Penarth is a town of two parts — one the ‘Dock Town’ known colloquially and affectionately as the Bowery, built with the docks in the 1850-60s, stone built terraced houses in treeless streets with a network of lanes, small shops, ten public houses, numerous drinking clubs and religious buildings all built on the ridge that runs east to west parallel to and shielding the dock from the prevailing westerly wind. The other was built later, on the expansive plateau that runs south and west from the ridge, with large town mansions, tree-Iined roads and serni-detached houses. The Taff Vale Railway line, opened by the Taff Vale Railway Company in 1878, can be used as a convenient dividing line.
     The walk starts at the northern end of Glebe Street. Built on church land, the town’s original shopping area, this now drab street was once a pulsating cosmopolitan area — four pubs, dozens of grocers’ and butchers’ shops, open all hours, owned by incomers to the area, as can be seen from a random selection of surnames: Kruger, Driscoll, Jonker Hendrik, Tanshen Bomash, Hovord, Coon, Crull, a thoroughfare thronged with seamen of numerous countries: Lascars, Malays; Balts, Chinese, Scandinavians, Yanks, Russians and Poles such as Joseph Conrad.
     The Ship Hotel site (1), one of the original ten public houses, is now the Catherine Meazey flats; the original frontage is now the curtain wall for the complex. Next door, in what was James Street, and is now Coronation Terrace, was the town's first chemist, Mr Proctor, a grocer’s, an outfitter’s and then one of the town’s many blacksmiths, Mr Knapman. Next was a coach builder and then the notorious Clifton Club, one of the town’s numerous drinking clubs, previously at No 6, Glebe Street (now numbered 8) where Chris Capus now trades. Across James Street was the town’s first post office, the postmaster in 1865 was Mr John Richards.
     Around the corner in Queens Road, previously Maughan Street, named after the Baroness Windsor’s agent Mr Maughan, can be seen the site of one of Penarth’s alfresco toilets (2). Down the road was Mr Harris’ dairy (3). He was one of the businessmen still using a delivery horse after World War II. On the corner of Queens Road and Steep Street is the building that housed the Albert Club (4), manager A Barnett, secretary W. A. Hodges. Another stood at the junction of Dock Street and Ferry Lane, the WindsorCiub, later the Central Club run by J. Knight the Charles Isgar. Moving west we pass a row of houses bombed during an attack on the dock in 1940(5); they were rebuilt after WWlI. We now reach Church Terrace (6) built in 1909 on the site of the Anglican St Paul’s, a corrugated church opened in 1881, then demolished in 1906 and rebuilt on Barry Island. Across the road is the Huntley’s (7), one of the town's oldest family businesses, agent for the Guion Steamship Co. It was for a few years between 1870-80 another of the town’s drinking clubs, the Beaufort. Next door was Cousin’s (8), the seamen’s outfitters.
     On the corner is the imposing Royal Hotel (9), another of the original ten, used during the famous Seamen's Strike of 1911 by Captain Tupper, the strike leader. From the balustraded balcony he used to address the seamen, dockers and onlookers. Crossing over the road we find the site of another alfresco toilet at the entrance of what was Dock Subway Road. Tens of thousands of dockers and seamen used this route to the dock, down past the three Limekiln Cottages (10), inhabited until the i930s by the West, Barnett and Price families. Go past the spoil heaps, later used for landscaping, past the kilns and down the steep flight of Radyr stone steps and through the subway, the umbilical cord between the town and dock. This was the site of the town’s largest and deepest quarry.
     At the junction of Queens Road and Arcot Street, named after one of Clive of India’s battles, stands the Arcot Shrubbery (11) donated to the town by the Windsor family in the 19th century. To the right can be seen the town's first Roman Catholic church (12), presbytery and school opened in 1873 by Bishop Hedley. Prior to this, services were held in a room above what is now Table Talk. To the left stands St Paul’s(13), originally built in 1864 as a Methodist Chapel, enlarged in 1882 and then badly burned in March, 1905, rebuilt by the Anglicans in 1906 to replace the corrugated church in Queens Road. It was bomb damaged in 1940.
     Moving up Arcot Street we come to Salop Street, named after one of the Windsor family’s Shropshire estates. The building on one corner, 21 Arcot Street, housed at various times the Glamorgan Club, the Arcot Club (14) and the Penarth Social Working Men’s Club. Opposite, on the site of Salop Court stood the ‘Hong Kong’ (15), whose derivation is as yet unknown. It was at various times a Liberal Club (in the 1880s) and the town’s library from 1895 until 1905. The building was similar to the Plymouth Hotel, only larger, and with an imposing Bath stone facade. Next door was E. Allen’s (16), coach builder, with extensive stables at the rear and a public hall upstairs; this was used by the Salvation Army (who first came to the town in 1884) from 1900 until a fire in October 1922, which destroyed the hall and the Army‘s equipment and instruments. It was not rebuilt. Crossing over Salop Street we enter Arcot Lane (17) with its complex of stables, coach houses, blacksmiths(18) and bakery. Re-crossing Salop Street we find the site of Penarth’s last shoeing smith, working until the 1950s. Passing the Plymouth Hotel (19), one of the original ten, we enter the lane at the rear of Penarth’s first school, the National School (20), built in 1863. To the right of the lane is the site of the Glamorgan Artillery Quarters (21), 1861-1894. The open space at the end of the lane, Plassey Square, was donated to the town by the Windsor family along with the Arcot Shrubbery and the Penarth Head open space. In one corner was a war-time WWII static water tank (22), that gave great pleasure to the local "scallywags", paddling in the summer, ‘skating’ in the winter. In the western corner there was a barrage balloon camp (23), the foundations of which can still be seen.
     Moving south we join Plassey Street, named after another of Robert Clive’s Indian battles, although the Cogan end of Plassey Street was originally Clarence Terrace. The National School and Headteacher’s house (occupied in 1886 by John Davies in 1886) (20) stand at the junction of Plassey Street and High Street which was originally Maughan Street. On the eastern comer is the site of another of the town’s blacksmiths (24), in 1878 this was a Mr Hoskin. Next door was the town’s first Labour Hall (25), in a stable at the back of 35 Plassey Street. Moving down High Street we come to Ludlow Street, named after another of the Shropshire estates. On the corner of Ludlow Street and High Street stands the home of the manager of the brewery next door (26). The brewery belonged to the Windsor Hotel, one of the original ten, and was the first brewery in the town until the more recent Bullmastiff and Tiger Bay Breweries. Opposite stands the Police Station (27) opened in 1864; originally the Inspector lived in the Station House, and the constables lived in as well. The houses in the next block were originally Oakleigh Terrace; at the rear of Windsor Lane is another of the town^’s blacksmiths (28) (Mr Massey’s in the 1920s), in its original condition. Across the road is the Windsor Dingle (29), shown on the 1871 OS map as a wide stream; this was culverted when the railway line was built in 1878, and Dingle Halt (30) was opened in 1904. Part of the Dingle was filled in — it was the town’s first official refuse tip, now a treasure trove for ‘diggers’. Moving up Windsor Road we come to Monty Smith’s Garage; on this site and the adjoining land were a stonemason's yard (Luke Hooper’s) and a nurseryman, Mr Slade (31). Further up the road is another of Monty Smith’s garages on a particularly interesting site. Originally the site was occupied by a Congregational Chapel, opened in 1883, and used Christchurch was opened in 1897 on land owned by Solomon Andrews. It was then used as a public hall, the Windsor Hall (32). In 1906 it became the Drill Hall for the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the 2/7th Welsh Regiment (Cyclists). The 2/7th, who participated in some of the bloodiest fighting of the 1914-18 war, are commemorated with a plaque on a plinth outside Cardiff City Hall. From 1912 this site was used as a cinema by the Wilmore Brothers. Across the road the site of the Ex-Servicemen’s Club was used previously by the town’s early drinkers. In 1886 this was the Windsor Club, stewarded by Mr Peterson; it then became the Salisbury Club (33). Opposite, is the junction of Windsor Road and Hickman Road. The latter was named after Thomas Hickman, who was made Earl of Plymouth and Baron Windsor on 6th December, 1682 (his heir was Viscount Windsor and Baron Mountjoy). On the corner of Arcot Street stood a dairy (34). The site is now derelict. Further up the road is Woolworth’s (35); before the shop fronts were added this was the town’s first Conservative Club — the manager in 1886 was G.M. Paterson. Moving up Arcot Street the half-ruined building was the premises of a bootmaker and shoe repairer (36). It is a classic example of a small Victorian tradesman’s premises. Opposite is the old Corn Stores (37), until recently in a dilapidated condition, but tastefully restored by Mr Reynolds, who has shown what can be done without recourse to the bulldozer. Across the road, where the OAPs now meet, was a general stores called grandiosely, the ‘Golden Key’ (38), proprietor Mr William Griffiths, who died on March 21st, 1891, aged 39 years (a headstone can be seen in St Augustine’s). Next door and opposite (39) were stables for donkeys and later for a horse for Mr Powell’s home furniture removal business until the 1950s.
     Moving up to Plassey Street, on the left hand side Decorum was Hayter's Bakery (41) and later a fish and chip shop; opposite, R. Mott’s was the site of the Penarth Times (40). A few doors up Plassey Street stands Tabernacle Baptist Chapel (42) opened in 1871, and in the next block down is the Welsh Congregationalist Church (43) opened in the same year. Moving up Arcot Street we come to the building used, as the town was forming, as the offices of the Cardiff Corporation Water Works (44). This stands on the corner of Salop Street. Turning into Salop Street we pass another row of houses bombed in 1940 (45); opposite was Alf Spragg’s (46) grocer’s shop with stable behind. He was another tradesman who used a horse after World War II. Chapel Lane, which is T-shaped, contained numerous stables, bakeries, tradesmen’s lofts etc. The Albion Hotel (47), one of the original ten, is opposite what was Mr Hooper’s Store (48). Until recently the window sill still had the original pointed spikes set in the sill to deter the ‘down and outers’ from sitting there whilst awaiting ‘homeward bounders’ — the seamen newly returned home and therefore flush with money. (Note the unusual rear entrance in Plassey Street.) Turning left into Glebe Street, we pass numerous houses that were shops, including the Golden Lion (49), one of the ten, on the corner of what was Glebe Place. We return to the site of the Ship Hotel.