Lavernock
Encyclopedia
Lavernock is a hamlet
in the Vale of Glamorgan
in Wales, lying on the coast 7 miles (11.3 km) south of Cardiff
between Penarth
and Sully
, and overlooking the Bristol Channel
.
Following overland tests at Salisbury Plain
during March 1897, on 13 May 1897, the Italian born and recently British based inventor, best known for his development of a radio
telegraph system, Guglielmo Marconi
, assisted by George Kemp (who was a Cardiff
based Post Office
engineer) transmitted and received the first wireless
signals over open sea between Lavernock Point and Flat Holm
island.
The very first message transmitted in morse code
was "ARE YOU READY". This was immediately followed by "CAN YOU HEAR ME" to which the reply was "YES LOUD AND CLEAR". The morse recording slip for the first message is on display in the National Museum of Wales.
Following the initial opening exchange there followed detailed technical messages in both directions indicating each end's equipment settings and receiving sound levels. Marconi indicated that he was using a 20 inches (508 mm) spark on his equipment.
The successful test followed several days of trials and failure while adjustments were made to aerial length. Extensive trials were carried out over the remainder of the week in various weather conditions and with different settings on the equipment at each end. Marconi benefitted from the active encouragement of then Mr. William Preece
(later Sir William Preece) who was Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office and had himself transmitted radio telegraph morse signals across Coniston Water
eight years earlier. Preece had been previously acted as a consultant to the Bristol Corporation's Electricity Department between 1883 and 1893. The Post Office engineers, including George Kemp who kept a detailed diary of these events, had been experimenting for some months at Lavernock Point. Kemp recorded the following in his diary of the experiments:
Marconi's new equipment was therefore used in conjunction with that already adopted by the Post Office. The initial tests were so successful over the three and a third mile (6 kilometres) stretch of water that it was quickly decided to relocate the telegraph equipment from Flat Holm to Brean Down Fort
, near Weston Super Mare increasing the distance to nearly ten miles (16 kilometres) from the Lavernock Point transmitter.
Following these successful trials, Marconi subsequently vested his new patent rights in his 'Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company', which unfortunately prevented any further co-operation with the Post Office engineers. However George Kemp immediately resigned from his Post Office position and joined Marconi's new company as head of engineering development.
In 1948, to mark the 50th anniversary of the experiments, a bronze plaque was unveiled by the Cardiff Rotary Club inside the courtyard of the recently closed church of St.Lawrence, Lavernock, commemorating the historic radio transmissions over nine miles (14 km) of open sea. The small stone hut that Marconi used to contain his experimental radio telegraph equipment still stands on the cliff edge at the end of the lane near Lower Cosmeston farmhouse.
) were popular and busy holiday locations for regular day trippers from the South Wales Valleys
, Newport
, Cardiff, Penarth
and Barry and the beaches were packed with visitors on most weekends and Bank Holiday
s throughout the summer. The hundreds and sometimes thousands of holidaymakers were served refreshments by an ice cream parlour, two busy cafes, the Golden Hind public house
and the three star Lavernock Bay Hotel. Very few visitors arrived by car until the 1960s with the majority travelling by the half-hourly steam trains that stopped at Lavernock and Swanbridge Halts on the busy Taff Vale Railway
Line en-route to Barry Island.
Lavernock started settling back to quiet seclusion in the early 1970s when the railway line had closed down under the Beeching Axe
. Some modern day trippers arrived by car, to the degree that the lanes and the Swanbridge car park were often jammed, but visitor numbers had dropped off to such a degree that falling profit margins meant all the food outlets, the Golden Hind pub and eventually even the Bay Hotel closed down and the decline was accelerated even further.
on the South Wales
coast, overlooking the Bristol Channel
with views across to the Somerset Coast.
A line drawn between Lavernock Point and Sand Point, Somerset
marks the lower limit of the Severn estuary
and the start of the Bristol Channel
. Because of the extreme tidal
range there are very strong currents or rips close inshore to the point with speeds that exceed 7 knots (13 km/h) for several hours at each tide.
Various proposals have been put forward to construct a Severn Barrage
for tidal electricity production from Lavernock Point to Brean Down
in Somerset
and the provision remains under discussion by the various agencies.
On the point in the late 1860s Lavernock Fort
gun battery was built by the Royal Commission
and completed in 1870, with three 7" muzzle loading cannons to protect the channel approaches to Cardiff and Bristol shipyards during the short lived war between Britain and France that followed the French Revolution
. Sometime before 1895 the gun battery was reinforced with a fourth cannon only for all four guns to be replaced eight years later by two rapid fire six inch (152 mm) former naval guns in 1903.
A two unit searchlight battery was added during the Second World War. The World War II gun emplacements formed part of the Fixed Defences, Severn Scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping convoy de-grouping zone between Cardiff, Barry and Flat Holm. Today the remaining main section of the gun battery has been listed as an Ancient Monument
, which includes the gun emplacements, director-rangefinder observation position, crew and officers quarters. The structure is still commemorated through Lavernock Point's main access road being named 'Fort Road'.
Royal Observer Corps
(ROC) observation post stood on the cliff edge with its clear views over the Bristol Channel
and the islands of Steep Holm
and Flat Holm
. The Observer Corps site was established by the Air Ministry on part of the original War Department land connected to the Lavernock Gun Battery. The volunteer ROC observers spotted many Nazi German Luftwaffe
raids approaching across the channel and activated the air raid warnings in the town.
In early 1962 a protected nuclear fallout shelter
(or bunker) was completed at Lavernock Point for the ROC (OS Grid Ref: ST 1858 6903), who by the 1960s had switched from above ground aircraft spotting to underground operations with instruments to detect nuclear explosions and warn the public of approaching radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear war. The post members were mobilised later that year and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground during the Cuban Missile Crisis
as the government prepared the country for potential outbreak of war.
The Lavernock nuclear bunker was closed down and abandoned by the ROC in 1975 after repeated destructive break-ins by local vandals, but the concrete entrance hatch and ventilator tower can still be observed next to the cliff walk near Lower Cosmeston farmhouse. The Royal Observer Corps itself was disbanded in December 1995 after the end of the Cold War
and as a result of recommendations in the governments Options for Change
review of UK defence.
where wildlife interest is combined with historical interests in a dramatic and picturesque coastal reserve. The unimproved limestone
grassland
supports varied and colourful plants such as Dyer's Greenweed
, Devil's-bit Scabious
, Common spotted orchid
and Fleabane
. Butterflies have been observed and recorded by the reserve’s warden for over twenty years and more than twenty five separate species have been identified.
Lavernock and the nearby Cosmeston Lakes continue to be an important landing point for migrating birds. Many bird migration routes across the Bristol Channel cross the reserve, and Steep Holm and Flat Holm islands act as staging posts. Bird sightings vary through the year, with visiting summer migrants, seabird
s off the coast and resident breeding birds.
The reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales who state that their aims are:
Lavernock railway station was sold off and now forms part of the current caravan park. Long sections of the old railway track bed are still open from the Fort Road bridge as far as Lower Penarth as a rural greenway and cyclepath, however the track bed in the direction of Sully is either overgrown and impassible or has been sold into private ownership.
Lavernock, St Mary's Well Bay and Swanbridge (Sully Island) can still be reached along the clifftop path from Penarth.
The old cafe car park at Swanbridge was developed as part of the newly opened Captain's Wife public house in the mid 1970s.
The whole area continues to be redeveloped as several private caravan parks and holiday camps over recent years, the largest and longest established of which is the Marconi Holiday Village run by the Lavernock Point Holiday Park with chalets, fixed caravans and touring berths. The licensed Marconi Club at the holiday village is open to non-residents.
The small medieval parish church
of St. Lawrence closed in 2008. The church building is being restored and maintained by a volunteer group consisting of friends of the church. The group has established a charitable trust intended to maintain the structure, allowing continued access to and enjoyment of the historic building.
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in the Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...
in Wales, lying on the coast 7 miles (11.3 km) south of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
between Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
and Sully
Sully, Vale of Glamorgan
Sully is a village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales lying on the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles southwest of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.-Medieval Sully:...
, and overlooking the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
.
Marconi and the first radio messages across open sea
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in central southern England covering . It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, with a little in Hampshire. The plain is famous for its rich archaeology, including Stonehenge, one of England's best known...
during March 1897, on 13 May 1897, the Italian born and recently British based inventor, best known for his development of a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
telegraph system, Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
, assisted by George Kemp (who was a Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
based Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
engineer) transmitted and received the first wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
signals over open sea between Lavernock Point and Flat Holm
Flat Holm
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
island.
The very first message transmitted in morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
was "ARE YOU READY". This was immediately followed by "CAN YOU HEAR ME" to which the reply was "YES LOUD AND CLEAR". The morse recording slip for the first message is on display in the National Museum of Wales.
Following the initial opening exchange there followed detailed technical messages in both directions indicating each end's equipment settings and receiving sound levels. Marconi indicated that he was using a 20 inches (508 mm) spark on his equipment.
William Henry Preece
Sir William Henry Preece was a Welsh electrical engineer and inventor. Preece relied on experiments and physical reasoning in his life's work. Upon his retirement from the Post Office in 1899, Preece was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath .-Biography:Preece was born in Caernarfon ,...
(later Sir William Preece) who was Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office and had himself transmitted radio telegraph morse signals across Coniston Water
Coniston Water
Coniston Water in Cumbria, England is the third largest lake in the English Lake District. It is five miles long, half a mile wide, has a maximum depth of 184 feet , and covers an area of . The lake has an elevation of 143 feet above sea level...
eight years earlier. Preece had been previously acted as a consultant to the Bristol Corporation's Electricity Department between 1883 and 1893. The Post Office engineers, including George Kemp who kept a detailed diary of these events, had been experimenting for some months at Lavernock Point. Kemp recorded the following in his diary of the experiments:
- "Mr Marconi’s apparatus was set up on the cliff at Lavernock Point, which is about twenty yards above sea-level. Here we erected a pole, 30 yards (27.4 m) high, on the top of which was a cylindrical cap of zinc, 2 yards (1.8 m) long and 1 yard (0.9144 m) diameter.
- Connected with this cap was an insulated copper wire leading to one side of the detector, the other side of which was connected to a wire led down the cliff and dipping into the sea. At Flat Holm Mr Preece’s apparatus was arranged, the Ruhmkorff coil also giving 20 inches (508 mm) sparks from an eight-cell battery.
- On the 10th May experiments on Mr Preece's electro-magnetic transmission method were repeated, and with perfect success.
- The next few days were eventful ones in the history of Mr Marconi. On the 11th and 12th his experiments were unsatisfactory — worse still, they were failures — and the fate of his new system trembled in the balance.
- An inspiration saved it. On the 13th May the apparatus was carried down to the beach at the foot of the cliff, and connected by another 20 yards (18.3 m) of wire to the pole above, thus making an aerial height of 50 yards (45.7 m) in all. Result, The instruments which for two days failed to record anything intelligible, now rang out the signals clear and unmistakable, and all by the addition of a few yards of wire!"
Marconi's new equipment was therefore used in conjunction with that already adopted by the Post Office. The initial tests were so successful over the three and a third mile (6 kilometres) stretch of water that it was quickly decided to relocate the telegraph equipment from Flat Holm to Brean Down Fort
Brean Down Fort
Brean Down Fort was built above sea level on the headland at Brean Down, south of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England.The site has a long history, because of its prominent position...
, near Weston Super Mare increasing the distance to nearly ten miles (16 kilometres) from the Lavernock Point transmitter.
Following these successful trials, Marconi subsequently vested his new patent rights in his 'Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company', which unfortunately prevented any further co-operation with the Post Office engineers. However George Kemp immediately resigned from his Post Office position and joined Marconi's new company as head of engineering development.
In 1948, to mark the 50th anniversary of the experiments, a bronze plaque was unveiled by the Cardiff Rotary Club inside the courtyard of the recently closed church of St.Lawrence, Lavernock, commemorating the historic radio transmissions over nine miles (14 km) of open sea. The small stone hut that Marconi used to contain his experimental radio telegraph equipment still stands on the cliff edge at the end of the lane near Lower Cosmeston farmhouse.
The Bays of Lavernock
From the late 1890s until 1968 Lavernock and the nearby bays of St Mary's Well and Swanbridge (with its low tide walk out to Sully IslandSully Island
Sully Island is a small tidal island at the hamlet of Swanbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, four hundred and fifty metres off the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles south of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
) were popular and busy holiday locations for regular day trippers from the South Wales Valleys
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...
, Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, Cardiff, Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
and Barry and the beaches were packed with visitors on most weekends and Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
s throughout the summer. The hundreds and sometimes thousands of holidaymakers were served refreshments by an ice cream parlour, two busy cafes, the Golden Hind public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and the three star Lavernock Bay Hotel. Very few visitors arrived by car until the 1960s with the majority travelling by the half-hourly steam trains that stopped at Lavernock and Swanbridge Halts on the busy Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
Line en-route to Barry Island.
Lavernock started settling back to quiet seclusion in the early 1970s when the railway line had closed down under the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
. Some modern day trippers arrived by car, to the degree that the lanes and the Swanbridge car park were often jammed, but visitor numbers had dropped off to such a degree that falling profit margins meant all the food outlets, the Golden Hind pub and eventually even the Bay Hotel closed down and the decline was accelerated even further.
Lavernock Point
Lavernock Point is a headlandHeadlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
on the South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
coast, overlooking the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
with views across to the Somerset Coast.
A line drawn between Lavernock Point and Sand Point, Somerset
Sand Point, Somerset
Sand Point in Somerset is the peninsula stretching out from Middle Hope, which lies to the north of the village of Kewstoke, and the stretch of coastline called Sand Bay. It is owned by the National Trust and is a popular place for walking...
marks the lower limit of the Severn estuary
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
and the start of the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
. Because of the extreme tidal
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
range there are very strong currents or rips close inshore to the point with speeds that exceed 7 knots (13 km/h) for several hours at each tide.
Various proposals have been put forward to construct a Severn Barrage
Severn Barrage
The Severn Barrage refers to a range of ideas for building a barrage from the English coast to the Welsh coast over the Severn tidal estuary. Ideas for damming or barraging the Severn estuary have existed since the 19th century. The building of such a barrage would be a huge engineering feat,...
for tidal electricity production from Lavernock Point to Brean Down
Brean Down
Brean Down is a promontory off the coast of Somerset standing high and extending into the Bristol Channel at the eastern end of Bridgwater Bay between Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea....
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
and the provision remains under discussion by the various agencies.
Lavernock Fort
Lavernock Battery
Lavernock Battery was built at Lavernock Point, Wales on the recommendations of the 1859 Royal Commission.It was the most northerly of a chain of defences across the Bristol Channel, protecting the access to Bristol and Cardiff...
gun battery was built by the Royal Commission
Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom
In 1859 Lord Palmerston instigated the Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom because of serious concerns that France might attempt to invade the UK...
and completed in 1870, with three 7" muzzle loading cannons to protect the channel approaches to Cardiff and Bristol shipyards during the short lived war between Britain and France that followed the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Sometime before 1895 the gun battery was reinforced with a fourth cannon only for all four guns to be replaced eight years later by two rapid fire six inch (152 mm) former naval guns in 1903.
A two unit searchlight battery was added during the Second World War. The World War II gun emplacements formed part of the Fixed Defences, Severn Scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping convoy de-grouping zone between Cardiff, Barry and Flat Holm. Today the remaining main section of the gun battery has been listed as an Ancient Monument
Ancient monument
An ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. In the United Kingdom it is a legal term, differing from the American term National Monument in being far more numerous and always man-made...
, which includes the gun emplacements, director-rangefinder observation position, crew and officers quarters. The structure is still commemorated through Lavernock Point's main access road being named 'Fort Road'.
Royal Observer Corps
A few yards away from the historic Marconi hut Penarth's only World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
(ROC) observation post stood on the cliff edge with its clear views over the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
and the islands of Steep Holm
Steep Holm
Steep Holm is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively, it forms part of North Somerset...
and Flat Holm
Flat Holm
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
. The Observer Corps site was established by the Air Ministry on part of the original War Department land connected to the Lavernock Gun Battery. The volunteer ROC observers spotted many Nazi German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
raids approaching across the channel and activated the air raid warnings in the town.
In early 1962 a protected nuclear fallout shelter
Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
(or bunker) was completed at Lavernock Point for the ROC (OS Grid Ref: ST 1858 6903), who by the 1960s had switched from above ground aircraft spotting to underground operations with instruments to detect nuclear explosions and warn the public of approaching radioactive fallout in the event of nuclear war. The post members were mobilised later that year and volunteers spent nearly ten days underground during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
as the government prepared the country for potential outbreak of war.
The Lavernock nuclear bunker was closed down and abandoned by the ROC in 1975 after repeated destructive break-ins by local vandals, but the concrete entrance hatch and ventilator tower can still be observed next to the cliff walk near Lower Cosmeston farmhouse. The Royal Observer Corps itself was disbanded in December 1995 after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and as a result of recommendations in the governments Options for Change
Options for Change
Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in 1990, aimed at cutting defence spending following the end of the Cold War....
review of UK defence.
Nature Reserve
Lavernock Point is established as a particularly fine nature reserveNature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
where wildlife interest is combined with historical interests in a dramatic and picturesque coastal reserve. The unimproved limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
supports varied and colourful plants such as Dyer's Greenweed
Genista tinctoria
Genista tinctoria, with common names: Dyer's Broom, Dyer’s Greenweed, Dyer's Whin, Furze, Greenbroom, Greenweed, Waxen Woad, Woad Waxen and Waxen Wood, is a plant species of the genus Genista.-Description:...
, Devil's-bit Scabious
Succisa pratensis
Succisa pratensis Moench, also known as Devil's-bit Scabious, is a flowering plant of the genus Succisa in the family Dipsacaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has 4 lobed flowers, whereas Small Scabious and Field scabious have 5 lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate...
, Common spotted orchid
Common spotted orchid
The Common Spotted-orchid is acommonly occurring species of European orchid. It is widely variable in colour and height, ranging from 15 to 60 cm in height. The flower colour can vary from white to pale purple with purple spots. The lip has three lobes...
and Fleabane
Fleabane
Fleabane is a common name for some flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.Most are in the subfamily Asteroideae:* Conyza * Erigeron * Inula...
. Butterflies have been observed and recorded by the reserve’s warden for over twenty years and more than twenty five separate species have been identified.
Lavernock and the nearby Cosmeston Lakes continue to be an important landing point for migrating birds. Many bird migration routes across the Bristol Channel cross the reserve, and Steep Holm and Flat Holm islands act as staging posts. Bird sightings vary through the year, with visiting summer migrants, seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s off the coast and resident breeding birds.
The reserve is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales who state that their aims are:
- ”To create and maintain the ideal balance between grasslandGrasslandGrasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
, scrubland and woodlandWoodlandEcologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
at Lavernock Point Reserve. Grassland is important for wild flowersWild FlowersWild Flowers may refer to:*another spelling of wildflowers, flowers that grow wild, meaning they were not intentionally seeded or planted*Wild Flowers , a 2000 Czech film*Wild Flowers , a 1980s British rock group...
, nectar-loving insects, and for species that need the warm microclimateMicroclimateA microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
that is provided by shorter grass. Scrub provides shelter and berries for birds, and blossom nectar for invertebrateInvertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s in spring. Woodland provides shelter for birds, and ideal habitat for other invertebrates such as the Speckled WoodSpeckled WoodThe Speckled Wood is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodland throughout much of the Palearctic ecozone.In North Europe, Central Europe , Asia Minor, Syria, Russia and Central Asia where subspecies P. a. tircis occurs it is brown with pale yellow or cream spots and darker upperwing...
butterflyButterflyA butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
. Without our work, the grassland would succeed to scrub and there would probably only be half an acre or so of grassland at the south end where salt spray and wind would suppress the growth of scrub. Management work was always done by hand, but we are progressively using more machinery as the grassland area has grown. Ideally we would like to introduce grazing livestock to some areas as this creates the ideal conditions for most species”.
Lavernock today
Lavernock, St Mary's Well Bay and Swanbridge (Sully Island) can still be reached along the clifftop path from Penarth.
The old cafe car park at Swanbridge was developed as part of the newly opened Captain's Wife public house in the mid 1970s.
The whole area continues to be redeveloped as several private caravan parks and holiday camps over recent years, the largest and longest established of which is the Marconi Holiday Village run by the Lavernock Point Holiday Park with chalets, fixed caravans and touring berths. The licensed Marconi Club at the holiday village is open to non-residents.
The small medieval parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
of St. Lawrence closed in 2008. The church building is being restored and maintained by a volunteer group consisting of friends of the church. The group has established a charitable trust intended to maintain the structure, allowing continued access to and enjoyment of the historic building.
External Links and Photos
- Old rail route map and photos of current greenway to Penarth
- Lavernock and St Mary's Well Bay photos from the 1950s and 1960s
- Marconi Holiday Village and Lavernock Point Holiday Park
- Photograph of the Gun Battery's Eastern Observation Post
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Lavernock and surrounding area
Local attractions
- Cosmeston Lakes Country Park — (water birds, information centre and ice cream kiosk, lakeside and arborial walks, plus the reconstructed 'living museum at Cosmeston Medieval VillageCosmeston Medieval VillageCosmeston Medieval Village is a "living history" medieval village near Lavernock in the Vale of Glamorgan not far from Penarth and Cardiff in south Wales...
) - Lavernock Point Nature Reserve and Gun Battery Ancient Monument
- St. Mary's Well Bay
- Coastal and cliffCliffIn geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
top walks with views of Flat HolmFlat HolmFlat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
and Steep HolmSteep HolmSteep Holm is an English island lying in the Bristol Channel. The island covers at high tide, expanding to at mean low water. At its highest point it is above mean sea level. It lies within the historic boundaries of Somerset and administratively, it forms part of North Somerset...
islands - Swanbridge and Sully IslandSully IslandSully Island is a small tidal island at the hamlet of Swanbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, four hundred and fifty metres off the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles south of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...
— historic haunt of Romans, Vikings, Pirates and smugglers (foot access at low tide from Swanbridge Captain's Wife pub car park) - Marconi Club — licensed bar and live entertainment at Marconi Holiday Village, Lavernock Point
- The Schooner Pub — and 'Harvester' restaurant, Lavernock Road, Lower Penarth
- Two miles west of Lavernock, is The BendricksThe Bendricks, Vale of GlamorganThe Bendricks is a stretch of coastline and an important paleontological site in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel between Barry and Sully at . It lies at the foreshore of the industrial port of Barry between the eastern breakwater of the...
that has the only known upper TriassicTriassicThe Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
dinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
footprint, possibly by a Tetrasauropus, in Britain