Monument Type(s):

• MINERAL RAILWAY (Early 19th century to Early 20th century (pre-war) - 1800 AD to 1913 AD)

Summary - not yet available

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESA5650 - 2004 assessment in connection with the Llanymynech Heritage Area Development Project by CPAT

Description

A dendritic tramway connecting the quarry complex [PRN 06644] (part of which in Wales) with the canal wharfs [PRN 03813] of the Shropshire Union Canal (Montgomeryshire Branch) <1>

The branch of the tramway to the NE becomes disused (titled as Old Tramway). A further section of the tramway is added [PRN 03814], serving the Lime Kiln [PRN 03815] <2>

The tramway not depicted-removed. The NE branch is titled as Old Tramway; other sections indicated by earthworks and field boundaries <3>

Sections of the tramway indicated by field boundaries and by roads <4>

The tramways at Llanymynech were originally entered on the SMR as a result of the Industrials Survey [<1> - <4>]. The area has since been examined in more detail as part of the Llanymynech Heritage Area assessment [<6>], as a result of which this record has been revised, and the main phases of tramway given separate PRNs <5>

Prior to the opening of the Ellesmere Canal in 1796, quarrying operations remained relatively small scale, because of the problem of transportation. After the canal opened, new markets opened up, but the quarry operators still faced the problem of how to get the limestone from the quarry to the canal, 80m below and 700m away. Initially, transport was by horse and cart, but this method could not cope with increased demand. A system of tramways and inclines was developed to transport limestone from the quarry faces on Llanymynech Hill to the canal, where the rock was manually crushed before transportation. The earliest mention of a tramway is in December 1799 when a Mr Smith of Madely wished to lease land from the Chirk Castle Estate, suggesting that the quarry construct a railroad to the bank of the canal at an estimated cost of £100 (NLW, Chirk Castle 8528-8573). The first tramway to be constructed, however, was proposed in December 1804 and completed by June 1806 [see PRN 08402]. A second tramway was proposed by Thomas Yates in 1807, and although this was not constructed as proposed, it is probable that something was in place by 1810 when Yates started paying rent to the Bradford Estate. One of the inclines was shown on an early version of the Ordnance Survey map in 1837 and this was to become the main transport route which, with later modifications, remained in operation until the closure of the quarry in 1914 [see PRN 08404]. Cartographic sources for the early 1860s indicate that by this time the earliest tramway had been abandoned below the incline, a new connecting track having been constructed to join the two tramways immediately west of the road. ->

-> The tramway system during the later 19th century and early 20th century is well-illustrated by the Ordnance Survey 1:2,500 mapping [see PRN 08405] . The first edition (surveyed 1874) shows two tramway systems leading from the quarries to the canal wharves and the mainline railway (which opened in 1863). The second edition (revised in 1900) shows that by this time the tramway system serving the western quarry workings had been abandoned, while the eastern system had been much altered. At the southern end, the construction of the conventional lime kilns and their replacement by the Hoffman-type kiln had led to significant changes with a system of tramways and mainline railway sidings serving the later kiln [see PRN 08410]. ->

-> A short in situ section of tramway recognised during the present survey indicates that a 2ft gauge was employed <7>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.