This MontH

 

 

 

 

 

 AN UPHILL CHALLENGE  

 

 

   

Helen Morgan reports: 

 

 

 

 

The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal began as two separate waterways: the Monmouthshire canal and the Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal.  The first clod of the northern section from Gilwern was cut in 1797. Three years later the first cargo of coal reached Brecon Basin on Christmas Eve. Like the southern section with which it would be united, the B&A canal was supported by horse-drawn tram-roads.   

 

The canal company, whose shareholders included the Duke of Beaufort, stipulated that the 19-mile stretch from Gilwern to its terminus at Brecon be built first. The first task was to build an embankment 25 metres above the river Clydach. A tunnel through the embankment then enabled the tram-road to pass under the canal. The result is the aqueduct that we know today. As the cutting passed Llangattock, the first wharfside kilns were built to burn the limestone being quarried from Darren Cilau. The resulting quick lime found immediate markets for use as fertiliser, mortar for building and as an ingredient in the iron making process. The canal then follows the contours of the hills to Llangynidr. Here it crosses the Afon Crawnon from which it takes some of its water supply. Beyond this, the ground rises steeply which required a flight of five locks, lifting the canal by 55 feet. Between the top two locks, a side pond was added to ensure adequate water reserves. Then came the 375-yard Ashford Tunnel — the only one between Gilwern and Brecon — necessitated by unstable ground. As with so many early tunnels it was beset with problems. When two-thirds complete, part of the roof collapsed and a long section had to be rebuilt. And with no space available for a towpath, horses had to be led over the top while men propelled boats by “legging” it against the tunnel wall. Despite these problems, the navvies reached Talybont in February 1799, transforming the village into an important transhipment point for cargoes of coal, iron and limestone. Benjamin Hall, a coal and ironmaster, commissioned a tram-road linking the Brynoer tram-road from Trefil with his colliery in Rhymney. By the summer of 1799 the navvies reached Brynich, just two miles short of their destination. Here the challenge was how to carry to canal across the Usk. The solution: a four-arched masonry aqueduct, the largest structure on the entire canal.

David Viner’s talk on October 14th in the Borough Theatre starts at 7.30pm. 

 Non-members can join on the night or via the Membership page.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Image: Michael Blackmore

Reproduced with permission for 225th Anniversary Project