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The Esplanade, PENARTH, CF64 3AU

Colourful Victorian houses on Penarth seafront.

This Terrace of 5 separate properties was originally designed and built in 1904 by Frederick Speed. Initial occupants were Beach Cliff private hotel, Stephens & Co. toy and fancy Bazaar, O.G. Williams, restaurant and confectioner, Stuart Hall, and G.F. Meridith, toys and fancy goods. The Rabaiotti family took over Beachcliff in the 1950s, operating Italian restaurants and cafes until the building was sold in the early 2000s. Cardiff based property developers bought the building in 2007 and produced a £6m plan for the building designed by John Wotton Architects that was granted planning consent in March 2009. Work uncovered the full extent of the structure’s decay, and in Googles July 2012 Street View you can see the demolished building and that only the two end towers and some of the end walls remain. Based on early photographs, the new building appears a faithful replica, in the façade at least, of the original. The ground floor commercial units seem to have been in use as a restaurant 2015. By March 2016 it is reported that two apartments were for sale and three town houses were nearing completion. In March 2016 'Restaurant James Sommerin' were offering up to nine rooms in a new boutique hotel (in addition to the flats and houses) over the ground floor restaurant.

Balcony detail, Penarth seafront.

A day for walking along the seafront rather than sitting and enjoying the view. Showing Penarth Pier Pavilion. On the Wales Coast Path.

Looking from Penarth Pier along the beach and Esplanade. The old Victorian buildings are overshadowed by the modern brick apartments. The turret on the nearest Victorian building is a landmark for Rabaiotti's Cafe, well known to local people and visitors for many years, and a warm retreat from the cold at sunset on this December afternoon.

Crowds gather on the Esplanade in Penarth to watch the Volvo Ocean Race as it sails along the Bristol Channel. The vessels are faintly visible in the far distance, beyond the end of Penarth pier.