Cosmeston Lake

The park is located on land that was once the enclosed fields of croft farms. The farming would have been poor because of the combination of underlying limestone with being kept permanently wet by many natural springs.


Opened in the 1880s the site was a commercial limestone quarry operation owned by the British Portland Cement Manufacturers and later Blue Circle. The quarries here provided limestone for the large cement works that stood until 1970 on the site of the present Cosmeston housing estate opposite the country park. The peak year of production was 1962, when 175,000 tons of cement were manufactured. The famous ‘Dragon’ brand of cement was used to produce many of the early paving slabs laid in Penarth. The works finally shut in November 1969. Blue Circle stated it was not possible to upgrade the old plant to increase production any further, nor extend the existing quarries, which were closed in June 1970. The only factory building left standing today is the Harvester restaurant. Once quarrying ceased two of the excavated sites were used for landfill and the remaining two naturally flooded creating the lakes that are seen today. More information is available on the history of the Portland Cement Company at Cement Plants and Kilns in Britain and Ireland.

The park was subsequently developed through funding from the Countryside Commission and opened in 1978. A circular path was created around the lake, with boardwalks constructed over the wetland areas . It was during the laying of the paths, thinning of dense undergrowth and general landscaping that the remains of the former village were found, excavated and developed into a visitor attraction.