The construction of the canal was responsible for the rapid exploitation of the mineral resources of the Taff Valley and led to the rise of Cardiff as a port. In the 1790s trade with Bristol continued to flourish and companies such as Evans & Co., James Walter & Charles Jones, were operating regular passenger and freight services between Cardiff and Bristol. The War of 1793-95 also resulted in the transport of wrought iron from Cardiff to London, and such trade continued during the early 19^th century with William Tait of Dowlais having taken over the sloops of Captain James Walter for this purpose. Other shipping companies of the early 18^th century included Pride & Co., Reece & Co. & Thomas Duke, all engaged in the transport of goods and passengers between Cardiff and Bristol and other Bristol Channel ports. Chief amongst Cardiff exports at this period were iron from Cyfarthfa, Plymouth and Penydarren Iron Works, and the tinplate being produced at Melingriffith Works, Whitchurch, Pentyrch Works and Treforest Works. Trade with London was also increasing, with goods being shipped direct and via Bristol. By 1830 the Cardiff & Bristol Company were employing six vessels in the Cardiff-Bristol trade, and the Cardiff & London Shipping Co. was sailing regularly between London, Newport and Cardiff using fast schooners. From Newport and Cardiff goods were transported inland to Brecon, Merthyr and Abergavenny. A service of horse-buses met the Bristol packets at Cardiff for the conveyance of passengers into the town.

The ironmasters of Merthyr soon established their own wharves at the Cardiff Quayside, Crawshay's Cyfarthfa Works, Guest, Lewis & Co.' s Dowlais Works, Hill's Plymouth Works, Forman's Penydarren Works, the Melingriffith Works and the Aberdare Works all had their wharves.

Separate from the iron trade, and originally of much less importance in the early 19^th century, was the trade in coal. After some difficulty relating to powers granted to Newport in the selling of coal without payment of duty, by 1813 Cardiff was sending domestic coal to Bristol and other West Country ports. A coal loading stage was erected near the canal lock enabling the direct loading of coal from a tramway into ships. Much of the coal exported had been mined in the Taff Valley pits belonging to Walter Coffin of Llandaff, and Coffin even had his own vessels for the purpose.

Cardiff must have been a bustling town even in those days, and it must be remembered that the wharves of the canal lay in close proximity to the main part of the town, for the canal ran along the eastern edge of the Castle Walls following the line of the old moat, whilst the river ran to the west of the Castle, curving eastward toward St.Mary Street and the site of the old TownHall. The Golate and Quay Street are still in existence running off St.Mary Street, still one of the main thoroughfares of the modern City.

At this period small sailing ships of 200 to 300 tons were the order of the day. It was not until 1833 that the first steamboat service from Cardiff commenced. In 1830 over 1800 sailings took place from Cardiff and there came a need for the building of new boats and maintenance of the existing ones. Boatbuilding had already been undertaken at Cardiff in the 18^th century near the Golate, but the expansion of the shipping business resulted in increased boatbuilding activity in the early 19^th century, with firms such as Joseph Davies and Richard Tredwin being established, the latter opening the first Dry Dock in Cardiff on the East side of the Canal Wharf.

Other ancillary occupations related to the shipping industry start to appear in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries - timber importers (for boat building), ships chandlers, ropemakers, sailmakers and ship brokers. Outside the town, at Pontypridd, Samuel Brown and his cousin Samuel Lennox, set up the Newbridge Chain and Anchor Works, supplying not only the local merchant shipping industry but the Royal Navy and the East India Company. Their chains and cables were not only for shipping but were also used extensively for bridges and piers eg the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, Hammersmith Bridge in London, the Tweed Bridge and Brighton Pier.

In Cardiff itself, the Cardiff Foundry of Moggridge & Towgood and the Glass Works of Guest & Co. were established in the 1820s. Both producing high quality products.

Go to next page