Newport Docks - History

History

The Town Dock on the east bank of the River Usk opened in 1842 and continued in use until it was closed and filled in 1930. It was the first floating dock facility in Newport. The construction of the dock played an important part in the town's growth in the mid-nineteenth century. A rapid expansion of trade caused by the development of the canal system in South East Wales had led to the need to improve the port's berthing facilities. Particularly for large American export vessels which risked damage when beached at the wharves for unloading. If the town was to continue to prosper and compete with the growing port of Cardiff a dock needed to be constructed.

At a public meeting held at the King's Head Inn in March 1835 the plans of the floating dock were agreed. A committee, made up of some of the leading gentlemen of Newport, was appointed to examine the provisions of the Bill that was to be put before Parliament.

The Newport Dock Act was given Royal Assent in July 1835 allowing the Newport Dock Company to begin construction work. The estimated cost of the dock was to be £35,000 which was raised by selling 350 shares of £100 each. The first sod was cut by John Owen, Mayor of Newport, on 1 December 1835 to the sound of the bells of St Woolos, the firing of guns and the celebrations of the Navvies, who had been supplied with several barrels of Castle Brewery beer for the occasion.

However, the construction of the dock did not run smoothly. A number of contractors had to be used at various stages and as early as 1836 there were labour disputes. Consequently, even by the end of 1837 little work had been completed. In 1838 another £15,000 needed to be raised but progress continued to be slow. This was against a background of the burgeoning labour movement, Chartism - with many Chartists active in Newport - and the Newport Rising of 1839. More funds needed to be raised in October 1840 and by then the estimated cost of the project had risen to £120,000. Work was halted in December 1840 following the failure of another contractor and was to halt again in 1841. After more funds were raised work resumed for a fifth time in April, but by then the total estimate had grown to £131,000. Financial problems and industrial unrest continued to plague the construction to the very end. In September 1842 a further £10,000 had to be borrowed and workers walked out to demand higher wages, an event which led to a body of well armed police being sent to quell the disturbance.

The official opening of the Dock on 10 October 1842 was marked by a programme of festivities that attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the town. In the morning a mile long procession proceeded along High Street through Commercial Street and Commercial Road towards the Dock. The procession contained elements of the major clubs and societies of Newport in this period such as the Freemasons, the Oddfellows, The Hibernian Society and the Teetotallers. Near the head of the procession the Mayor and Aldermen travelled in open carriages whilst at the rear marched a large number of the inhabitants of the town, amongst whom many of the gentlemen wore white rosettes.

At 10 o'clock the lock gates were opened, as the Monmouthshire Merlin reported, to the sound of “the shouts and cheers of the spectators, the thunder of cannons, firing of musketry and pealing of bells.” The first vessel to enter the dock was the Henry.

Following the official opening the programme of events continued throughout the day. Highlights included a dinner for 300 gentlemen of the area at the National School, boat races on the dock reservoir and a firework display at Rodney Wharf. In the evening a ball was held for the gentry at the King's Head Hotel. The Clubs and Societies also held their own balls and dinners at Inns throughout Newport, a Tradesman's Ball at the Steam Packet Inn was reported to have “kept up with much spirit until morning”. The Monmouthshire Merlin newspaper does not report on how the town's population felt the next day!

However, shortly after its opening it was apparent the Town Dock was not sufficient to deal with the increasing trade. In July 1854 a second act was passed giving the Newport Dock Company permission to extend the Town Dock to the north. Work commenced in June 1856 and was completed in less than two years. The official opening on 2 March 1858 was declared a public holiday and was greeted with similar celebrations to when the Town Dock was opened.

The Town Dock expansion was not initially the success that the Newport Dock company hoped for and the company faced severe criticism, especially after they increased their charges. It was now obvious that the Town Dock alone was no longer sufficient to meet the volume of trade passing through Newport. In 1865 an act was passed to allow the construction of a second dock and in 1868 work began on the Alexandra Dock, which opened in 1875. Unsurprisingly, the opening of the rival dock had a detrimental effect on the trade of the Town Dock, although it was the accident involving the Constancia and the Primus which ultimately led to the demise of the Newport Dock Company.

On 10 January 1882 the two vessels attempted to pass through the lock at the same time but the Primus became stuck on the sill of the outer gates and the ships collided. The Monmouthshire Merlin describes how the situation became critical as the tide began to recede because "the bottom of the lock being concave in form, as the water ebbed the steamers heeled over one on the other, the Primus carrying away her masts, breaking in two amidships and, of course, subsiding to the bottom, whither she was followed by her companion in misfortune." The lock was completely blocked and the vessels already in the dock trapped for nearly two weeks. The accident incurred substantial expense for the Newport Dock Company and further eroded customer confidence in the company. A year later the Newport Dock Company was sold to the Alexandra Dock Company for £150,000. From this moment the Town Dock was used for dealing with the smaller vessels whilst larger cargoes were concentrated at the Alexandra Dock.

The Alexandra Dock was extended with the addition of the South Dock opened in 1892 with the original Alexandra Dock becoming known as the North Dock. By 1900 the Town Dock was used primarily for the general import trade, particularly in timber. However, its relatively small size and position further up the river estuary than the Alexandra Dock made the Town Dock particularly vulnerable. An extension to the Alexandra South Dock was opened in 1907. It was further expanded and a new South Lock (the Great Sea Lock) opened in 1914 with direct access to the Severn Estuary.

The Newport Docks Disaster occurred on 2 July 1909 when, during construction of the new south lock, supporting timbers in an excavation trench collapsed and buried 46 workers. The rescuers included 12-year-old paper boy Thomas ‘Toya’ Lewis who was small enough to crawl into the collapsed trench. Lewis worked for two hours with hammer and chisel in an attempt to free one of those trapped who was released the next day. Several hundred pounds was later raised through public subscription in gratitude for the boy's efforts, and he was sent on an engineering scholarship to Scotland. Lewis was awarded the Albert Medal for Lifesaving by King Edward VII in December 1909. A Wetherspoons pub in the city centre is named "The Tom Toya Lewis" after the young hero.

The Town Dock was unable to survive the downturn in trade in the 1920s the Town Dock was finally closed in October 1930 and filled in.

• The Newport Dock Bill received assent in 1835 to develop an inland port. The Newport Dock Company was the forerunner of the Alexandra (Newport and South Wales) Docks and Railway Company. By 1864, the docks were becoming congested with the increase in water and inland traffic. In 1865, Charles Morgan, 1st Baron Tredegar formed the Alexandra Dock Company. The Alexandra Dock and Lock was opened in 1875. Following an Act of Parliament of 1882, the two dock companies, the Alexandra (Newport) Dock Company and the Newport Dock Company, were amalgamated to become the Alexandra (Newport & South Wales) Docks and Railway Company (ANDR). The new company took over the Old Town Docks in 1884. The company decided to construct a railway line connecting the docks to Pontypridd. The Pontypridd, Caerphilly & Newport Railway Company (PC&N) was incorporated in 1878, but not completed for many years. In 1922, the ANDR was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway Docks department, then became part of British Railways following Nationalisation in 1948

• Merlin, 20 June 1887: "Fifty Years a Queen" - There is no town in the Kingdom, whose progress has been more marked, than that of Newport during the period of fifty years, which today marks the Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign. On 20 June 1837, docks were unknown at Newport, the slight railway accommodation to the Borough would in these days be regarded as quite worthless; from the river to High Street a narrow pill slowly wended its way, whilst the width of the roadway did not exceed ten or eleven feet. In 1837 nearly the whole of the traffic with Newport, was conveyed by the Monmouthshire Canal, whilst passengers had to content themselves with the old stage coaches, carriers vans, and omnibuses. Compared with today Newport was simply a rural village. Its population did not exceed 9000, the inhabited houses being about 1500. Today, the population of the town exceeds 40,000, the number of inhabited houses is fully 7000. The Alexandra and Newport Docks have been constructed, a perfect network of railways runs into the town, and we are exporting over three million tons of coal per annum. These particulars, brief though they are, will serve to show the wonderful development of Newport from that day, precisely fifty years ago, when Victoria was informed that she had succeeded to the throne.