Coity Sandstone Quarry and Incline

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

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

The monument comprises the remains of quarry workings dating from the industrial period. The quarry was opened before 1844 to supply Pennant Sandstone for building the Blaenavon Iron Company's new houses and proposed Forgeside works. The incline carried stone down the side of Coity Mountain, descending from 518m to 381m at a gradient of 1 in 7. It was worked by a self-acting winding drum built of cast iron. An air shaft to coal workings was dug through the floor of the quarry before 1880. The upper parts of the incline fell out of use by about 1880, but the lower part continued to be used to carry coal from the level below and Coity Pit to the coke ovens at Forgeside. The lower part was disused by 1900.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of quarrying in the prehistoric/medieval/industrial period. The quarry may be expected to contain archaeological information in regard to chronology, mining techniques and functional detail. A quarry 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.