Fourteen Locks, Monmouthshire Canal

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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

The monument consists of a series of fourteen locks, dating to the 18th century. A lock is a section of a water channel on a canal or river shut off above and below by lock gates provided with sluices to let the water out and in, and thus raise or lower boats from one level to another. The canal, constructed between 1792 and 1798, was connected by tramroad with Blaenavon ironworks and served to bring its products to the docks at Newport. The "staircase" of locks is on the Crumlin branch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal, with a series of embanked ponds and elaborate sluices and weirs to service the locks. There is only one other example of this early method of creating a staircase of locks in existence.

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 lock 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.