Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal

Canal Basin at Pontnewydd

200 Years

The Monmouthshire Canal was joined to the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal in 1812.  

To commemorate the 200th anniversaryof this event, on Friday, 10 February 2012, between 12 and 7pm, churches along its route reconstructed part of the original ceremony by ringing their bells.  

During the Industrial Revolution, the introduction of canal barges increased both capacity and speed of transport for iron and coal, over the horse & cart.   Trains, and later, improved road transport, were to make the canals redundant.   Now we can enjoy their slow pace of life as recreation rather than work.

Thomas Dadford Jr. (1761-1801), the canal engineer for the project, worked on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canals from 1792 to 1798.

Because of the hilly welsh terrain, unmade roads and water cascading down the steep slopes after rain, the earliest iron works in South Wales had been built on river banks and the iron transported on small barges to the coast.   As production increased mules were employed, but still transport was slow and tedious.   In 1792 the canal was sanctioned as cheap and easy transport.   Due to the terrain, it ran from Newport to Pontypool in the Eastern valley and to Crumlin in the next.   This was then supplemented with tram roads where necessary.

Canal Basin at Pontnewydd looking towards Pontypool

The difficulty of the engineering task can be seen by the difference in height from the bottom of the valley at Crumlin (the site of the old canal), and the old Viaduct above, created in 1857 crossing the valley at right-angles joining Pontypool to the western valleys.  Part of the stone buttresses can still be seen high above the valley floor.

Later New Town development has seen sections of the canal disappear altogether under roads and houses.  


Sadly, it would not, I feel, be financially viable to see the whole structure restored to Thomas Dadford Jr. original plan.

Fallen leaves on the canal
http://www.crumlinviaduct.co.uk/History.htm

http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/mon_brec.htm