Kymer's Canal and Pwll y Llygoed Tramroad Bridge

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument consists of a section of canal, a water-filled earthwork, dating to the 18th century and includes c.380m of the eastern end of the Kymer's Canal. Kymer's Canal was built in 1766-8 and was designed for sea-going barges: it is broader than later canals in the area and survives as a partly water filled earthwork 4m wide and 1.5m deep. The northern side is embanked by a clay and earth mound c 2.5m wide and standing 1.5m above its surroundings. The southern side has a similar but wider embankment which originally carried a contemporary tramroad and a railway siding (rails still survive). At the terminus was a small dock or turning bay projecting NE and showing as a slight earthwork in the pasture field. The tramroad crossed the river by an elegant segmentally-arched stone bridge, 3m wide and without parapets, believed to date from the construction of the canal.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of 18th and 19th century transport systems. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. A canal may be part of a larger cluster of industrial monuments and their importance can further enhanced by their group value.

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