and as late as the 1970s unexploded devices were still being found in
2728-541: The silt and sand on the beaches between Penarth and Cardiff. The coal trade from Penarth docks eventually petered out and the docks closed in 1936, only reopening for commercial and military use during World War II. From the 1950s, and up until 1965, the basins were utilised by the Royal Navy to mothball dozens of destroyers and frigates from the no longer needed wartime fleet of warships, until they were sold to foreign nations or broken up. By 1967, after barely
2790-481: The site of a former hotel and its tennis courts. The Washington closed as a cinema in 1971. After several years as a busy bingo hall, it has now been converted into a coffee house and art gallery, whilst retaining its original frontage. Penarth's other distinctive art deco structure was the new General Post Office that was built in Albert Road in 1936. Closed in the 1980s, the building is Grade II listed and
2852-605: The top end of the town. All have now closed with the exception of the Glendale and a handful of small and more recent bed and breakfast establishments. A Royal Navy Hunt-class minesweeper was named HMS Penarth after the town in 1918 and survived the last nine months of the First World War, but only served for twelve months when it was sunk off the Yorkshire coast in 1919 after striking two mines. The vessel
2914-617: The top floors, have now been adapted for multi-occupancy as flats and apartments. Penarth Marina in direct contrast features trendy modern townhouses , apartments and designer penthouses . In 1930, the General Post Office (GPO), later British Telecom (BT), built its main telephone engineers' college on the corner of Lavernock Road and Victoria Road, where engineers from all over the UK attended basic and advanced residential courses lasting up to eight weeks. The college closed in
2976-478: The town. At the outbreak of the war, over 350 soldiers of the Royal Artillery were stationed on Flat Holm, which was armed with four 4.5 inch guns and associated searchlights to be used for anti-aircraft and close defence, together with two 40 millimetres (1.6 in) Bofors guns . A GL (Gun Laying) MkII radar station was also placed in the centre of the island. The structures formed part of
3038-427: The town. A large hoard of Roman rings and coins were also discovered at nearby Sully . From the 12th century until 1543 the lands of Penarth were owned by the canons of St Augustine, Bristol . The Norman church of St Augustine (on the headland) dates from this period. After the dissolution of the monasteries the ownership transferred to the dean and chapter of Bristol Cathedral . The manor lands were leased to
3100-608: The vessel and she foundered on the Falkland Islands , where she remained until salvaged and returned to Bristol Docks for restoration in the 1970s. One feature of Penarth Dock was the tunnel underpass that connected Penarth dock to Ferry Road Grangetown under the River Ely . Not quite wide enough for motor vehicles it was used by commuting pedestrians and cyclists as a short cut to work in Cardiff. The circular tunnel
3162-561: The wooden theatre. In 1947, the 7,130 ton steamship the SS Port Royal Park , under the flag of the Tavistock Shipping Company, collided with the pier, causing severe damage that was not repaired for several years. In August 1966, a 600-ton pleasure steamer, Bristol Queen , hit the pier causing an estimated £25,000 damage. In March 2011, planning permission was granted for a £3.9 million revamp of
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#17327837203323224-409: The world over, was first devised by a Glamorganshire club member, Dr. Frank Barney Gordon Stableford. He first tried it out on fellow members of the club on 30 September 1898. Prior to this revolutionary experiment here was no stroke indexing system available to golfers. Essentially all holes were played to par and the ‘Stableford’ points applied. At the end of the game one third of the players handicap
3286-533: Was a highly popular holiday destination, promoted nationally as "The Garden by the Sea" and was packed by visitors from the Midlands and the West Country as well as day trippers from the South Wales valleys , mostly arriving by train. Today, the town, with its traditional seafront, continues to be a regular summer holiday destination (predominantly for older visitors), but their numbers are much lower than
3348-417: Was about half a mile long with an entrance foyer at each end. Lined with cream and green coloured ceramic tiles, the route was lit originally by gaslight and later by electricity. Completed in 1899, from parts cast by T Gregory Engineering Works, Taffs Well, the tunnel remained in use until the autumn of 1965, when it was closed and the ends bricked up, after a series of violent muggings, repeated vandalism and
3410-403: Was added to the overall ‘Stableford’ adjusted score. The maximum handicap for the event was fifteen. The new system obviously favoured the better golfer at the time which is hardly surprising as the good doctor was a single figure handicapper. Stableford himself did not actually participate in his initial experiment though he donated a special prize to the winner, Mr W Hastings Watson, who scored
3472-509: Was common from Victorian times until the 1960s, when cheap overseas package holidays were introduced. Although the number of holiday visitors has greatly declined, the town retains a substantial retired population, representing over 24% of residents, but Penarth is now predominantly a dormitory town for Cardiff commuters . The town's population was recorded as 20,396 in the United Kingdom Census 2001 . The built-up area had
3534-538: Was drawn by the town's architect in 1875 from a detailed brief prepared by the Town Board. It features a bear's head above a shield supported by two further bears standing . The shield contains a Draig Goch to denote that the town is in Wales and a sailing vessel recognising Penarth's long association with sea commerce. The Penarth area has a history of human inhabitation dating back at least 5000 years. In 1956 several Neolithic stone axe heads were found in
3596-615: Was hit by a stick of incendiary bombs and was totally gutted by fire, with only the outer walls left standing. The church was rebuilt after the war and reopened in 1955. Albert Road School was also hit by a stick of incendiaries and badly damaged by fire, although it was quickly patched up and in use again within the week. St Paul's Methodist Church, overlooking the docks, was totally destroyed by bombs. Dozens of ordinary homes were struck by bombs, including houses in Salop Street, Arcot Street, Albert Road and Queens Road. In October 1943,
3658-609: Was located roughly where the car park now stands, at the rear of the NatWest Bank in Plymouth Road. In 1803, Penarth is recorded as having between 800 - 900 acres (3.6 km ) of land under cultivation as several farms. In the 1801 census, there were just 72 people living in the Manor. Even as late as 1851, Penarth was still little more than a small rural farming and fishing village since medieval times, with just 24 houses and 105 residents, being one of five parishes contained within
3720-498: Was opened in 1905, thanks to a donation by the Carnegie Trust . The town's gothic style Police Station and town gaol opened in 1864, opposite the Windsor Arms brewery. With the arrival of the railway connection to the Welsh valleys in 1878 came the regular influx of day trippers, often hundreds of them at weekends and bank holidays. The developing summer holiday trade was supported by a large number of quality hotels that provided nearly two thousand bedspaces. The biggest and grandest of
3782-424: Was prevalent on the coast near Penarth and, in the 1570s, a Special Commission being set up to investigate and suppress it. Leading family members in Penarth were believed to be implicated. Penarth's medieval walled Sheriff's Pound , an early form of multi-purpose gaol , remained in use until the late 18th century, as a place to retain stray sheep, cattle and pigs or to imprison thieves, rustlers and vagabonds. It
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#17327837203323844-423: Was the location of an experimental rocket battery as part of the town's air defences. The battery was manned by 50 soldiers from the Royal Artillery who were billeted in a small 'village' of Nissen huts built in the club's grounds. Unannounced practice firings of the rocket battery frequently caused concern and alarm amongst local residents. Several public air raid shelters, for Lower Penarth residents and workers at
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