View source for Penarth

{{Short description|Town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                  = Wales
| welsh_name               = 
| constituency_welsh_assembly = [[Cardiff South and Penarth (Assembly constituency)|Cardiff South and Penarth]]
| coordinates              = {{Wikidatacoord|Q427792|display=inline,title}}
| label_position           = left
| official_name            = Penarth
|community_wales           = [[Penarth Town Council|Penarth]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Penarth Town Council Website |url=https://www.penarthtowncouncil.gov.uk/ |website=Penarth Town Council |access-date=2 July 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601042139/https://www.penarthtowncouncil.gov.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| unitary_wales            = [[Vale of Glamorgan]]
| lieutenancy_wales        = [[South Glamorgan]]
| constituency_westminster = [[Cardiff South & Penarth (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff South & Penarth]]
| post_town                = PENARTH
| postcode_district        = CF64
| postcode_area            = CF
| dial_code                = 029
| os_grid_reference        = ST185715
| population               = 22,083
| population_ref           = (2011)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127464&c=Penarth&d=16&e=62&g=6494250&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1428573312737&enc=1 |title=Parish population 2011 |access-date=9 April 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110547/https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11127464&c=Penarth&d=16&e=62&g=6494250&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1428573312737&enc=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| static_image_name        = {{multiple image
 |border                   = infobox
 |perrow                   = 1/2/2/2/2
 |total_width              = 250
 |image1                   = Penarth Centre.jpg
 |image2                   = Penarth pier - geograph.org.uk - 4323543.jpg
 |image3                   = Gardens on The Esplanade - Penarth (geograph 1486664).jpg
 |image4                   = Penarth marina - geograph.org.uk - 1446235.jpg
 |image5                   = Custom House, Penarth Marina - geograph.org.uk - 960335.jpg
 |footer                   = From the top clockwise, Windsor Road the main commercial area, Italian Gardens, Custom House, [[Penarth Marina]], [[Penarth Pier]]}}
}}

'''Penarth''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ɛ|n|'|ɑr|θ}} {{respell|pen|ARTH}}, {{IPA|cy|pɛnˈarθ|lang}}) is a town and [[Community (Wales)|community]] in the [[Vale of Glamorgan]], [[Wales]], approximately {{convert|3|mi}} south of [[Cardiff city centre]] on the west shore of the [[Severn Estuary]] at the southern end of [[Cardiff Bay]].

Penarth is a [[Seaside resort#British seaside resorts|seaside resort]] in the [[Cardiff Urban Area]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/richlist/uk/wales/ |title=Wales' Highest Value Towns |publisher=Zoopla |year=2012 |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025082624/http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/richlist/uk/wales/ |archive-date=25 October 2014 }}</ref> and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the administrative centre of [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]].

During the [[Victorian era]] Penarth was a highly popular holiday destination, promoted nationally as "The Garden by the Sea",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/penarth/pages/article_davidowen.shtml |title=The Garden by the Sea |author=Owen, David |publisher=BBC Wales |date=22 September 2002 |access-date=3 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007071719/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/penarth/pages/article_davidowen.shtml |archive-date=7 October 2010 }}</ref> and was packed by visitors from the [[English Midlands|Midlands]] and the [[West Country]] as well as [[day trippers]] from the [[South Wales valleys]], mostly arriving by train. Today, the town, with its traditional seafront, continues to be a regular summer holiday destination (predominantly for older visitors), but their numbers are much lower than was common from Victorian times until the 1960s, when cheap overseas [[package holiday]]s were introduced.

Although the number of holiday visitors has greatly declined, the town retains a substantial retired population, representing over 24% of residents, but Penarth is now predominantly a [[dormitory town]] for Cardiff [[commuter]]s. The town's population was recorded as 20,396 in the [[United Kingdom Census 2001]].<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=John |editor1-last=Davies |editor1-link=John Davies (historian) |editor2-first=Nigel |editor2-last=Jenkins |editor2-link=Nigel Jenkins |editor3-first=Baines |editor3-last=Menna |editor4-first=Peredur I. |editor4-last=Lynch |title=The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales |year=2008 |page=660 |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |isbn=978-0-7083-1953-6 }}</ref> The built-up area had a population of 27,226, but this figure does not include nearby suburb [[Dinas Powys]].<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=W38000123|title=Penarth Built-up area sub division|access-date=24 August 2020 }}</ref>

The town retains extensive surviving [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[Edwardian architecture]] in many traditional parts of the town.

==Toponymy==
[[File:Penarth Civic Insignia.jpg|thumb|Insignia and Crest<br />Motto: ''Cynghori er Llesiant''<br />(translates as ''Counsel for Benefit or Gain)'']]
"Penarth" is a [[Toponymy|Welsh placename]] and could be a combination of ''{{lang|cy|pen}}'' meaning head and ''{{lang|cy|arth}}'' meaning bear, hence 'Head of the Bear' or 'Bear's Head'. This was the accepted translation for several hundred years and is still reflected in the town's coat of arms which depicts bears. Modern scholars have suggested that the name is shortened from an original "{{lang|cy|Pen-y-garth}}", where ''garth'' means cliff, hence 'Head of the cliff' or 'Clifftops'.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Welshicons.org.uk |url=http://www.welshicons.org.uk/html/penarth.php |title=Penarth |access-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029054326/http://www.welshicons.org.uk/html/penarth.php |archive-date=29 October 2012 }}</ref> and the Welsh-English dictionary ''{{lang|cy|Y Geiriadur Mawr}}'' (The Big Dictionary: Gomer Press) reveals that penardd/penarth eb (feminine noun) means 'promontory'.

The civic town coat of arms was drawn by the town's architect in 1875 from a detailed brief prepared by the Town Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penarthtown.co.uk/civicinsignia.htm |title=Civic Insignia |publisher=penarthtown.co.uk |access-date=30 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530084617/http://penarthtown.co.uk/civicinsignia.htm |archive-date=30 May 2014 }}</ref> It features a bear's head above a shield supported by two further [[Charge (heraldry)#Animals|bears standing]]. The shield contains a ''{{lang|cy|[[Welsh Dragon|Draig Goch]]}}'' to denote that the town is in Wales and a sailing vessel recognising Penarth's long association with sea commerce.

==History==

===Early history===
The Penarth area has a history of human inhabitation dating back at least 5000 years. In 1956 several [[Neolithic]] stone axe heads were found in the town. A large hoard of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rings and coins were also discovered at nearby [[Sully, Vale of Glamorgan|Sully]].<ref name="SG County History">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=S. |title=South Glamorgan: A County History |publisher=Stewart Williams |year=1975 |pages=116–138 }}</ref>

From the 12th century until 1543 the lands of Penarth were owned by the canons of St Augustine, [[Bristol]]. The Norman church of St Augustine (on the headland) dates from this period. After the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution of the monasteries]] the ownership transferred to the dean and chapter of [[Bristol Cathedral]].<ref name="SG County History" />

The manor lands were leased to the [[Earl of Plymouth|Earls of Plymouth]] of [[St Fagans National History Museum|St. Fagans Castle]]. In 1853 the family purchased the manor outright.<ref name="SG County History" />

Because the surrounding land was owned by religious institutions from an early date, there was no need for a large family house in Penarth. The oldest building in the area is a [[Cogan Pill|Tudor mansion]], owned by the Herbert family, on the hillside at Cogan Pill.<ref name="SG County History" /> This has since been converted into a [[Chain store#Restaurant chains|chain]] restaurant.

Piracy was prevalent on the coast near Penarth and, in the 1570s, a Special Commission being set up to investigate and suppress it. Leading family members in Penarth were believed to be implicated.<ref name="SG County History" />

Penarth's medieval walled Sheriff's [[Pound (village)|Pound]], an early form of multi-purpose [[gaol]], remained in use until the late 18th century, as a place to retain stray sheep, cattle and pigs or to imprison thieves, rustlers and vagabonds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Horner |first=Mark |date=2025-07-23 |title=Penarth, The Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom - |url=https://www.mark-horner.com/index.php?blog= |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=The Alpha Group - Mark Horner |language=en-US}}</ref> It was located roughly where the car park now stands, at the rear of the [[NatWest Bank]] in Plymouth Road.

In 1803, Penarth is recorded as having between 800 – {{convert|900|acre|km2}} of land under cultivation as several farms. In the 1801 census, there were just 72 people living in the Manor. Even as late as 1851, Penarth was still little more than a small rural farming and fishing village since medieval times, with just 24 houses and 105 residents, being one of five parishes contained within the [[Hundred (division)|Hundred]] of [[Dinas Powys]], with a combined population of just over 300. Before the [[pier]] and dock were built, there was a tiny fleet of local sail-powered fishing vessels based on the main town beach that tied up on the seafront quayside.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

The [[Harriet Windsor-Clive, 13th Baroness Windsor|Plymouth estate]] office retained control over the planning, building and development of the new town, offering 99-year leases and remaining the ground landlord. All householders in Penarth were tenants of the Plymouth Estates, paying an annual ground rent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leasehold Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1962-12-07/debates/12eb875c-3f5a-404c-b652-c2d6be7b69a5/LeaseholdBill |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=hansard.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref> The situation would not change until the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, that gave householders the choice of purchasing their freehold or negotiating 999 year extensions on their short leases.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buying the freehold or extending the lease of a house |url=https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/home_ownership/leasehold_and_commonhold/buying_the_freehold_or_extending_the_lease_of_a_house |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=Shelter England |language=en}}</ref>

The earliest homes built in the town were streets of terraced houses with busy corner shops and public houses on almost every corner, following the contours of the headland and in the rapidly expanding Cogan area near the docks. Local grey limestone, quarried from what is now Cwrt-y-vil playing fields, gave a particular character to the surviving older buildings of the town. To the south of the town centre, imposing detached villa residences along the cliff tops looked across the Channel to the Somerset coast and the islands of [[Flat Holm]] ({{langx|cy|Ynys Echni}}) and [[Steep Holm]] ({{langx|cy|Ynys Rhonech}}). The villas were built by wealthy shipping and dock owners from Cardiff who were moving out of the industrialised city for a more genteel and sophisticated lifestyle.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Victorian developments===
{{more citations needed section|date=October 2011}}

By 1861, the number of people in the five parishes had increased to 1,898 and to 3,382 by 1871. In 1875, three of the constituent parishes - Penarth, [[Cogan, Vale of Glamorgan|Cogan]], and [[Llandough, Penarth|Llandough]] - were merged into the Penarth Local Board, giving a population of 6,228 persons by 1881. This figure had doubled by 1891 with the opening of the railway and had increased even further by 1901 to 14,228 persons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Penarth/ |title=Penarth Historical Data |publisher=Gen UKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017110643/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Penarth/ |archive-date=17 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Cogan/population.html |title=Cogan Historical Data |publisher=Gen UKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070724230345/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Cogan/population.html |archive-date=24 July 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/LlandoughJuxtaPenarth/population.html |title=Llandough Historical Data |publisher=Gen UKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205020620/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/LlandoughJuxtaPenarth/population.html |archive-date=5 December 2008 }}</ref> The town of Penarth thus owes its development to the massive expansion of the [[South Wales coalfield]] in the 19th century. Its proximity to Cardiff, which was the natural outlet for the industrial valleys of [[Glamorgan]], and its natural waterfront meant that Penarth was ideally situated to contribute to meeting the world's demand for Welsh coal through the construction of the docks.

The development of the town continued to be rapid and Penarth soon became self-sufficient, with its own local government, a thriving shopping centre and many new community facilities. What is now the main shopping area of Windsor Road was originally residential housing, but the owners sacrificed their front gardens to build shop extensions, although the original house architecture can still be seen above the shops. Most of the town's fine architectural features owe their origin to the landowners of the time and the results of their vision can be seen by the many grand buildings and parks which make Penarth what it is today. Thanks to the generosity of those far sighted landowners, Penarth earned its wide reputation as "The Garden by the Sea" because of its beautiful parks and open spaces. Furthermore, many of the buildings and features of the town have led to a substantial part of the town being designated as a [[Conservation Area]] because of its [[Victorian era|Victorian]]/[[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] architecture. Penarth's town library was opened in 1905, thanks to a donation by the [[Andrew Carnegie|Carnegie Trust]]. The town's gothic style Police Station and town gaol opened in 1864, opposite the Windsor Arms brewery.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

With the arrival of the railway connection to the Welsh valleys in 1878 came the regular influx of day trippers, often hundreds of them at weekends and bank holidays. The developing summer holiday trade was supported by a large number of quality hotels that provided nearly two thousand bedspaces. The biggest and grandest of the hotels were the Esplanade Hotel on the seafront built in 1887, The Marine Hotel at the mouth of the docks, The Royal Hotel at the top of Arcot Street, The Washington Hotel opposite the library and The Glendale and Lansdowne hotels on Plymouth Road. Apart from the major hotels, accommodation was also available at the smaller Dock Hotel, Penarth Hotel, Ship Hotel, Westbourne Hotel, Plymouth Hotel, Windsor Hotel, Railway Hotel and dozens of mariners' lodging houses at the top end of the town. All have now closed with the exception of the Glendale and a handful of small and more recent bed and breakfast establishments.

A [[Royal Navy]] [[Hunt-class minesweeper (1916)|Hunt-class minesweeper]] was named {{HMS|Penarth}} after the town in 1918 and survived the last nine months of the First World War, but only served for twelve months when it was sunk off the Yorkshire coast in 1919 after striking two mines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/issues/13448/pages/1754/page.pdf |title=Admiralty, 20 May 1919 |newspaper=The Edinburgh Gazette |date=23 May 1919 |access-date=3 March 2012}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The vessel is remembered among the Royal Navy memorials at [[Portsmouth]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/shipping_losses_ww1.htm |publisher=Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth |title=British Shipping Losses (WW1) |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410164756/http://www.memorials.inportsmouth.co.uk/shipping_losses_ww1.htm |archive-date=10 April 2012 }}</ref>

At one time, Penarth had two grand and decorative cinemas. The first was the Windsor Kinema on Windsor Road, originally converted from a 19th-century Territorial Army drill hall and later used as Monty Smith's garage until it closed in October 2015. The even grander Washington Cinema was built opposite the library in 1936 with a classical '[[Art Deco]]' frontage, on the site of a former hotel and its tennis courts. The Washington closed as a cinema in 1971. After several years as a busy [[Bingo (Non-US)|bingo]] hall, it has now been converted into a coffee house and art gallery, whilst retaining its original frontage.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

Penarth's other distinctive art deco structure was the new [[General Post Office]] that was built in Albert Road in 1936. Closed in the 1980s, the building is [[listed building|Grade II listed]] and is now vacant. The rear yard, once used to stable horses for the horse-drawn Penarth to Cardiff bus service, is still used by the Post Office for mail and parcel sorting.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

===Penarth Dock===
{{main|Penarth Dock}}{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}
The contract for the building of [[Penarth Dock]] was placed in 1859 and the dock was opened six years later, constructed by a workforce of around 1,200 mostly Irish '[[Navvy|navvies]]' under the direction of chief engineer [[Harrison Hayter]] and implementing the design of civil engineer [[John Hawkshaw]]. At the Welsh coal trade's zenith in 1913 ships carried 4,660,648 tons of coal in a single year out of Penarth docks. In 1886 [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]'s {{SS|Great Britain}}, originally a passenger vessel but later converted as a coal trader departed from Penarth Dock on what would become its final voyage. A disastrous fire, during the voyage, all but destroyed the vessel and she foundered on the [[Falkland Islands]], where she remained until salvaged and returned to [[Bristol]] Docks for restoration in the 1970s.

One feature of Penarth Dock was the tunnel underpass that connected Penarth dock to Ferry Road [[Grangetown, Cardiff|Grangetown]] under the [[River Ely]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/letters/9022270.I_remember_that___/ |title=I remember that... |newspaper=Penarth Times |format=letter |date=12 May 2011 |last=Chick |first=R.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205151121/http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/letters/9022270.I_remember_that___/ |archive-date=5 December 2014 }}</ref> Not quite wide enough for motor vehicles it was used by commuting pedestrians and cyclists as a short cut to work in Cardiff. The circular tunnel was about half a mile long with an entrance foyer at each end. Lined with cream and green coloured ceramic tiles, the route was lit originally by [[Gas lighting|gaslight]] and later by electricity. Completed in 1899, from parts cast by T Gregory Engineering Works, Taffs Well, the tunnel remained in use until the autumn of 1965, when it was closed and the ends bricked up, after a series of violent muggings, repeated vandalism and the cost of maintenance becoming uneconomical. The tunnel entrance at the Penarth end was located near the lock gates, between the outer basin and the number one dock. This historic short cut route was 'almost' replicated and replaced in June 2008 with the opening of a pedestrian and cycle route across the new [[Cardiff Bay Barrage]].

===Penarth Pier===
{{main|Penarth Pier}}
[[File:Penarth pier frontage.JPG|thumb|left|Penarth Pier entrance (2008)]]
[[File:Penarth Pier - detail of railings.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Penarth Pier railings detail]]
Because of the growing popularity of Penarth beach and the need for better communications with Cardiff, in 1856 the Cardiff Steam and Navigation Company started a regular ferry service between Cardiff and Penarth. This continued until 1903. Boats were loaded and unloaded at Penarth using a landing stage on wheels which was hauled up the beach.<ref name="Pier Centenary Story">{{cite book |last=Carradice |first=P. |title=Penarth Pier: The Centenary Story 1894-1994 |publisher=Baron |year=1994 }}</ref>

In the 1880s, an attempt was made to construct a permanent [[pier]]. This was possibly because of the need to find a safer way to unload boats. However, construction ground to a halt at an early stage, when the London contractors went into [[liquidation]].<ref name="Pier Centenary Story" />

The Penarth Pier Company was formed to make a second attempt at building a permanent pier.<ref name="SG County History" /> The foundations were laid in 1894 and the pier successfully opened in 1895, at {{convert|750|ft}} long, at {{coord|51|26|6|N|3|9|57|W}}.

In 1907, a small wooden "Concert Party" theatre was built at the seaward end. In 1929, the pier was bought by Penarth Urban District Council, who added a new pier-head berthing pontoon, and in 1930 the current [[art deco]] pavilion was added. In 1931, a fire started in the seaward-end theatre, which, after a sea and land-based rescue, saved all 800 people on board at that time. The pier was rebuilt, strengthened with additional concrete columns, but without the wooden theatre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Wales History: The Penarth Pier fire of 1931 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/waleshistory/2011/09/penarth_pier_fire_1931.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-22 |title=Nostalgia: ‘Don’t panic everyone, it’s just that the pier is on fire!’ |url=https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/18243837.nostalgia-dont-panic-everyone-just-pier-fire-/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Gazette |language=en}}</ref>

In 1947, the 7,130 ton steamship the SS ''Port Royal Park'', under the flag of the Tavistock Shipping Company, collided with the pier, causing severe damage that was not repaired for several years.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Penarth Times online |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/lookingback/2289163 |title=I remember that... |date=22 May 2008 |access-date=30 December 2012 |last=Chandler |first=J.R. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117073525/http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/lookingback/2289163.I_remember_that___/ |archive-date=17 November 2012 }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

In August 1966, a 600-ton pleasure steamer, [[PS Bristol Queen (1946)|Bristol Queen]], hit the pier causing an estimated £25,000 damage.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Walesonline.co.uk |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/cardiffonline/cardiff-news/2010/08/17/time-traveller-august-17-1966-91466-27075105/ |title=Time Traveller: August 17, 1966 |date=17 August 2010 |work=South Wales Echo |access-date=19 October 2011 |last=Woolway |first=Tony |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205160957/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/time-traveller-august-17-1966-1903272 |archive-date=5 December 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:Penarth Pier 2013.jpg|thumb|240px|Refurbished pier pavilion (2013)]]
In March 2011, planning permission was granted for a £3.9 million revamp of the pier to re-open the pavilion as a major tourist attraction. The new plans included a cinema and observatory.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Walesonline.co.uk |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/03/04/revamp-go-ahead-for-pier-91466-28277011/ |title=Revamp go-ahead for pier |work=South Wales Echo |date=4 March 2011 |access-date=19 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203064637/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/revamp-go-ahead-for-pier-1843990 |archive-date=3 December 2014 }}</ref> In September 2012, the restoration work began on the pavilion, with a projected cost estimated at £4 million, funded by the [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)#Good causes|lottery]], the [[Welsh government]], the [[Vale of Glamorgan council]], [[Cadw]] (part of the Housing, Regeneration and Heritage Department of the Welsh Government) and the Coastal Communities Fund.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-19729140 |title=Penarth pier pavilion £4m restoration work begins |work=BBC News |date=26 September 2012 |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=7 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107113347/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-19729140 |url-status=live }}</ref> Work was completed and the pavilion reopened in Autumn 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gabriel |first=Clare |title=Revamped Penarth pier pavilion opens doors again |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-24182171 |work=BBC News |date=22 September 2013 |access-date=20 November 2014 |archive-date=7 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107113347/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-24182171 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Wartime Penarth===

====Early changes====
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2014}}
With its busy commercial docks and the proximity to [[Cardiff Docks]] and steelworks, Penarth became a target for [[Nazi German]] bombing raids during the [[Second World War]]. The air raids started in 1941 and continued almost constantly for the next four years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-02 |title=From the Archive: Windsor Road |url=https://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/16394292.archive-windsor-road/ |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Penarth Times |language=en}}</ref>

Penarth had its own [[Home Guard (United Kingdom)|Home Guard]] detachment.

Scrap metals were needed to build tanks and aircraft, so hundreds of Penarth homes lost their traditional Victorian iron railings from the front gardens during the war years. Even All Saints' Church in Victoria Square lost its magnificently ornate gates and the railing fence that surrounded the square's green.

Strict [[Rationing in the United Kingdom|wartime food rationing]] meant that food had to be found wherever possible. The town's parks, recreation grounds, open spaces and front gardens of houses were dug up and converted to allotments planted with vegetables. The seafront and pier were packed daily with people trying to supplement the food rationing by landing fresh fish. There was a non-profit '[[British Restaurant]]' at the top end of the Windsor Arcade, where families made homeless by the bombing, had run out of ration coupons or otherwise needed help, could buy a three-course meal for ninepence.

====Military developments====
{{More citations needed section|date= December 2014}}
Many Penarth Yacht Club members volunteered for the [[Dunkirk evacuation]] and sailed their yachts and motor boats around the coast and across the [[English Channel]] to France.

The Glamorganshire Golf Club, in Lower Penarth, was the site of an experimental rocket battery that regularly scared residents during practice firings. Lavernock Point was the location of [[Lavernock Battery|Lavernock Fort]], with its heavy naval guns, anti-aircraft and searchlight batteries and the town's Royal Observer Corps observation post, that sounded the air raid sirens nightly in the town.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

At the outbreak of the war, over 350 soldiers of the [[Royal Artillery]] were stationed on Flat Holm, which was armed with four [[QF 4.5 inch naval gun|4.5&nbsp;inch guns]] and associated [[searchlight]]s to be used for anti-aircraft and close defence, together with two {{convert|40|mm|in}} [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors gun]]s. A GL (Gun Laying) MkII [[radar]] station was also placed in the centre of the island. The structures formed part of the Fixed Defences, Severn Scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping convoy de-grouping zones.<ref>{{Coflein|num=407348|desc=Flat Holm Coastal and Anti-Aircraft Defences|access-date=22 October 2021 }}</ref> In 1943 there was a Battalion of American [[Seabee (US Navy)|Seabees, the US Construction Corps]], living on a merchant vessel tied up in Penarth docks, while they built a large number of [[Quonset hut]]s for the rapid temporary expansions of [[Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust#University Hospital Llandough|Llandough Hospital]] and [[Sully, Vale of Glamorgan#A fine Art Deco hospital|Sully Hospital]].

====Air raids====
{{Unreferenced section|date= December 2014}}
One night, in 1942, All Saints' Church was hit by a [[Incendiary device|stick of incendiary bombs]] and was totally gutted by fire, with only the outer walls left standing. The church was rebuilt after the war and reopened in 1955. Albert Road School was also hit by a stick of incendiaries and badly damaged by fire, although it was quickly patched up and in use again within the week. St Paul's Methodist Church, overlooking the docks, was totally destroyed by bombs. Dozens of ordinary homes were struck by bombs, including houses in Salop Street, Arcot Street, Albert Road and Queens Road.
[[File:Captain A Winfield Chapin, U S Navy.JPG|thumb|150px|Captain A.Winfield Chapin, U.S.Navy]]

====Operation Overlord====
{{Unreferenced section|date= December 2014}}
In October 1943, a United States Navy Base was established at Penarth Docks (now Penarth Marina) – a base from which many of the troops which took part in the D Day invasion set out for the Normandy beaches. The base was under the command of Captain Arnold Winfield Chapin USN. Captain Chapin presented a painting of Penarth Docks in 1944 to "the people of Penarth", which now hangs in town council's Kymin House, Penarth.

In 1944, Penarth dock and the dock beach, as far as the Penarth Headland, was full of invasion barges that departed for the [[Operation Overlord|"Operation Overlord" D-Day landings]]. Many of the [[defensively equipped merchant ships]] were loaded with American [[M4 Sherman|Sherman tanks]] and their [[US Army]] crews that had been billeted in Penarth after training, housed in a vast village of Quonset or Nissen huts that had been built in 'Neale's Wood', now the Northcliffe Estate next to the present-day Headlands School.

British [[Commando]] units trained on the Penarth cliffs in preparation for scaling the Normandy cliff faces. Several of the invasion barges were not used and lay rotting on the dock beach well into the 1950s used as playthings by local children.

====Aftermath====
Thousands of incendiary and explosive bombs were dropped on Penarth during the war and as late as the 1970s [[Unexploded ordnance|unexploded devices]] were still being found in the silt and sand on the beaches between Penarth and Cardiff.

===The town today===
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}[[File:Penarth Marina.jpg|thumb|left|The Penarth Marina development. Pictured are vessels tied up in what was the outer basin of Penarth docks.]]
[[File:The Stolen Earth filming, 13 March 2008.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Doctor Who]]'' cast members [[David Tennant]], [[Billie Piper]], [[Catherine Tate]] and [[John Barrowman]] during a break in filming on the corner of High Street and Arcot Street]]
The coal trade from Penarth docks eventually petered out and the docks closed in 1936, only reopening for commercial and military use during World War II. From the 1950s, and up until 1965, the basins were utilised by the [[Royal Navy]] to [[Reserve Fleet (United Kingdom)|mothball]] dozens of [[destroyer]]s and [[frigate]]s from the no longer needed wartime fleet of warships, until they were sold to foreign nations or broken up.

By 1967, after barely a hundred years of commercial operations, the docks area lay unused and derelict, and much of it was used for [[landfill]]. The largest basin, No 2 dock at the Cogan end, is now completely filled in, grassed over and surrounded by roadways.

In 1987, the new [[Penarth Marina]] village opened on the disused docks site. The No 1 dock and outer basin were re-excavated or dredged out to provide some 350 yacht berths, surrounded by extensive modern waterside homes and several marine engineering yards. The original dock office and Excise House is now in use as a popular restaurant, with only the [[Listed building|Grade II listed]] Marine Hotel remaining derelict and boarded up, awaiting suitable redevelopment plans. The Penarth Marina development was one of the key catalysts to the similar later redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay area.

Penarth is one of the most affluent areas in the Vale of Glamorgan and property prices continue to remain high. [[Marine Parade, Penarth|Marine Parade]] or '[[Millionaires' row]]', with its grand, substantial Victorian houses or modern designer villas with views across the [[Bristol Channel]], is considered to be the finest street in Penarth, although several larger properties are now split as apartments or adapted as [[nursing home|residential care homes]]. Houses in Penarth vary from imposing three storey red brick Victorian houses found on both Plymouth and Westbourne Roads to compact stone terraces in [[Cogan, Vale of Glamorgan|Cogan]] and upper Penarth. Many of the Plymouth Road, Westbourne Road, Victoria Road and Archer Road houses, originally large family homes with servants' quarters on the top floors, have now been adapted for multi-occupancy as flats and apartments. [[Penarth Marina]] in direct contrast features trendy modern [[townhouse]]s, apartments and designer [[penthouse apartment|penthouse]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.quaymarinas.com/Marinas/PenarthQuays/ |publisher=Quay Marinas |title=Penarth Quays Marina |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208143543/http://www.quaymarinas.com/Marinas/PenarthQuays/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1930, the [[General Post Office]] (GPO), later [[British Telecom]] (BT), built its main telephone engineers' college on the corner of Lavernock Road and Victoria Road, where engineers from all over the UK attended basic and advanced residential courses lasting up to eight weeks. The college closed in the 1980s and stood empty for many years before being demolished for a new development of residential housing.

In 1965, the combined Cardiff Universities built the multi-storey International House on Plymouth Road near the end of Cliff Parade to provide [[Halls of Residence]] for up to 300 overseas students attending University College, Cardiff and the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. Abandoned in the late 1990s, after just 30 years in its original use, International House is now converted as a specialist residential care home.

Penarth has been used as a film location for several BBC TV series including several episodes of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' such as "[[The Stolen Earth]]". The scene where a ''[[Dalek]]'' shoots The Doctor was filmed at the junction of Arcot Street and Queen's Road. Scenes for ''[[Torchwood]]'', The Sarah Jane Adventures (notably 21 Clinton Road, where they filmed [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]]'s house in 13 Bannerman Road), ''[[Gavin & Stacey]]'' and Casualty have also been filmed in Penarth. Since 2021 the [[Netflix]] series, [[Sex Education (TV series)|Sex Education]], has been filmed in multiple locations around Penarth including The Paget Rooms and [[Penarth Pier]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sex Education series 3 locations: Where in Wales was the Netflix smash filmed? |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/where-sex-education-locations-15684845 }}</ref> In July 2024 actor [[Timothy Spall]] was seen filming on Penarth Pier for the BBC series Death Valley.<ref>{{cite news |title=BBC Death Valley with Timothy Spall back filming in Penarth |url=https://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/24427100.bbc-death-valley-timothy-spall-back-filming-penarth/ |archive-date=10 July 2024 |access-date=10 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240710192628/https://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/24427100.bbc-death-valley-timothy-spall-back-filming-penarth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Penarth was named one of the best places to live in Wales in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=These towns have been named as the best places to live in Wales |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/towns-named-best-places-wales-12719747 |work=Wales Online |archive-date=18 May 2017 |access-date=10 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518030546/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/towns-named-best-places-wales-12719747 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Economy==
In the Victorian era, Penarthians relied on the tourist trade, which prompted the construction of ''Penarth Pier'' in 1894. Today, Penarth's high street (Windsor Road) is the focal point and commercial area of the town. Most employers in Penarth are local services but the town is also home to some larger companies, some of which operate globally, {{Citation needed|date=March 2020}} these include the [[FTSE AIM All-Share Index|AIM]] listed [[EKF Diagnostics]], headquartered on Stanwell Road and the startup [[Wealthify]], acquired by [[Aviva]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.altfi.com/article/6674_wealthify-fully-acquired-by-aviva |title=Farewell from AltFi |access-date=7 March 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416145249/https://www.altfi.com/article/6674_wealthify-fully-acquired-by-aviva |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Governance==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}[[File:Electoral wards in the town of Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan.jpg|thumb|Electoral wards of Penarth]]

===Town council===
{{main|Penarth Town Council}}
Penarth is split into four [[electoral ward]]s. [[Plymouth (Penarth electoral ward)|Plymouth]], [[Stanwell (Penarth electoral ward)|Stanwell]], [[Cornerswell]] and [[St Augustine's (electoral ward)|St Augustine's]]. The first three are named after the key spine roads, whilst the latter is named after the landmark church situate on Penarth Head. Plymouth ward and Stanwell ward are traditional locations for professional families staking a claim in Penarth's Stanwell School. Cornerswell ward contains both the Cogan community and the Poet's Estate where residents live on roads named after [[William Wordsworth|Wordsworth]], [[John Milton|Milton]], [[Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson|Tennyson]] and [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]].

The St Augustine's ward does not serve a natural 'community' but extends from the Marina development, over the Penarth Head area through the town centre and old Penarth as far as the junction of Stanwell and Cornerswell Roads. The wards of Cornerswell, Stanwell and St Augustine's representatives are all under the Labour Party banner, Plymouth ward is represented by the Conservative group in terms of Vale of Glamorgan County council representation. The leader of the council is Cllr Rhiannon Birch, the Deputy Leader is Cllr Mike Cuddy

The "Mother" of the Town Council, (the longest serving of the 16 councillors representing the town), is Cllr. Rhiannon Birch of the Cornerswell Ward and is currently leader of Penarth Town Council. The longest continuously serving member is Cllr Mark Wilson, who was first elected in 2004.

The present (2025/26) mayor is Cllr Emma Richards who represents the St Augustines Ward.

===Vale of Glamorgan Council===
'''Penarth's''' four wards elect county councillors to the [[Vale of Glamorgan Council]]. St Augustine's ward is represented by Cllrs Elliott Penn (Labour), Neil Thomas (Labour) and Ruba Sivagnanam (Labour). Plymouth Ward is represented by Cllr Anthony Earnest and Cllr Rhys Thomas (Conservatives ). Cornerswell Ward is represented by Cllrs Rhiannon Birch (Labour) & Ian Buckley (Labour). Stanwell Ward is represented by Cllr Mark Wilson (Labour) & Cllr Lis Burnett (Labour)

===Westminster===
{{main|Cardiff South and Penarth (UK Parliament constituency)}}
The MP for Penarth is [[Stephen Doughty]] (Labour & Co-operative Party) who was re-elected on 5 July 2024.

===Welsh Government===
[[Vaughan Gething]] represents Cardiff South and Penarth in the [[Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament|Senedd]] (Labour & Co-operative Party), succeeding [[Lorraine Barrett]].

There are four Members of the Senedd also representing the area: Joel James (Conservative), Andrew RT Davies (Conservative), Heledd Fychan (Plaid Cymru), Rhys ab Owen (Independent).

== Geography ==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}

===Sea shore===
[[File:Penarth from the air.jpg|thumb|Penarth, [[Cardiff Bay]] and [[Cardiff Docks]] (top right)]]
Penarth lies {{cvt|4|mile}} southwest of Cardiff by road and has a road infrastructure that has been much improved in recent years, together with a traditional rail link. The [[Cardiff Bay Barrage]] between Penarth Head and Grangetown was completed in 1999 and came into operation shortly afterwards. The impounding of the [[River Taff]] and [[River Ely]] has created {{cvt|220.35|ha}} of freshwater lake in the Cardiff Bay. The promised pedestrian and cyclist short cut to Cardiff across the barrage finally opened to the public on Friday 27 June 2008, after numerous postponements.

An imaginary line drawn between [[Lavernock|Lavernock Point]], just {{convert|2|mile|spell=in}} southwest of Penarth and [[Sand Point, Somerset]] marks the lower limit of the [[Severn Estuary]] and the start of the Bristol Channel, hence Penarth is technically deemed to be in the Severn Estuary and not on the Bristol Channel. Because of the extreme tidal range there are very strong currents or rips close inshore, with speeds that exceed {{convert|7|knot}}, for several hours at each tide. The rise and fall of the tides at Penarth are the second highest recorded anywhere in the world<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whitewatercharters.co.uk/bristol-channel-tides.htm |publisher=White Water Charters |title=Bristol Channel Tides |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=2 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802233346/http://www.whitewatercharters.co.uk/bristol-channel-tides.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and on occasions when certain moon phases coincide with the spring and autumn [[equinox]]es the sea level can overspill the esplanade wall and flood the roadway, particularly if in conjunction with a high wind.

===Soils===
The general underlying sub-strata below the land and fields surrounding Penarth is of a [[limestone]] that was laid down under a prehistoric warm sea and subsequently ground down by [[Ice age|ice age glaciers]] approximately 18,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Lewis1833Gla.html |publisher=Gen UKI: UK & Ireland Genealogy |title=Glamorganshire: Extract from "A Topographical Dictionary of Wales" |last=Lewis |first=Samuel |year=1833 |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=9 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209102708/http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/GLA/Lewis1833Gla.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This produced the rich, brown and dry soil that provided an ideal growing medium for cereal crops during the medieval farming history of the area. The abundance of limestone was exploited for nearly a hundred years at the Cosmeston quarry that fed the Snocem cement factory in Lower Penarth until it closed down in 1970 and the quarry was converted into Cosmeston Lake at the new country park.

===Cliffs===
[[File:Strata formation - Penarth cliffs.jpg|thumb|[[Lavernock#Lavernock Point|Lavernock Point]]. Strata formation]]
The town is located at the top of cliffs that have a distinctive strata rock formation that is world known and referred to as the Penarth Group of rocks or Penarth coeval strata wherever it appears in Britain. The Penarth cliffs are made of interspersed layers of [[limestone]] and [[alabaster]], both of which are dry and crumbly rocks. The Penarth cliffs contain the largest known outcrop of naturally occurring Pink Alabaster anywhere in the world but, although decorative and highly prized by local gardeners to crown their rockeries, it is considered to be much inferior to the harder and hand-carvable whiter alabasters found elsewhere.

The main problem associated with the dry and crumbly nature of the limestone and alabaster rocks, that make up the cliffs that border Penarth, is the continuing and relentless erosion by the sea. Rockfalls are frequent and walkers using the beach should not walk too close to the base of the cliffs. A rusty sign can be seen where the town beach merged into the base of the cliff, with this trilingual message:

"Caution: Beware of stones falling from the cliff. Beware of being caught by the high tides.
''Rhybudd: Gochelwch y ceryg yn syrthio or dybin uwchben ar perygl o fod ar y traeth pan y mae y llanw yn dod i mewn.''
Avis: Attention à la marée montante! Attention aux debris de roc oui (sic = "qui") se detachent des falaises<ref group=note>noted in situ 1995</ref>".

The cliff has retreated many tens of metres even in living memory, with the area around Penarth Head remaining most at threat and several structures once on the clifftop already having been smashed on the beach below. A reinforced concrete and iron staircase that once led from Penarth Head to the beach, built by the war department just before the First World War, was already destroyed by advancing erosion as long ago as the early 1950s.

==Demography==
{{Historical populations
|2001|23147
|2011|26783
|2021|28394
|footnote=<span style="font-size: smaller">Source: [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/wales/the_vale_of_glamorgan/W45000609__penarth/ citypopulation.de] </span>
}}
At the beginning of the 19th century Penarth was no more than a village, being one of five parishes in the Hundred of Dinas Powys.<ref name="penarthtown">{{cite web |url=https://www.penarthtown.co.uk/history.htm |title=Penarthtown History |access-date=24 October 2024 |website=penarthtown.co.uk |archive-date=21 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121120125/https://www.penarthtown.co.uk/history.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> It had a total population of just over 300.<ref name="penarthtown"/> By 1861 the number of people in the five parishes had increased to 1,898 and by 1871 to 3,382.<ref name="penarthtown"/>

==Regeneration of the seafront and town centre==
{{Unreferenced section|date=December 2014}}
[[File:Penarth aerial photograph 2006.jpg|thumb|aerial view of the seafront]]

Despite town centre improvements, since the 1980s Penarth seafront has seen many Victorian hotels and houses demolished in favour of modern apartment blocks. The theatre and bars on the town's pier were allowed to fall into neglect and disrepair, although the pier itself remains open to the public.

In August 2008 plans for the development of the pier's derelict [[pavilion]] were made public. The two million pound [[National Lottery (United Kingdom)|Lottery]]-funded scheme was planned to include a 98-seat cinema and theatre, a cafe and gallery, bar and a large multi-purpose area that will retain the Victorian [[vaulted ceiling]]. The Vale of Glamorgan council allocated a starter contribution of £800,000 to enable the initial Lottery Fund application to proceed, an application that was declined due to shortage of available funds. In the autumn of 2008 a Penarth Town Centre Task and Finish Group was formed to look for a positive way ahead for the town. In November 2009 the National Lottery Heritage Fund granted a £99,000 interim award to permit further planning to proceed. This eventually led to full funding being made available during 2011 and work on the refurbishment project started in February 2012.

[[File:Penarth Pier, Glamorgan, South Wales.jpg|thumb |right |alt=Penarth Pier |Pier of Penarth]]

== Landmarks and attractions ==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}
[[File:Cosmeston Lake.jpg|thumb|left|Cosmeston Lake view]]

[[Cosmeston Lakes Country Park]] has been a popular attraction, throughout the years since it was developed in 1970. Apart from the lake and a wide range of [[water fowl]] there are acres of pleasant walks in woodlands and on the heath. [[Cosmeston Medieval Village]] is open daily and features historical re-enactments during the summer weekends and on [[bank holiday]]s. The reconstruction of the historical village has been described as the best of its kind in Britain. [[Turner House Gallery]] is located at the top end of Plymouth Road and is the exhibition pace for [[Ffotogallery]] the national photography development agency for Wales. It features regular exhibitions of photography, video and new media art. The gallery was opened in 1888 by local resident, [[James Pyke Thompson]], originally to house his personal art collection. There is also a small [[art gallery]] located at the ''Washington Buildings'', a tastefully converted 1930s [[art deco]] cinema in the front.

The Paget Rooms hosts dances, occasional pop concerts and plays by local dramatic societies. The 1970s singer [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] played one of his final UK concerts at the Paget Rooms before moving to America. Welsh band [[Man (band)|Man]] once recorded a live album at the Paget Rooms, using the famous [[Decca Records|Decca]] mobile studio that also recorded [[The Rolling Stones]] and today pristine copies of the limited edition vinyl pressing, named (incorrectly) {{sic|''[[Live at the Padget Rooms, Penarth]]''}}, now change hands for substantial sums of money.

[[File:Penarth boat houses.JPG|thumb|right|Penarth Yacht Club]]
The beach front [[promenade]] remains a popular draw for visitors and tourists. The surviving element of the original Victorian pier is a summer staging point for the various pleasure steamers, that ply their trade from time to time in the Bristol Channel and the pier is used as a popular winter sea fishing venue. There is also the historic Penarth Yacht Club, built in 1883, stood next to the new [[Penarth Lifeboat Station|RNLI lifeboat station]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/west/stations/PenarthValeofGlamorgan/ |publisher=RNLI |title=Penarth Lifeboat Station |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320072944/http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/west/stations/PenarthValeofGlamorgan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and its associated shop, together with a wide range of popular cafes and restaurants available on the seafront. The seafront remains uncommercialised with none of the [[Video arcade|amusement arcade]]s that can be found at other traditional Victorian holiday resort frontages. The town's swimming pool and baths built in the late 19th century was closed in the 1980s and, after a short reincarnation as a bar and bistro, has recently been converted into flats while retaining its Victorian exterior.

The clifftop walks to the bays of Lavernock, St Mary's Well and [[Sully Island|Swanbridge]] with their beaches and the historic hut where [[Lavernock|Marconi first transmitted radio messages over open sea]] remain popular with residents and visitors alike. The old trackbed of the railway that once connected Penarth to [[Cadoxton, Vale of Glamorgan|Cadoxton]] and [[Barry Island]] and was closed by the [[Beeching Axe]] is now a rural greenway and cycle track from the Archer Road rail bridge as far as the Fort Road bridge in Lavernock. The remaining main section of the [[Lavernock Battery|Lavernock Fort]] gun battery has been listed as an [[Ancient monument|Ancient Monument]]. The Lavernock Point Nature Reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales.

The town has mounted the two-week-long Penarth Holiday Festival each July since 1966 that features special events and celebrations all over the town. These have included pop concerts, yacht regattas and power boat races, donkey derbies, parades, fairs and fetes in the parks, tea dances, stage shows, art exhibitions and spectacular firework displays. In 1970 the festival was closed with an air display by the [[Red Arrows]] above the clifftops and sea front.

===Alexandra Gardens, Windsor Gardens and the Italian Gardens===
[[File:Penarth Italian garden 1.JPG|thumb|left|The Italian Gardens]]
The town has three registered [[Victorian era]] [[urban park]]s. Alexandra Gardens opened in 1902, with flowerbeds, glades, an ornamental fishpond, bandstand and the town's Cenotaph memorial to the fallen of two world wars. The park leads from the town down to the seafront, almost connecting up with the Windsor Gardens that runs above and parallel to the esplanade. On the seafront itself is the Italian Garden that displays many unusual [[palm tree]]s and exotic plants. All three parks are included on the [[Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales]], Alexandra Gardens at Grade II*,<ref>{{NHAW|uid=224|desc=Alexandra Park|class=HPG|num=PGW(Gm)37(GLA)|access-date=12 February 2023 }}</ref> and Windsor Gardens<ref>{{NHAW|uid=223|desc=Windsor Gardens|class=HPG|num=PGW(Gm)36(GLA)|access-date=12 February 2023 }}</ref> and the Italian Gardens at Grade II.<ref>{{NHAW|uid=375|desc=Italian Gardens|class=HPG|num=PGW(Gm)35(GLA)|access-date=12 February 2023 }}</ref>

== Education ==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}

===Secondary schools===
[[St Cyres Comprehensive School]], formerly Penarth County Secondary School has employed a keen focus on its Welsh Baccalaureate programme, where it has led the way in delivering this new qualification, associated to the International Baccalaureate programme. Spread over two sites with years seven to nine located in both Penarth and nearby Dinas Powys, and years ten to thirteen on just Penarth, the bigger of the two sites. Work to complete the new school completed in 2012 with the completion of the Penarth Learning Community providing enviable facilities in the £48 million development. The main feeders schools for St Cyres are Llandough Primary, Fairfield County Primary, Cogan Primary and all the primary schools in Dinas Powys. In the autumn of 2008 St Cyres became the first fairtrade secondary school in Penarth and in March 2022 became the first School of Sanctuary in the Vale. [[File:Stanwell School extension Penarth.JPG|thumb|right|[[Stanwell School]]]]
[[Stanwell School]], formerly Penarth County Grammar School, is a co-educational comprehensive school for 11- to 18-year-olds. The school has been subject to a substantial investment of several million pounds in new buildings, facilities and equipment in the last decade. Specialist teaching accommodation has been provided for Science (featuring eleven modern laboratories), drama, music, media studies, P.E. (including sports halls), Information Technology, Art and Design Technology. The school has approximately 2,000 pupils including a thriving sixth form. The main feeder schools for Stanwell are Albert Road, Victoria, Evenlode and Sully Primary School.

[[Westbourne House School Penarth|Westbourne School]] is a small coeducational [[Independent school|independent day school]], nursery and [[Preparatory school (UK)|prep school]] for children between the ages of 3 and 18 located on the corner of Stanwell Road and Hickman Road. There are 162 pupils on roll. The school is housed within two buildings, approximately half a mile apart. The first houses the nursery and infants, the other the prep school and senior school. With 24 permanent staff and 2 teaching assistants the class sizes remain small, varying from a maximum of 17 down to as low as 9 in some subjects. Westbourne School opened its new 6th form in the Autumn term of 2008 and major building works are still in progress. The school introduced the speciality of the [[IB Diploma Programme|Diploma Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organisation]]. The academic results are consistently excellent with 100% passes at GCSEs in 2007 and Westbourne School is nationally recognised as a high achieving school. The school is now owned by the Montague Place Group of Independent Schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westbourneschool.com/ |publisher=Westbourne School |title=Westbourne School |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=18 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218152902/http://westbourneschool.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Junior and nursery provision===
Primary schools include Cogan County Primary, Ysgol Pen-y-garth (Welsh medium), St Joseph's [[Roman Catholic]] Primary and Nursery School, [[Fairfield Primary School Penarth|Fairfield County Primary]], Victoria Primary, Albert Road Primary, Evenlode Primary and Llandough Primary School.

== Religious sites ==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}
Local church sites are:
[[File:St Augustine's Church, Penarth - 1952171 - geograph.org.uk.jpg|thumb|St Augustine's Church]]
* St Augustine's Church is just off Church Place on Penarth Headland. The Penarth [[St Augustine's Church, Penarth|parish church of Saint Augustine]] stands on the headland site of a much earlier church probably dating from 1240. The original church was demolished in 1865 and the new much larger church built in 1866 at a cost of £10,000, financed by [[Harriet Windsor-Clive, 13th Baroness Windsor]].<ref name="Penarth With Lavernock">{{cite book |last=Tilney |first=C. |title=The History of the Parish of Penarth with Lavernock |edition=revised |year=1988 }}</ref> It was designed by the famous Victorian architect [[William Butterfield]] and it is described as one of his best [[polychromatic]] churches. The interior uses a mixture of coloured bricks and stone in yellow, pink, red, black and white.<ref name="Penarth With Lavernock" /> Because the distinctive tower of the old church it had appeared on navigational charts. At the request of the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] a similar saddle-back tower was kept in the new design. The new tower was 90 feet high, much larger than the old church.<ref name="Penarth With Lavernock" /> St Augustine's is a Grade I [[listed building]].<ref>{{cite web |title=St Augustine's Parish Church, Church Place, Penarth |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-13347-st-augustine-s-parish-church-church-place |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-date=7 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207193918/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/wa-13347-st-augustine-s-parish-church-church-place |url-status=live }}</ref> The churchyard cross is medieval and dates from the original church, but is much weathered and most of the detailed decoration has vanished.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

[[File:Church of St Peter, Old Cogan (geograph 2762836).jpg|thumb|St Peter's Church]]
* St Peter's Church, also known as Old Cogan Church, [[Church in Wales]] is located off Sully Road and may have originally been a wooden structure built as early as 800. "The present structure is one of the earliest ecclesiastical buildings surviving in the Vale of Glamorgan and the Diocese of Llandaff. There is a reference to it in 1180 so it was probably constructed just before that of thin lias limestone slabs, a local stone, in a herringbone pattern more typical of earlier Saxon times."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://allsaintspenarth.org.uk/ |publisher=Parish of All Saints - Penarth |title=All Saints - Penarth |access-date=29 November 2009 |archive-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623113906/http://allsaintspenarth.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* All Saints Church in Wales is located in Victoria Square. Built by the Earl of Plymouth in 1892, on a greenfield site previously used as the town's cricket and rugby field and donated by wealthy Penarth butcher David Cornwall, the church is now surrounded by a square of later housing although the original grassed area has been retained and landscaped with trees. Destroyed by a German air raid in 1943, the church was rebuilt and reopened in 1955.
[[File:SE corner of St. Joseph's RC church, Penarth - geograph.org.uk - 3345872.jpg|thumb|St Joseph's Church]]
* St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church is on Wordsworth Avenue. The church relocated from an earlier premises in the triangle opposite the old Royal Hotel, where Arcot Street meets Queen's Road. The original church and school was built by [[John Hedley (bishop)|Bishop Hedley]] in 1873.
* Trinity Methodist Church is in Woodland Place. The present church, built 1901 in a Gothic style, has the only spire left in the town and was designed by Henry Budgen. The congregation had met since 1890 in a corrugated iron building on the site known as 'Playter's Church' built in the 1880s. In 1896 a schoolroom had been built alongside the iron church. Trinity was damaged several times by bombing during World War II, and its stained glass windows were removed for safekeeping to the Coed Ely Coal Pit, [[Gilfach Goch]]. In 1970 a day centre for the elderly was established and in 1986 a radical remodelling of the original school accommodation provided meeting rooms, a thriving youth club, kitchens and toilets.
[[File:Hebron Church Cogan Penarth.JPG|thumb|Hebron Church]]
* Eden Church Penarth meets in the Upper Hall of Trinity Methodist Church in Woodland Place and was established in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edenchurchpenarth.co.uk/ |publisher=Eden Church Penarth |title=Eden Church Penarth |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=6 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106040421/http://www.edenchurchpenarth.co.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Albert Road Methodist Church is at Albert Road and Albert Crescent.
* Tabernacle Baptist Chapel is in Plassey Street
* Hebron Church is on Pill Street, Cogan
* The United Reformed Church is on Elfed Avenue
* The Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall is on Plassey Street.

== Lost religious buildings ==

* [[Christ Church Penarth]] was a grand Victorian Church, built in 1897 on Stanwell Road. The library was designed to complement it. It was demolished in 1989 due to termination of the 99-year lease.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=https://www.capeli.org.uk/uploads/local_02_penarth.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105182502/http://www.capeli.org.uk/uploads/local_02_penarth.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2009 }}</ref>

== Sports and recreation ==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2020}}
Penarth has both a Men's (established 1911) and Ladies' (established 1896) Hockey Club playing at a high level. The Men's 1st XI were promoted in both the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons to reach what was then the best league position, but has since surpassed that with further successive promotions in 2015/16 - when they also won the Welsh Trophy cup competition - and 2016/17 to play in the Championship division of the GoCrea8 League that covers South Wales and the West of England, just two further promotions from the UK national league.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Penarth Times |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/sport/14452744/.Welsh_Trophy_win_caps_stellar_season_for_Penarth_Hockey_Club/ |title=Welsh Trophy win caps stellar season for Penarth Hockey Club |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=26 April 2016}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The league and cup success also led to Penarth's first European venture after an invitation to play in the EuroHockey competition in Ukraine in May/June 2017.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Penarth Times |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/sport/penarth_sport/15232195.Europe_calls_for_Penarth_Hockey_Club__39_s_1st_team/ |title=Europe calls for Penarth Hockey Club's 1st team |date=19 April 2017 |access-date=19 April 2017 |archive-date=11 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211105223/http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/sport/penarth_sport/15232195.Europe_calls_for_Penarth_Hockey_Club__39_s_1st_team/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The club's 2nd and 3rd XIs were also promoted in recent seasons, with the former now moving into the combined Wales and West section of the GoCrea8 League for the first time. The club returned to fielding four sides in league competition in 2016/17 after a gap of 30 years. The Men's first team play in North Division 1 of The Davis Wood Hockey League (2011/12).<ref>{{cite web |title=Penarth Hockey Club |url=http://www.penarthhc.com/home |publisher=Penarth Hockey Club |access-date=26 October 2015 }}</ref>

Both Ladies teams compete in the South Wales Premier 1 division (2011/12).

Penarth Cricket Club was founded in 1851 and is one of the oldest cricket clubs in South Wales.<ref name="PT Cricket160">{{cite news |last=Owen |first=R. J. |title=160 not out: Penarth Cricket Club celebrates anniversary milestone] |newspaper=Penarth Times |date=8 April 2011 }}</ref> It plays in the South Wales Premier League. They originally played their home matches at the site where the Masonic Hall now stands on Stanwell Road. The club have now played at their current site at The Athletic Ground on Lavernock Road since 1924<ref name="PT Cricket160" /> when the site was gifted to the town by the [[Robert Windsor-Clive, 1st Earl of Plymouth|Earl of Plymouth]] and shares the facilities with Penarth Rugby Club, Penarth Hockey Club, and in recent years, Penarth Lacrosse Club. Penarth Lacrosse Club have developed several players who have gone on to represent Wales at National and International level. The [[cricket]] club operates 4 regular league sides on a Saturday. The first XI plays in the South Wales Premier League. A number of current and former players have played for [[Glamorgan CCC]], and Wales MC, and there have been many players who have gained junior representative honours.

The once-renowned [[Penarth RFC|Penarth Rugby Football Club]] is based at The Athletic Ground, Lavernock Road, Penarth, where it played Wales' and the West Country's premier clubs until the creation of the Welsh League system in the early 1990s. It has had somewhat of a renaissance in recent years, and in season 2006–07 won promotion to Division 3 South-East of the Welsh National Leagues by finishing runner-up in Division 4 South-East. Penarth RFC used to host the world-famous [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians Football Club]] each Easter Good Friday, until 1986. This fixture was the start of the "Baa-Baas" annual South Wales tour from the team's spiritual home of Penarth, which also encompassed playing [[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]] on the Saturday, [[Swansea RFC|Swansea]] on Easter Monday and [[Newport RFC|Newport]] on the Tuesday. On the Thursday before Good Friday, the Barbarian rugby squad would be allowed free use of the Glamorganshire Golf Club, when they would play a match amongst themselves using only two golf clubs. On Easter Sunday, the Golf Club held its annual tournament for club members for a trophy titled the Barbarian Cup. The grand Esplanade Hotel, located on the seafront at Penarth before being destroyed by fire in May 1977,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/letters/9060402.Forgotten_secrets_of_the_Esplanade/ |newspaper=Penarth Times |title=Forgotten secrets of the Esplanade |date=2 June 2011 |last=Campbell-Jones |first=M.M. |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=9 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109114254/http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/letters/9060402.Forgotten_secrets_of_the_Esplanade/ |url-status=live }}</ref> would host the gala party for the trip. Penarth has a second and more recent [[rugby union]] club [[Old Penarthians RFC]], originally formed out of 'old boys' from [[Penarth County Grammar School]], but no longer applying that restrictive membership criteria.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oldpenarthiansrfc.mywru.co.uk/Default.aspx |publisher=Old Penarthians RFC |title=Old Penarthians RFC |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=9 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109140346/http://oldpenarthiansrfc.mywru.co.uk/Default.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Demonstration Motor Cycle Dirt Track (Speedway) races were staged at The Athletic Ground, as part of a four-day festival, on 25 August 1934.

Penarth has three [[football (soccer)]] clubs. The longest established is Cogan Coronation AFC, known locally as the 'Coro' that was founded in 1960, playing their home games at the Penarth Leisure Centre recreation fields. The senior team features in the South Wales F.A. Senior League 1st Division and their best season was 2000/2001 when they finished the year in second position. The club fielded eighteen teams at various age groups in the 2007/2008 season. Cogan Coronation players Mark Eley, Liam Beddard and goalkeeper Stewart Owadally have been selected to represent the Football Association of Wales on a number of occasions. The second longest established is Inter Penarth AFC which has been running for over 12 years with a good structure of mini's,junior's and a senior team. The club has had three name changes in its brief history. Penarth Town AFC was founded only a handful of years ago and plays in Division 2 of the Vale of Glamorgan Senior Football League.

[[Glamorganshire Golf Club]] is located in Lower Penarth and is considered to be one of the finest golf courses in the Principality. The course was established in 1890 and, in 1898, the club was the testing ground of Dr Frank Stableford's revolutionary new [[Stableford]] golf scoring system still used all over the world today.

Penarth has two tennis clubs. Penarth Lawn Tennis Club and Windsor Lawn Tennis Club, Penarth. Both clubs compete regularly in the Tennis Wales South Doubles Leagues and have junior representation in the National Junior Club League and Vale of Glamorgan Mini Tennis Club League. Windsor Lawn Tennis Club is situated on Larkwood Avenue in a residential area. It has 7 courts, 5 of which are artificial clay and also a padel court. Penarth Lawn Tennis Club, in Rectory Road, is the second oldest tennis club in Wales (established 1884)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pltc.org.uk/ |publisher=Penarth Lawn Tennis Club |title=PLTC: One of Britain's Oldest Tennis Club |access-date=5 December 2014 }}</ref> and has 6 floodlit hard courts and one of the longest continually used tennis clubhouses in the world. In recognition of the significant upgrading and refurbishment of facilities Penarth Lawn Tennis Club was recognised as Welsh Tennis Club of the Year by Tennis Wales (LTA) at its 2014 awards ceremony. This achievement was emulated by Windsor LTC two years later at the 2016 awards.

Cogan Leisure Centre is a modern [[leisure centre]] sports venue that provides the town with a full range of sporting facilities including a leisure pool and extensive playing fields. The new Cardiff Sports Village is just under two miles (3&nbsp;km) from the town centre.

Penarth Sea Cadets are located in the town.

Cardiff Morris perform traditional dances from Wales and England and feature several members from the town. They are the prime performers of Morris dances from the [[Nantgarw tradition]]. They meet and rehearse weekly throughout the year, alternating between The Anchor in Taffs Well and the Windsor Arms public house in Penarth. In recent years the group have performed in locations across the UK. Of particular interest are their renditions of genuine Welsh morris dance as collected by Margaretta Thomas in the village of Nantgarw in Taff Vale, the key dance being ''{{lang|cy|Y Gaseg Eira}}'' (The Snow Mare).

Penarth Amateur Boxing Club now meets in Station Road, after the closure of their club at St Pauls Church.

Penarth Bowls Club is located on Rectory Road at a bowling green built on what was once a deep limestone quarry.

South Wales Comedy Writers Society is based in Penarth.

Penarth is also home to a Waterski club, with a slipway to the east of the pier. The club has history as one of the top clubs for Waterski Racing in Europe, producing Regional, National and European champions. With once c.90 boat members, today the club has one team that is actively racing.

== Transport ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2020}}[[File:Cardiff, Cogan, Penarth Heath & Taffs Well RJD 12.jpg|thumb|right|A local rail network map from 1911]]
[[Penarth railway station]] serves the town and is the terminus of the Penarth branch of the [[Vale of Glamorgan Line]] from Cardiff. It is on an extension of the line originally built by the [[Taff Vale Railway]] in 1865 to serve the newly created docks. [[Penarth Dock railway station]] once served the docks area, but closed in 1962. All services on this line are operated by [[Transport for Wales Rail|Transport for Wales]] as part of the [[Valley Lines]] portion of the [[National Rail]] network. [[Dingle Road railway station|Dingle Road station]] is also close to the town centre. The Barry branch of the Vale of Glamorgan line passes through [[Cogan railway station]], near Cogan Leisure Centre.

Penarth is served by [[Cardiff Bus]] services from [[Cardiff]] City Centre, with some services continuing to [[Barry, Vale of Glamorgan|Barry]]. Penarth falls into the [[Cardiff]] fare zone for [[Cardiff Bus]] fares. Penarth is also served by [[First Cymru]] from [[Cardiff]] City Centre - [[Llandough, Penarth|Llandough]] which continues on to Barry.

Penarth is linked to west [[Somerset]] and North [[Devon]] seaside resorts such as [[Minehead]], [[Ilfracombe]] and [[Lundy Island]] by the [[PS Waverley|Paddle Steamer ''Waverley'']] and {{MV|Balmoral|1949|6}}, which have sailed from Penarth pier for over 60 years, continuing a steamer tradition that started when the pier was built. Devon's tourist trade in the late 19th century was expanded when the [[paddle steamer]]s spent weekends cruising the Bristol Channel taking the South Wales tourists on cheap excursions from Penarth to places such as [[Lynmouth]], Ilfracombe, [[Bideford]] and [[Clovelly]]. The traditional summer daily service to [[Weston-super-mare]] ceased in 1994 when Weston's [[Birnbeck Pier]] was damaged in a storm, declared unsafe and closed to visitors.

The [[Cardiff Waterbus]] operates a passenger water taxi service daily between 10.30 am and 5.00 pm, sailing from the Penarth end of the Bay Barrage and the Mermaid Quay on Cardiff's waterfront with seven crossings at hourly intervals. The first boat leaves Penarth at 10.30 am and the last boat back departs Cardiff at 5.00 pm.

The [[Pont y Werin]] pedestrian and cycle bridge opened in July 2010, completing a 4.2 mile circular route between Cardiff Bay and Penarth.

== Overseas connections ==

The town shares its name with [[Penarth, Delaware]] in the US.

Penarth is twinned with:
* [[Saint-Pol-de-Léon]] [[Brittany]], France. The fortieth anniversary of the twinning charter took place in 2010. In the 1970s and 1980s there were regular joint civic meetings and events often in conjunction with ''Penarth Holiday Fortnight'', coupled with annual student exchange weeks between the two towns of up to fifty young people. Since 2003 when the French town's long serving mayor retired and there were changes to their committee no cultural exchanges or joint civic events have taken place. In March 2010 it was announced that both towns were keen to reconnect and an appeal was made for local organisations and interested individuals to become actively involved.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/5080846.Council_to_revitalise_twinning_link_/ |newspaper=Penarth Times |title=Council to revitalise twinning link |date=31 March 2010 |access-date=5 December 2014 |archive-date=11 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211043411/http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/news/5080846.Council_to_revitalise_twinning_link_/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Penarth marina there is an address named after the twinned town, "Plas St. Pol De Leon".{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

==Notable people==
{{main|List of people associated with Penarth}}
:''See [[:Category:People from Penarth]]''

Those who have either been born, lived in, or associated with Penarth have included politicians such as Plaid Cymru founder [[Saunders Lewis]], [[James Childs Gould]] MP, [[Alun Michael]] MP, [[John Smith (Welsh politician)|John Smith MP]], and three recipients of the [[Victoria Cross]], including [[Operation Chastise|Dambuster's]] leader [[Guy Gibson]].

Sports stars associated with Penarth include [[Colin Jackson]], [[Tanni Grey-Thompson|Dame "Tanni" Grey-Thompson]], Spanish [[handball]] player [[Aitor Ariño|Aitor Ariño Bengoechea]], and professional [[rugby union]] player [[Louis Rees-Zammit]].

Penarth is associated with a number of people in the performing arts, including novelist [[Eric Robert Russell Linklater|Eric Linklater]], actor [[Colin McCormack]], actor [[Ronan Vibert]], actress [[Morfydd Clark]], actress [[Erin Richards]], composer [[Joseph Parry]], French [[Impressionism|Impressionist]] painter [[Alfred Sisley]], singer-songwriter [[Jem (singer)|Jem]], singer-songwriter [[Shakin' Stevens]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/shakin-stevens/pages/biography.shtml |title=BBC Wales - Music - Shakin' Stevens - Biography |website=www.bbc.co.uk |access-date=15 February 2021 |archive-date=28 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628011728/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/shakin-stevens/pages/biography.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[drum'n'bass]] producer Lincoln Barrett (also known as [[High Contrast]]) and singer-songwriter [[Martyn Joseph]].

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="190px" heights="180px" perrow="4">

File:Penarth - Windsor Arcade Building - 20220729142734.jpg|The [[Victorian era|late Victorian]] Windsor Arcade
File:Penarth Lifeboat Station.JPG|Penarth Lifeboat Station
File:Albert Road Methodist Church & Community Centre, Penarth.jpg|Albert Road Methodist Church
File:Penarth - Penarth Library - 20220729142510.jpg|Penarth Library
File:Penarth Fire Station and tower - geograph.org.uk - 5056113.jpg|Penarth Fire Station
File:The Pont y Werin, Cardiff.jpg|[[Pont y Werin]] footbridge spanning the [[River Ely]]
File:Cardiff Bay Barrage - geograph.org.uk - 1717533.jpg|[[Cardiff Bay Barrage]]
File:Prom a thraeth Penarth Mai 2022 - Penarth Beach May 2022, Wales 15.jpg|Penarth Beach
File:The bandstand, Alexandra Park, Penarth - geograph.org.uk - 1152134.jpg|The bandstand in Alexandra Park
File:Topiary, Alexandra Park, Penarth (geograph 6974485).jpg|Alexandra Park
File:Cosmeston lakes, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, CF64.jpg|[[Cosmeston Lakes Country Park]]
File:Pentre Canoloesol Cosmerston Medieval Village - geograph.org.uk - 4637278.jpg|[[Cosmeston Medieval Village]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Cogan, Vale of Glamorgan|Cogan]]
* [[Lavernock]]
* [[List of people associated with Penarth]]
* [[Listed buildings in Penarth]]
* [[Penarth Lifeboat Station]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Penarth}}
{{Commons category|Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan|Penarth}}
* [https://www.penarthtowncouncil.gov.uk/ Penarth Town Council Website]
* [http://www.penarthtimes.co.uk/ ''Penarth Times'', local newspaper site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southeast/sites/penarth/ Penarth, BBC]
* [http://www.valeofglamorgan.co.uk/ Vale of Glamorgan Council site including school list]
* [https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2735645 Geograph.co.uk: photos of Penarth an surrounding area]

{{Vale of Glamorgan}}


{{authority control}}

[[Category:Penarth| ]]
[[Category:Towns in the Vale of Glamorgan]]
[[Category:Communities in the Vale of Glamorgan]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of Wales]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in Wales]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of the Bristol Channel]]
[[Category:Populated places on the River Severn]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Wales]]
[[Category:Registered historic parks and gardens in the Vale of Glamorgan]]