|
|
|
GLAMORGANSHIRE CANAL
|
|
A general canal system was impossible in Glamorgan because of
the exceptionally hilly nature of the northern district. Sites of canals and railways
were largely determined by physical features.
As trade from the Glamorgan Valleys was largely confined to exports, trains went
downgrade with loaded wagons and uphill with empty ones, thereby achieving a considerable
economy in steam power. The location of the ports too was determined by physical
features.
In the 18th century coal and iron was sent from the valleys to the ports on the
backs of ponies and mules. These travelled in troops and were attended by women
and boys. Each animal carried about 130 lbs.
At first, Anthony Bacon sent his iron by mule troop to Swansea receiving for
it £12 a ton. Later he built a road from Merthyr to Cardiff to enable him
to send his iron goods (cannon etc.) by carts. The cannon were tested at Cardiff
by firing them from the Castle walls into the sea. |
1784 |
As early as this year, preliminary discussions took place to
secure parliamentary powers to construct a canal from Cardiff to Merthyr a distance
of 25ΒΌ miles. The negotiations were not |
1789 |
completed until 1789 and the Act permitting the construction
of the Glamorgan Canal was |
1790 |
passed in 1790.
The head of the canal at Merthyr was 568 feet above sea level, and this necessitated
the construction of 51 locks, which in turn meant endless delays in movement along
the canal. Most of the £50,000 cost of the canal was subsidised by the Iron
Masters. The work was completed in |
1794 |
1794 and on February 7th the first load of iron was conveyed
all the way from Merthyr to Cardiff by boat.
The first barge was finely decorated with colours and it was navigated from the
Melingriffith Works by a Mr. Bird who was the senior water bailiff for Cardiff.
But it was not |
1798 |
until this year that the Canal was finally extended to the sea. |
1793 |
Meanwhile in this year an Act of Parliament had authorized the
construction of a canal from Navigation (Abercynon) to Aberdare - a distance of
6¾ miles, but this was not completed until 1812. The Aberdare Canal Company must
be distinguished from the Glamorgan Canal Co. They were separate undertakings with
separate Boards of Directors and they remained separate until 1885 when both came
under the hammer and were bought by the Marquis of Bute.
During the first half of the 19th century the Glamorgan canal was a sound investment
and paid its limited maximum dividend of 8%. It was even suggested more than once
that to keep down its dividend earning capacity it occasionally carried goods free
of charge. |
1841 |
In this year when the TVR link from Cardiff to Merthyr was completed
the Glamorganshire Canal was carrying about 200,000 tons annually of cargo. During
the 1840s despite Railway competition, the Merthyr-Cardiff and the Aberdare-Abercynon-Cardiff
trade on the canals continued to increase.
Number of vessels entering the Glamorgan Canal at Cardiff: |
|
Date |
No. of vessels entering canal |
Registered Tonnage |
1844 |
2,795 |
180,341 |
1845 |
2,888 |
148,455 |
1846 |
3,087 |
162,840 |
|
1845 |
Freight on the Glamorgan canal included 272,553 tons of coal
and 152,406 tons of iron a great increase over 1841. |
|
|
|
The Aberdare Canal |
|
Although authorized by an Act in 1793, the actual construction
of the Canal did not begin until much later.
The promoters of a navigable canal from the Glamorgan Canal to or near the Village
of Aberdare were John Bartlett Allen, William Thomas Bassett, Samuel and Jeremiah
Homfray, John Knight, Wyndham Lewis, Robert Wynter, Walter Thomas and Geoffrey Williams. |
1800 July |
Eventually after numerous delays and disagreements, these gentlemen
in July 1800 requested an engineer, Thomas Dadford, to re-survey
the canal route. On August 1st 1800 Dadford wrote as follows:— |
|
“To the Proprietors of the Aberdare Canal
Gentlemen,
In pursuance of your orders of 11th July, I have surveyed and examined the country
between the Aberdare Furnaces and the Glamorgan Canal (Cardiff to Merthyr) and am
clearly of the opinion that the best communication will be partly by canal and partly
by railroad, a plan and estimate of which I have prepared for your inspection. I
recommend cutting a canal from the Glamorgan Canal at the head of the 7th Lock above
the aqueduct over the River Taff to a place called Tŷ Draw nearly opposite
Aberdare Village which will be 7 miles in length with a rise of 25 feet and wanting
about 12 bridges and I estimate the same all expenses included at £10,500.
From this canal to the furnaces, I propose a tramroad one mile and a half in length
which I estimate at £1,500 including every expense.
T. Dadford.” |
|
The Canal was an immediate financial success. |
|
Date |
Canal Traffic in tons |
|
1828 |
59,525 |
|
1838 |
60,898 |
|
1848 |
159,653 |
(Coal now moving down in quantity) |
1858 |
216,704 |
|
1868 |
93,542 |
|
1888 |
102,805 |
|
1898 |
6,794 |
|
Source ‘Canals of South Wales and the Border’, C. Hadfield, Chapter
VI. |
1833 May |
James Payne and Harry Stockall were each fined 20/- for navigating
their boats on the Aberdare canal without horse-drivers. |
1842 |
The Aberdare Canal Navigation Company held a meeting of the Proprietors
at the Canal Office in July. The Clerk of the Company, Edward Lewis, (possibly brother
to James Lewis of Plasdraw), stated that transport on the Aberdare Canal was shared
by 2 companies.
The Aberdare and Hirwaun Boating Company
Evan Griffiths and Company (Evan Griffiths Ty Mawr, Grocer
and Draper, ironmonger who owned a number of boats on the Canal and acted as carrier
of goods between Aberdare and Cardiff). |
1859 Sep |
The children of the Cwmbach Band of Hope enjoyed a picnic by
barge down to Navigation and Llanfabon.
But as the century wore on, the development of railways was eventually bound
to prove too much for the Canal Co. During the second half of the century, canal
shares declined in value. |
1871 |
Ordinary traffic on the Aberdare Canal amounted to 126,843 tons
but by 1897, this had fallen to 7,855 tons.
The Marquis of Bute made great efforts to revive its fortunes. |
1893 |
Steam was introduced as a motive power instead of horses pulling
along the towpath; still there were endless delays at the locks en route for Cardiff. |
1898 |
Bute sought power to convert the Canal into a railway track,
but there was one major difficulty - subsidence due to colliery workings. Lords
rejected the bill. |
1900 Nov |
The Aberdare canal was closed for heavy freight, but a daily
goods service was maintained for some time. |
1907 |
Before a Royal Commission held in this year, a witness stated
in evidence that the Aberdare Canal had been running at a loss for nearly 20 years.
Addendum Each Canal barge could carry a load up to 20 tons. |
|
|