BW157/8
Kidwelly and Llanelli Canal
Date
1855-1865
Reference code
BW157/8
Administrative / Biographical history
The quay at Kidwelly begun to silt during the 18th century, just as coal mining in the area was beginning, and in 1766 Thomas Kymer began a canal between his Gwendraeth Valley collieries and a new quay downstream of the old quay. Kymer’s Canal led to the development of further overland and maritime communications. The Kidwelly & Llanelly Tram Road Company was authorised by an act of 1812 and built the Kidwelly & Llanelli Canal in two phases, with a six year gap between the completion of the first part in June 1824 and the start of the extension to Burry Port in September 1830. In 1837 the last part of the Kidwelly to Llanelly Canal was completed, and it ran from Kidwelly to Tywyn Bach. Although it was originally planned to end at Llanelly, the canal actually terminated at the New Harbour Pembrey, bypassing the Old Pembrey Harbour. About 11 miles long, minerals and goods were transported along the canal in horse-drawn barges. From 1837 until it was replaced by the Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley Railway in 1866 it carried nearly all the anthracite coal mined in the Gwendraeth Valley to be shipped from Burry Port. The Kidwelly & Llanelli Canal was converted into a railway line from 1866, grouped with the Great Western Railway from 1923, and is now disused.