Cogan is a small suburb of Penarth, located in the district of the Vale of Glamorgan. Due to the rise in popularity of coal as a fuel source, Penarth and the surrounding area grew rapidly. It's location was of paramount importance. Close to the pil (a tidal inlet at the mouth of the River Ely) Cogan initially served as worker housing for the workers constructing Penarth's Docks. The docks allowed coal from across the Welsh valleys to be transported via sea to its intended destination. Financed by the infamous Windsors, Penarth's docs were once the largest in Wales.

Competition between the Bute and Windsor families was fierce, both competing for land, money and power. Throughout the 1800s, the Windsor family planned, financed and developed the area that we now call Cogan and much of the historic areas around Penarth we still see today. The street names around old Cogan reflect family members within the Windsor family: Harriet Street,Charlotte Street, Agnes Street being names of streets in the area both relating to important family members.

Windsor Road, one of the main arteries in and out of Penarth (aptly named after it's creators) served as one of the initial roads developed during the creation and expansion of Cogan. Pill Street and Dock street followed, housing the first wave of workers drafted in to start developing the docks. Whilst many workers were local to Cardiff, a growing number of Irish labourers were being hired due to their extremely hard work ethic and generally superior strength. Documents from the time state that the Irish labourers made larger, stronger wheelbarrows to allow them to shift more material, resulting in faster working.