A photo taken down Cambrian Place towards what would have been a dry dock and ship building yard as outlined in the 1879 Map. Pier Street would have been even more impressive with the either the Ships prow or stern towering over the houses. Somerset Place ended in a wharf so it may have been entirely possible for that Windjammer to lay up next to the old Town Hall? Probably not but it would have made a spectacle.
We have been looking into redevelopment proposals for that area (currently a car park) which includes re-opening some of the dry dock elements. There is an early sketch attached showing how we believed that the Cambrian Place vista could perhaps take a focal building.
If you ever take a stroll around the rear of Sainsbury’s you can still see the original walls of the lock control to the North Dock Half Tide Basin leading to what is now the Strand.
What a waterfront city we could have had? -Andrew Nixon
CIVIC 