Oval Basin mooring post, Cardiff Bay
This mooring post was obscured inside a Victorian warehouse for decades. When re-exposed, it had been hammered into the ground. It was a trip hazard before being removed and restored.
It was one of many mooring posts for securing ships in the oval basin awaiting entry to Bute West Dock or exit to the sea. The water level in the basin was raised to enable ships to enter the dock, where the water was at a constant level. The basin and dock have been filled in, but the tops of the oval basin’s walls now mark out the open space called Roald Dahl Plass.
Aerial view of oval basin and Pierhead building in 1929,
courtesy of the RCAHMW and its Coflein website
The mooring post was installed decades after Bute West Dock opened in 1839. The basin’s original iron posts were close to the basin wall and had circular heads.
The improved design we see here was flattened on one side of the cap. The flattened edge faced the water and gave more freedom for the rope’s angle to change as the ship was raised. These later posts were also set further back, 9.5 metres from the edge; the longer length of mooring rope reduced the rope’s gradient when the ship was at its highest.
The dock’s importance had greatly reduced by the late 19th century, when the Dublin & Liverpool Steam Packet Company’s warehouse was built close to the north-east edge of the oval basin. The building was erected over the mooring post. You can see the warehouse to the left of the oval basin in the aerial photo, which is from the Aerofilms Collection of the National Monuments Record of Wales.
At an unknown time, the post was forced into the ground so that only its crown showed above the surface (lower photo). It continued to protrude after the area was transformed into a public space near the Wales Millennium Centre. It tripped up unwary pedestrians and cyclists, and in 2024 the WMC had the post removed, restored and placed on display here – the video below shows it emerging from the ground.
Notice the rectangular wings each side of the stem. They were well below the surface and helped keep the post upright when ships’ ropes pulled on it. There was also a timber anchor, which passed through a hole at the base of the post.
Two similar posts (without the hole for the timber anchor) are displayed alongside Lloyd George Avenue, near the junction with Letton Road.
Postcode: CF10 5AL View Location Map
Copies of the old photo and other images are available from the RCAHMW. Contact: nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk
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