The Holyhead Road: Ty Nant section

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

The monument comprises the remains of a now-disused section of the Holyhead Road, running along a substantial engineered terrace above the gorge of the Afon Ceirw, to the N of the Pen-y-Bont falls. Telford described the new road as follows: "This road established through a rugged and mountainous district, partly along the slope of rocky precipices, and across inlets of the sea… was indeed an arduous undertaking, which occupied fifteen years of incessant exertion".

Telford was commissioned by Parliament in 1811 to report on the important route between Holyhead and London. The existing roads were themselves relatively recent improvements on earlier tracks, put in place by turnpike trusts over the previous thirty years. However, the investment was not always great and the roads were characterised by steep gradients, sharp bends and badly drained or potholed surfaces. Work on the Welsh section of the Holyhead road commenced in 1815 and, upon the completion of the Menai Bridge in 1826, was greeted with acclaim as the finest road in Europe.

The construction of this major revetted terrace was a significant engineering achievement, with rock and spoil cut from the N side and used in the construction of a revetted terrace on the S, up to 25m in height. The section measures about 480m in length and has now been bypassed; it remains predominantly unaltered from Telford's original design. Two small viewing stations remain, extending out from the main parapet to the S.

The monument is of national importance as one of the best preserved and most audacious section of this internationally significant historic road. Its importance is further enhanced by the survival of detailed historical documentation.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and an area around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive. It is irregular on plan and measures 480m from ESW to WNW by up to 22m transversely. The scheduled area extends to the top of the bedrock cutting on the N side of the road and the base of the revetment wall on the S side. The gates at either end of the revetted section (at SH 9956 4430 and SH 9916 4437 respectively) form the limits of the scheduled area on the E and W ends respectively but are not included.