15669

 

II  

Designated  

20/01/1995  

12/12/2002  

Lock House  

 

Rhondda Cynon Taff  

Abercynon  

 

Abercynon  

309009  

195995  

 

At the NE community boundary in an area known as Five Locks, just W of the A470 and reached by a track leading down from Goitre Coed Road between Abercynon and Quakers Yard.  

Domestic  

 

Probably built c 1795 as a lock-keeper's house for the Glamorganshire Canal. The canal was built to improve communication between the inland ironworks and ports on the Bristol Channel , linking Merthyr Tydfil with Cardiff. Engineered by Thomas Dadford, with principal promoters Richard Crawshay and Francis Homfrey, ironmasters. Act of 1790 authorised the building and canal opened 1794, a length of 25.5 miles (41 km), with 51 locks. When listed in 1995 the house already had a ''modern tiled'' roof, now replaced with artificial slate, ''modern casement glazing'' and a ''modern lean-to porch'', no longer extant.  

Cottage, extended to left (S), facing line of former Glamorganshire canal, behind front garden with stone wall. Built of brown and grey squared rubble with dressed quoins, left gable end rendered; artificial slate roof with end stacks of snecked dressed stone. Two storeys; a slightly asymmetrical front with windows and door offset to left. Two-window range, glazing replaced, the ground floor windows and centre left doorway under stone lintels which are lightly scored as voussoirs; boarded door.  

Ground floor of cottage converted to a single room. Stairs rise beside fireplace. Central doorway is blocked behind door.  

Listed notwithstanding modernisation for its historic interest as a surviving lock house associated with former Glamorganshire Canal.