Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Even more aspects - The Lloyd's Register at Penarth Dock . . .

Lloyd's Registry of Shipping : The Lloyd's Registry of Shipping founded for the inspection of the physical structure and equipment of merchant vessels published its first Register of Ships (The Green Book) in 1764 in order to provide insurance underwriters and merchants with an indication of the condition of the vessels they insured and chartered. Lloyd's derives its name from its origins in Edward Lloyd's coffee house in Tower Street, London.

The Lloyd’s Act of 1871 gave power to define its own bylaws and to perform all acts in its corporate name. From 1875 the Register was reorganised to include all British vessels of 100 tons and larger and became known as the Lloyd’s Register. From 1890 it was expanded to include foreign sea-going vessels. A classification system was introduced which spawned the saying 'A1 at Lloyds'.

We have read of the losses of shipping sailing to and from the South Wales ports in Volume 01 Chapter 08, also of Mr. Samuel Plimsoll's involvement with the Cardiff and Penarth pilots over the dangers of Cefn-y-Wrâch in Volume 09 Chapter 16, and we have revealed numerous damages and losses of vessels within Penarth Dock. I could write a complete chapter on the subject of injury to, and loss of, human life at Penarth Dock and the Ely Tidal Harbour and of the resultant hardships. I am also quite sure that these losses would have been many times greater if an organisation, such as Lloyds, had not evolved to balance its technical expertise and apply common sense against the unscrupulous operators and unsafe practices prevalent throughout its history. Many thanks to Lloyds of London for the following information. [856]

The Surveyors serving the Port of Cardiff from 1837 :

Morgan Fairclough, the first surveyor for the Lloyd's Register of Shipping at Cardiff was listed in 1837. Then J. H. Riches served in the years 1838 to 1846 followed by Henry Haynes, 1847 to 1870, during which time the service was extended to include Newport Docks. None of the foregoing surveyors were exclusively required to be Servant's of the Society.