Llangattock Tramroad Inclines

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Ancient Monument.

The monument consists of the remains of a tramroad, dating to the 19th century. The double tramroad incline is on the Llangattock Tramroad, built to connect the limestone quarries of Daren Cilau with the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal and limekilns at Llangattock Wharf. The incline formations consist of low embankments and shallow cuttings at steep gradients on the hillside. The upper incline passes south-east to north-west, and the lower at almost right angles to this, from south-west to north-east. Brake wheel houses were situated at the head of each incline, with ancillary buildings alongside them. The lowest part of the lower incline was the earliest to be built in about 1816. It served a line from a limestone shute on the Nant Onneu to the west. The remains include holed stone sleeper blocks. The upper sections was built in about 1827, the remains of which include iron tie bars and stones showing chain wear grooves. At the bottom of the lower incline, boundary wall was built following the primary tramroad to the north, after which a short embankment leads to a single arched bridge over the Onneu. The upper part of the lower incline has two or more contour lines joining it from sandstone quarries to the west.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of the development of industrial transportation in the 19th century. The track bed, bridges, drainage systems, embankments and revetments may all be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to construction techniques and functional detail.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.