Cyfarthfa Canal Level

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 canal level dating to the 18th century. A canal level is an artificial system to lower canal boats so that they can be loaded underground. The canal was in the first generation of canals in Wales as it was built in the late 1770s and served the Cyfartha ironworks. It stretched for two miles from the Canaid brook to Cyfartha and passed several coal levels connected to the canal. It carried boats approximately 4.5m by 2.5m in diameter. The canal had fallen out of use by about 1835 to 1840. Subsequently most of the line was rapidly covered by spoil tips, railways or other developments but a level mouth and stone-lined tunnel formally used by boats also remain. Various features exist in the length of the tunnel including a small, ruined building at its entrance (possibly a wharf-keeper's hut), ventilation gate fittings, a ventilation flue, and a stone-lined access hole from the surface.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of 18th and 19th century transportation systems. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. a canal level 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.