Bottom Lock and Bridge, Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal

Cadw's description

Location

Isolated location. Situated approximately 200 metres NE of Waen Lock. M4 motorway runs immediately NW.

History

The eastern branch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1792, and officially opened in 1799. It ran from Newport to Pontnewynydd, and was engineered by Thomas Dadford Jnr. The canal connected with several tramroads belonging to the same company (Monmouthshire Canal Navigational Company), carrying coal down to the wharves. The branch was 17.7 km long, and rose 136.2 metres through 42 locks. The contemporary western branch, 19 km long, ran to Crumlin. In 1812, the eastern branch was connected to the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal at Pontymoile Basin, and this became the main line. In 1853-55, the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company built a railway down to Newport, the company amalgamating with the Great Western Railway in 1880. The canal then became increasingly disused. The Crumlin branch closed in 1949, the main line in 1962.

Exterior

Lock chamber of rubble construction with tooled sandstone copings and quoins. Rebate for removed lock gate to NE with small bridge beyond. Semental arch, stone voussoirs. Straight SW parapet; humped to NE; cemented copings. Iron plate to NE side: ‘Gwasted No. 2 Bridge’. Bridge carries track to field gate. Deep stone-lined overflow ditch on SE side. Rubble weir at SW end, with splayed retaining walls beyond.

Reason for designation

Listed as a significant element of the engineering works associated with the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.