Cardiff and Southern Glamorgan, its Industrial Archaeology and history

The industrial history and archaeology of Cardiff and Southern Glamorgan

Click on the link below to go to :-
Cardiff City, Penarth, Lavernock and Dinas Powis, Barry to Rhoose Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks Pontyclun The rest of Southern Glamorgan

or here to explore
The Taff Vale to Pontypridd The Taff Vale from Pontypridd to Merthyr The Rhondda Valleys

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge a photo or map and sometimes read more about it. Then click 'Full Size' on the toolbar to see it in all its glory.

Latest Photos (to be sorted out in due course)
Curran Road, Cardiff The West side of Curran Road, along the banks of the River Taff, is ripe for re-development. Luckily it's still a jumble of old warehouses and industrial units with a lot of embedded track that led off the Riverside branch. The locations in the captions refer to the 1954 OS maps.
Curran Road North, Cardiff, 1954	Curran Road South, Cardiff, 1954	Curran Road 'Index Engineering'	Curran Road 'Index Engineering'
Curran Road 'Index Engineering'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'
Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Training Centre'	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff
Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff	Curran Road 'Foundry', Cardiff
Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'
Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'	Curran Road 'Engineering Works'
West Junction Canal bridge	West Junction Canal bridge	Sophia Street railway bridge	Roath Basin lock-keepers office
Bute Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Channel Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Channel Dry Dock, Cardiff Bay	Mountstuart Shipbuilding Yard

Back to the top

Cardiff City
Cardiff trolleybus 201, 1964	Cardiff trolleybus 242, 1964	Cardiff bus 46 EBO 900	Flying Scotsman at Cardiff
Flying Scotsman at Cardiff	Cardiff General and 9426	Cardiff General and 6947, 1964	Whitchurch Station WW1 poster
An empty Heath Junction, Cardiff	Cardiff Canton open day, 150 001	Cardiff Canton open day, 150 001	Cardiff Canton open day, 25322
Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 4930	Cardiff Canton open day, 4930
Cardiff Canton open day, 7029	Cardiff Canton open day, 7029	Cardiff Canton open day, 97201	Cardiff Canton open day, D200
Cardiff Canton open day, 92220	Cardiff Canton open day, 92220	Cardiff Canton open day	Cardiff, Class 43
Cardiff Dock entrancee lock	Old coal drams at Cardiff Bay	Canal tunnel under Kingsway	TVR docks branch bridge
Above Caerphilly Tunnel and Cefn Onn caves
From ukCaving.com :- The gated entrance did have a padlock on it, but not only was this padlock not attached to anything, the hole underneath the gate was more than large enough to get through. The shaft was straight and about 75-80 metres long, with a number of drill holes, so obviously man made, ending when you arrive at a curved brick wall, obviously another ventilation shaft for the railway. We could hear a significant (small waterfall size!) amount of water through a hole in the shaft wall, but couldn't see down to where it came from. The little hole that I had crawled into as a lad was less interesting. We moved a boulder and dropped into it (tight and steep, much much harder to get out than to get in!) and there was probably about 7-8 metres of standing room passage that abruptly ended. We wondered if the railway workers had started to dig here before stopping for some reason.
Cefn Onn, Tranch-yr-hebog Quarry		Cefn-Onn large adit, Cardiff	Cefn-Onn small adit, Cardiff
Ventilation shaft no3	Ventilation shaft No4	Shaft No4 tramway bridge	Shaft No4 waste tips
Cardiff's outskirts
Cefn Mably valvehouse	Peterstone sewer outfall	St Brides sewer outfall	St Brides sewer outfall

Back to the top

Penarth, Lavernock and Dinas Powis
Penarth. The Islwyn Ramblers walk from Penarth to Sully and I find some Industrial Archaeology as usual.
Penarth to Sully, TVR bridge	Penarth to Sully, TVR bridge	S. Wales Cement Works wagon	S. Wales Cement Works wagon
Lower Cosmeston Farm, Penarth	Bamford's patent grinding mill	Lavernock electrical sub-station	Rock Cottage, Lavernock
Lavernock Point gun battery. This WW2 anti-aircraft gun battery was armed with four 3.7" guns and a 40mm Bofors gun and consisted of gunpits, command post, magazine, workshops and a searchlight. It was unusual because gunpits 1 and 2 had steel doors so they could engage shipping if needed.
Lavernock Point battery gunpit 2	Lavernock Point battery magazine	Command post and workshops	Lavernock Point battery gunpit 1
Lavernock Point battery gunpit 3	Gunpits 1, 2 and command post	Searchlight building	Searchlight building
Searchlight building	Information board
Dinas Powis limekiln - ST 1396 7328. A very decrepid limekiln from the mid 1800s.
Limekiln near Dinas Powis	Limekiln near Dinas Powis	Limekiln near Dinas Powis

Back to the top

From Barry to Rhoose
Woodhams Yard in the 1960s and 1975
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30499	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30830	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 34070	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 35022
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 4247	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 45293	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 47324	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 48305
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 6023	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 61264	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 92219	Woodhams Yard, Barry
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 30841	Woodhams Yard, Barry, 31874	Woodhams Yard, 45690 31618	Woodhams Yard, 53808 31618
Woodhams Yard, Barry, 44777	Woodhams Yardy, 31625	Woodhams Yard, 31806 31638
From Barry to Rhoose
Barry, Old harbour - ST 1067 6681 A couple of old hulks and the limekilns
Barry old harbour	Barry old harbour	Barry old harbour limekilns	Barry Island searchlight post
Barry West pier - ST 1220 6665 Some rails are still surviving on the breakwater at Jackson's Bay.
Barry West breakwater	Barry West breakwater	Barry West breakwater	Barry steamer pier and station
Porthkerry Quarries - ST 0753 6595 Between c1912 and c1931 a 3'0" gauge railway ran around these quarries. The bridge abutments and stonework may be connected with this line.
Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry	Porthkerry lower quarry
Quarry bridge abutments			East Quarry, Rhoose
West Quarry blast shelter	West Quarry tank, Rhoose	West Quarry, Rhoose	West Quarry, Rhoose

Back to the top

Aberthaw
Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks
Aberthaw Pebble Limestone Company Lime-making at Aberthaw had been in production since the 1750s on a fairly small scale producing a good quality hydraulic lime that could set underwater. So in 1888 the Aberthaw Pebble Limestone Company was formed to take full advantage of the limestone pebbles on Aberthaw beach. There were originally two kilns and a further two were added c1895 after the opening of the TVR branch from Cowbridge. The works closed down in 1926.
The limeworks in 1912	The limeworks in 1900	The limeworks in 1919	The limeworks in 1919
General views of the limeworks
Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks
Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks	Aberthaw Pebble Limeworks
The three-storey mill building
Limeworks mill building	Mill drive shaft support	Mill drive shaft access	Limeworks mill steam pipe
The boiler house
Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house chimney
Limeworks boiler house wall	Limeworks boiler house flue	Limeworks boiler house flue	Limeworks boiler house access
The original 1888 kilns
Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns draw-hole doors	Old kilns lime run-off channels
Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns passageway	Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns floor plates
Old kilns upper draw-hole	Old kilns lime run-off channel	Old kilns draw-hole	Old kilns lime run-off channel
Old kilns draw-hole	Old kilns passageway	Old kilns upper draw-hole
Interior of the old kilns	Interior of the old kilns
The new kilns built after the TVR branch from Cowbridge was opened, c1895
Limeworks new kilns	Limeworks new kilns	Limeworks new kilns	Limeworks new kilns
Around the outside
Upturned Barlow rail	New kilns ramp foundation	'Pleasant Harbour' wharf
The Taff Vale Railway at Aberthaw
TVR line 1st underbridge	TVR line 2nd underbridge	TVR line 2nd underbridge	TVR line overbridge, Aberthaw
TVR line overbridge, Aberthaw			'Waverley' steams past Aberthaw

Back to the top

Pontyclun
Around the Station and along the Coed Ely branch.
Goods Yard entrance bridge	Goods Yard entrance bridge	Goods Yard entrance bridge	A473 Level Crossing, Talbot Green
A473 Level Crossing, Talbot Green	A473 Level Crossing, Talbot Green	A473 Level Crossing, Talbot Green	Ely River bridge, Pontyclun
Ely River bridge, Pontyclun	Ely River bridge, Pontyclun	Ely River bridge, Pontyclun	Sidings and shed area, Pontyclun
Sidings and shed area, Pontyclun	Tramway rail in sidings, Pontyclun	Subway under sidings, Pontyclun	Subway under sidings, Pontyclun
Subway under sidings, Pontyclun	Subway under sidings, Pontyclun	Ely Tinplate Works road bridge

Back to the top

The rest of South and Mid Glamorgan
Around Bridgend and the Ogwr Valley
Candleston Quarry - ST 8640 7800 St Brides Major limekiln - ST 9129 7520 A small quarry and limekiln next to Candleston Farm and the ruined outbuildings at the farm, all dating back to at least 1880. Another very ruinous limekiln near Castle-upon-Alun, St Brides Major.
Candleston Quarry	Candleston Quarry	Candleston Farm outbuildings	Limekiln near St Brides Major
Tresilian, Llantwit Major - ST 9473 6777 There are three World War 2 pillboxes surrounding Tresilian, a large seaside house, near Llantwit Major.
The Eastern Tresilian pillbox	The Eastern Tresilian pillbox	The Central Tresilian pillbox	The Western Tresilian pillbox
St Donats Castle - ST 9345 6800 Dunraven Castle - ST 8893 7345 St Donats Castle once boasted an outdoor swimming pool and this chimney and flue appear to have been part of the heating system, unusual with the chimney some way away from the pool like the old lead-smelting flues. There's not much left of Dunraven Castle itself but the gardens are very pleasent. There's an old barn not far away with cast-iron pillars supporting the roof.
St Donats swimming pool chimney	St Donats swimming pool flue	Dunraven Castle barn pillar
St Fagans Folk Museum
St Fagans Museum, Limekiln	St Fagans Museum, Limekiln	St Fagans Museum, Pottery kiln
The Llantrisant No.1 Railway at ST 1196 7907
The Llantrisant No.1 Railway ran from Waterhall Junction to Llantrisant. A footpath crosses under the line near Rhydlafr and planning notices show that no less than 5970 houses are to be built here very soon!
Bridge abutments near Rhydlafr	Trackbed to the South	Trackbed to the North
Other locations
Coed Ely coke ovens

Back to the top