Former Hall's tramroad and railway tunnel E portal

Cadw's description

Location

On the W side of the community, in a deep cutting which runs S of the main thoroughfare; a bridge carries the road across the portal.

History

Sir Benjamin Hall, the industrialist (1802-1867), built a tramroad in 1814 to transport coal from collieries in the Sirhowy Valley to the tramroad and canal system of the Ebbw Valley leading S to Newport. It linked the Western Valley Tramroad with Manmoel in the Sirhowy Valley and thus was one of the few early cross-country E/W lines. Benjamin Hall was the son-in-law of Richard Crawshay of Cyfarthfa Ironworks who bought the Abercarn Estate for him on his marriage. His son, also Benjamin Hall, became the First Commissioner of Estates to Queen Victoria and gave his name to Big Ben; he became Lord Llanover following his marriage to Lady Llanover. The tramroad, known as Hall's Road and appearing thus on Tithe Map 1846, was laid with edge rails to standard gauge by 1860. It crossed the GWR Aberdare extension of 1857 at Pennar junction W of the tunnel; the lane just to N of the railway in this area is called Hall's Road and a group of nearby early-mid C19 cottages now altered is named Tunnel Row. This portal probably dates from the mid C19 upgrading, whereas the bridge to NW listed in Penmaen Community appears to date from the original construction of 1814.

Exterior

Tunnel portal, the wall of snecked rockfaced stone with flat stone coping and the portal a round arch with three courses of red and blue brick headers, tooled arises to the jambs. Gated.

Reason for designation

Included as an intact disused tunnel portal for its important historical connections with the early tramroad built by Sir Benjamin Hall; group value with the W portal.