History

The Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal was promoted in 1792 to connect the upper Usk valley to the Monmouthshire Canal at Pontymoile and from there to the sea at Newport. Construction began in 1797, with Thomas Dadford Jnr. as engineer, and the first section, from Gilwern to Llangynidr was completed in that year, with the stretch as far as Brecon following in 1800. Work then stopped for a time with the result that the section to the Blaenavon Road east of Govilon was not completed until 1805, now with Thomas Cartwright as engineer. Further funds had to be raised and the last section from west of Llanfoist to Pontymoile was completed betwen 1809 and 1812, with William Crossley as engineer. Linked to the tramroads the canal was an important artery for trade in iron, lime and coal. In 1865 the Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal Company merged with the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal Company who owned the connecting canal from Pontymoile to Newport. Later still in 1880 the MR&CC was bought out by the Great Western Railway and gradually the canal was run down until it was abandoned finally in 1962. Restoration work was begun in 1964, and the canal is once again open between Pontymoile and Brecon with the title Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.

Exterior

Built of squared coursed local sandstone with dressed voussoirs and parapet band. A low single arch aqueduct of very solid appearance with a semi-circular arch framed by battered walls and a band across at the crown. Deep curved wing walls, and a parapet rests on another band. This handsome structure probably has the same treatment on either face, but the upstream side was not available for inspection at resurvey. This aqueduct crosses the boundary into Llanover Community.

Reasons for Listing

Included for its special interest as a very handsome and well built canal aqueduct, one of the major structures surviving in use for the early C19 Brecknock and Abergavenny canal.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29502511

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)