Goytre wharf and limekilns

Goytre wharf and limekilns

On the west side of the canal here are a former wharf and limekilns. You can reach them from the towpath via the lane under the canal aqueduct.

The Brecknock & Abergavenny Canal Company (B&A) bought the land in 1810 for “making Coal and Lime Wharfs in Mr Sparrow’s wood”. John Sparrow, a Staffordshire solicitor, had bought the site in 1776 or 1777. He also owned land at Raglan and near Usk. He was secretary to the Trent & Mersey Canal and one of the B&A’s early shareholders in 1793. The B&A paid £195 for the Goytre land when it extended its canal from Govilon to Pontymoile.

The B&A built two limekilns in 1810 and a third in 1812. They were leased to two men, including Thomas Dunn of Goytre Hall. Limestone and coal, carried by boat from Gilwern, were poured into the kiln tops. Each kiln had two holes at the base for the lime to be removed and carted to farms for use as fertiliser.

The B&A bought Main House, the long building nearby, in 1811. There were stables in an extension made of wattle and daub at one end, replaced c.1825 by a stone structure. B&A counter John Wilks lived in Main House for many years. His job was to keep records of people working on the canal and distribute wages to local B&A employees.

Near the aqueduct is the former Machine Cottage, where carts were weighed.

The wharf area was rejuvenated with the growth of leisure boating. Bill Bobbett founded Red Line Boats here in 1965, making eight boats available for day hire from 1966 and one for weekly hire from 1967. A dry dock (for boat maintenance) was added in 1996.

The British Waterways Board constructed the end-on boat moorings at Goytre in 1968. There was demand for more, and in the 1970s the board built the marina with space for up to 70 boats.

The navigable section of the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is looked after by the charity Glandwr Cymru the Canal & River Trust in Wales.

With thanks to the archive of the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canals Trust

Postcode: NP7 9EW    View Location Map

Canal & River Trust website – Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal

Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canals Trust website

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