Mission to Seamen's Church, Cardiff - As Cardiff grew as a port and the old converted warship 'Thisbe' was outgrown, the Marquis of Bute offered a site adjacent to the West Bute Dock Basin for the construction of a permanent Mission to Seamen which was opened during November 1891. The All Souls Church and Institute survived for almost 100 years. The fine new building for the Missions to Seamen on Penarth Dock, however, preceded Cardiff by thirteen years!

The two postcards above are from the Penarth Dock Collection and show the exterior of the red-brick church and another of the interior, which was dual purpose, i.e. used for religious services and as a reading and rest room specifically for mariners. The lower image has been colourised. [001] [20191025]

1895 - An entry for the Mission to Seamen. All Souls Church and Institute, West Dock Basin, Opened 1891, which was published within the 1895 edition of Owen & Co.'s Cardiff Directory. [298]

1891 - The New Church and Institute of the Mission to Seamen, opened at Cardiff yesterday by the Bishop of Llandaff. - a report from the Daily Graphic of Thursday, November 26th, 1891. [753]

1929 - An aerial view of the entrance to Cardiff Docks in 1929 bought as a print for the Penarth Dock Collection [001] but I believe credit should be given to Aerofilms Limited. [545] The church situated to the right of the West Bute Dock Basin is the Mission to Seamen, Cardiff. [000] [002] [20191103]

1970's - A section of a photograph showing an exterior view of the Mission to Seamen. All Souls Church and Institute which at the time of this photograph had been renamed Merton House and occupied by a commercial company. The West Dock Basin had also disappeared under tons of infill. The credit for this photograph is given to Gordon Hayward, a photographer at the National Museum of Wales. The lower image has been colourised. [629] [Museum item number : 2019.22/24.1] [20191106]