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Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal Regeneration
Ty Coch to Pentre Lane, Cwmbran
History
Historical Overview
i. Origins and summary of history
The Monmouthshire and BreconCanal started life as two separate Canals: the Brecon & AbergavennyCanal, and the MonmouthshireCanal. In the 1790s, the Monmouthshire Canal Company received its Act of Parliament at the same time that the Brecon & Abergavenny was being planned. The Brecon & Abergavenny was constructed in three parts, with the northern most section being built between 1796 and 1800 by the renown canal engineer Thomas Dadford Junior.
The second section between Gilwern and Llanfoist was built between 1802 and 1805 and overseen by Thomas Cartwright, with the third and last section being built from Llanfoist to Llanfihangel Pontymoile between 1809 an 1812. Growth in the Canal’s usage at this time can be seen in the level of coal traffic being hauled from 3,500 tons in 1796 to 150,000 tons by 1812, undoubtedly fed by the many feeder tram-roads in the vicinity.
Following discussions, it was decided to link the two at Pontymoile by 1812. By this time the section of the Monmouthshire from Pontymoile north-westwards to Pontnewynydd was already looking short-lived and by the 1850s it had already been supplanted by a railway. After the closure of the lower section of the Monmouthshire, the rest of the Monmouth & BreconCanal was maintained principally as a water feeder for Newport docks. Both Canals, supported by horse-drawn tram-roads, were used primarily to haul coal, limestone and iron ore from the surrounding hillsides and most famously from Blaenavon. In 1880, the Canals were taken over by the Great Western Railway and within 35 years, commercial load carrying had all but ceased.
  
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