The
Aberdare Canal Act of 1793 authorised a canal to
be constructed from Aberdare to Navigation (Abercynon),
where it would join the Glamorganshire Canal, which
ran from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff. The Act also
gave authority for the construction of a tramroad
to the terminus of the Neath Canal near Glyn Neath.
For the first sixteen years of its history the Aberdare Canal Company
did not build a canal. In 1793 the Hirwaun Ironworks was the only industrial
enterprise in the Cynon Valley, and the business from these works alone
would not have been enough to make the Canal viable. Instead, the Company
ran a limestone quarry at Penderyn along with the tramroad connecting
it to the Hirwaun Ironworks.
Left: Aberdare Canal
Junction with the Glamorganshire Canal and Navigation
(Abercynon) in 1868
By
1806 another two Ironworks had opened at Llwydcoed
and Abernant, so the Aberdare Canal Company felt
the time was right to exploit the potential growth
of industry in the area by building a canal. The
canal was surveyed in 1810 and was open in May 1812.
The terminus of the canal was at Canal Head, Ty Draw,
where four wharves, each 80 feet long were constructed.
When constructed the Canal was just under 7 miles
long and was spanned by 18 bridges. The Canal only
fell by 13 feet over its entire course so just two
locks were needed: The Cwmbach or Upper Lock which
was near the site of the present day Duffryn Arms;
and the Duffryn Lock which was just North of Mountain
Ash. Water supply was by a feeder from the River
Cynon that joined the Canal at Canal Head.
Wharf at Canal Head. Just a few
years after its closure in 1900 the Aberdare Canal
was already choked by weeds
It would
have taken a boat 3 to 4 hours to make the journey
from canal Head to the junction with the Glamorganshire
Canal at Abercynon. A round trip from Aberdare to Cardiff
and back could theoretically be done in 30 hours, but
as many of the boatmen would have stayed overnight
at Nantgarw, two round trips a week was the norm. Unfortunately,
the Canal opened just as there was a slump in the iron
trade. All three of the Ironworks ceased production
and by July 1814 the Canal was no longer economically
viable. The Canal was not used between 1815 and 1818
and its fortunes only revived when the iron trade picked
up again in 1819. After William Crawshay II bought
Hirwaun ironworks in 1819 he sought to control the
transport network to the works, by 1826 he had succeeded
in purchasing 96 shares in the Aberdare Canal Company
and was the senior figure in the Company. In the 1820's
and 1830's the iron trade was the source of steady
business on the canal and the company returned modest
dividends to its shareholders.
Middle Duffryn Colliery
and the Aberdare Canal, circa 1910
However,
in the late 1830's a new source of business began
to emerge in the Aberdare Valley, which would have
a profound impact on not only the Aberdare Canal,
but also the whole of South Wales. In 1837 Matthew
Wayne and his son Thomas Wayne opened the Abernant-y-Groes
Colliery in Cwmbach. The first colliery opened to
exploit the export potential of Aberdare coal. Within
a few years a number of collieries had opened up
on the banks of the Canal or in close proximity to
it, including Middle Duffryn (1843), Upper Duffryn
(1840) and Blaengwawr (1843). The next thirty years
were a period of general prosperity for the Canal
as it could rely not only on its staple business
from the Ironworks, but also shared in the business
created by the burgeoning coal industry.
The Canal
therefore enjoyed a boom period during the 1840's and
1850's, despite the penetration of the railways in
to the valley. The Taff Vale Railway opened in 1846
and the Vale of Neath Railway in 1851. Ultimately,
however, the Canal could not survive in the face of
the competition from the railways. When the iron industry
collapsed in 1875 the canal lost its core business,
as by then the collieries were using the railways to
transport their goods. The canal continued to transport
agricultural and building materials but this trade
was small and the Canal barely covered operating costs.
From the late 1870's the Canal also began to suffer
from subsidence caused by coal mining.
In
1884 the Marquis of Bute bought both the Aberdare
and Glamorganshire Canals. Despite substantial investment
the Canals did not return a profit and subsidence
began to get worse. Maintenance costs rose and in
1900 the Aberdare canal was forced to close on the
grounds of public safety.
In 1923 the abandoned canal was bought by Aberdare Urban District Council
and Mountain Ash District Council. The canal was then used as the route
of the A4059, the main road up the valley. The only remains of the Aberdare
Canal that survive today are a small stretch of canal near Canal Head
House and the house itself.
Demolition of the Ffrwd Canal Bridge,
Mountain Ash,during the process of filling in the
canal and constructing the new road, circa 1924.
