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flooded twice during construction, in
November 1897 and December 1898, although workers were able to evacuate both times without any loss of life. Tunneling finished on 25 September 1899, and a ceremony was held to mark the subway's official opening on 14 May 1900. The total cost of construction was between ÂŁ25,000 and ÂŁ26,000.
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After the war the subway remained accessible to the public but increasingly fell into disrepair, and it gained a reputation for vandalism and petty crime. It was eventually closed and boarded up in 1963 as part of the wider decommissioning of
Penarth Dock; the entrances were then bricked up in 1965.
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across to the northern bank of the Ely as a shortcut for both their workers (many of whom lived in
Grangetown) and members of the public. However, the ferry was unable to run in bad weather—even sinking twice during storms—and as the docks continued to develop in importance a permanent crossing was
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at either entrance, charging pedestrians a penny for entry, cyclists two pence, and prams four pence; horses also reportedly used the subway. It also carried gas and water pipes, and hydraulic lines for coal-loading machinery in the docks, while water leaking in from outside the tunnel was pumped
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The tunneling process was slow and difficult. The ground was largely a loose mixture of mud, gravel, and clay, and the cast-iron tunnel—only 11 feet below the river bed at its deepest point—was subjected to intense differentials in pressure between high and low tides in the bay above. The tunnel
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The subway had a diameter of 10 feet 6 inches, with a usable footpath 6 feet wide, and 7 feet 6 inches of headroom. The tunnel ramped downwards relatively steeply from both entrances to its halfway point, with a gradient of 1 in 7. The interior was painted with a mixture of white enamel and
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in 1896 seeking permission for a number of new works, one of which was a tunnel beneath the river to replace the ferry. Construction began in July 1897 on a subway designed by George
Sibbering, the company's chief engineer, with works overseen by Thomas Taylor, a contractor from
103:. The northern entrance was located at the southern end of Ferry Road in Grangetown (next to some large petroleum storage tanks owned by the Bear Creek Oil Company), while the southern entrance was next to the dockside Mission Church.
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The subway was officially decommissioned in 1936 as part of the wider closure of
Penarth Dock, and the toll keepers were removed, but it nevertheless remained open to pedestrians. It was repurposed as an air raid shelter during the
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The tunnel is not actively maintained, but (other than the damage to the southern entrance) remains intact. It was inspected in 1991 during the construction of the
95:. The ramped entrances at either end were dug by hand but the majority of the route—325 yards of the subway's total length of 400 yards—was tunneled with a
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Peaceful
Progress - Graffiti Art, Cardiff, Wales, UK. Graffiti workshops, commissions, vehicle artwork, bedroom murals, Graffiti artists for hire
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A commemorative mural of the subway, painted by local artists
Peaceful Progress, can be found at the southern end of Pont Y Werin.
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away through drains in the floor. A burst pipe on 4 August 1902 caused a flood and led to the subway's temporary closure.
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and found to be in good condition. However, renovating and reopening it was ultimately not pursued in favour of building
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until 1976, when part of the
Penarth entrance was demolished and some of the cast iron tunnel sections were removed.
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The demolished southern entrance was sealed over in the 1980s as part of the redevelopment of
Penarth Dock into
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granulated cork to prevent condensation, and lit with electric bulbs. Toll keepers oversaw
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286:"The hidden tunnel under the River Ely which used to connect Cardiff to Penarth"
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317:"PENARTH'S HIDDEN & FORGOTTEN SUBMARINE SUBWAY IS RE-APPRAISED"
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It continued to be used as a conduit for power cables by the
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Opened in 1900, it provided a direct connection between
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Penarth Dock opened in 1865 on the southern edge of
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The Ely Subway's route beneath the river, mapped by
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400:"Pont Y Werin Bridge – The Old Ely Subway"
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380:Moore-Haines, S (13 April 1996).
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39:tunnel beneath the mouth of the
16:Pedestrian tunnel in South Wales
323:. 27 July 2014. Archived from
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262:"Grandfather's greatest feat"
134:South Wales Electricity Board
268:. 13 April 1996. p. 18.
345:. 6 August 1902. p. 5.
188:. 8 August 1952. p. 6.
58:until its closure in 1963.
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247:. 12 May 1900. p. 1.
229:. 15 May 1900. p. 4.
211:. 10 May 1900. p. 4.
76:Taff Vale Railway Company
182:"Cardif–Penarth Tunnel"
343:South Wales Daily News
241:""The Ely sub-way...""
227:South Wales Daily News
209:South Wales Daily News
101:Central London Railway
83:considered necessary.
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357:"I remember that..."
339:"Ely Subway Flooded"
245:Pontypridd Observer
153:Cardiff Bay Barrage
446:Pedestrian tunnels
321:Penarth Daily News
223:"RIVER ELY SUBWAY"
205:"RIVER ELY SUBWAY"
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140:Present day
80:chain ferry
68:Cardiff Bay
45:South Wales
425:Categories
409:2024-05-04
366:2024-05-03
295:2024-05-04
166:References
113:turnstiles
93:Pontypridd
88:Parliament
56:Grangetown
37:pedestrian
33:Ely Subway
126:U.S. Navy
72:Llandough
41:River Ely
441:Penarth
436:Cardiff
62:History
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