Site of Glamorganshire Canal, Butetown, Cardiff
Site of Glamorganshire Canal, Butetown
The aerial view below – courtesy of Cardiff Libraries – was taken in 1927 and shows how the Glamorganshire Canal separated Loudon Square (bottom right) from Dumballs Road (bottom left). The filled-in canal is now the linear Canal Park.
This section of the canal was opened in 1798, four years after the Glamorganshire Canal opened from Merthyr Tydfil to a basin in Cardiff. The newer section was wider and connected the original terminus to the river Taff, enabling sea-going vessels to reach the canal wharves at what is now Callaghan Square.
As this photo shows, the wider section of the canal become lined with quays. There were also warehouses, served by railway tracks and sidings. Two railway vans are visible in the bottom left.
At the top of the picture is a shallow “timber pond”, which was excavated in the 1880s because the previous two ponds weren’t big enough for the rapidly growing timber trade. Timber ponds enabled importers to store wood in water until it was sold. This prevented the timber from cracking and warping.
Postcode: CF10 5JB View Location Map
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