Old Cefn Bridge, Gurnos, Merthyr Tydfil

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.759 / 51°45'32"N

Longitude: -3.3964 / 3°23'46"W

OS Eastings: 303720

OS Northings: 207620

OS Grid: SO037076

Mapcode National: GBR HN.06F3

Mapcode Global: VH6CY.21TX

Plus Code: 9C3RQJ53+HF

Entry Name: Old Cefn Bridge

Listing Date: 11 July 1951

Last Amended: 5 November 2002

Grade: II

Source: Cadw

Source ID: 27061

Building Class: Transport

ID on this website: 300027061

Location: Situated on the S side of Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer crossing the Afon Taff Fechan just N of the present road bridge of the A470.

County: Merthyr Tydfil

Town: Merthyr Tydfil

Community: Vaynor (Y Faenor)

Community: Gurnos

Locality: Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer

Built-Up Area: Merthyr Tydfil

Traditional County: Brecknockshire

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Merthyr Tydfil

History

Probably late C18, said to have been built between 1775 and 1781. It carried the old Merthyr Tydfil to Brecon road over the Afon Taff Fechan and the Gurnos tramroad. The Gurnos tramroad connected the Vaynor limestone quarries to the nearby Cyfarthfa Ironworks. A bridge is shown on the road between Merthyr Tydfil and Brecon on the Plymouth estate map of 1766 surveyed by Edward John Eyre . It is called 'New Bridge' in a lease of 1763 and on a 1799 map of Glamorgan by George Yates. It is included in a 1832 list of Glamorgan county bridges and seems to have survived the calamitous floods of July 1854. By 1899 the Vaynor Parish Council was concerned about the dangerous state of the bridge and it was replaced c1910 by the current road bridge just S.

Exterior

Bridge, coursed rubble stone, single broad shallow arch with thin stone voussoirs. Low rubble stone parapets probably rebuilt, with later iron railings.

Reasons for Listing

Included as a C18 bridge of historical importance carrying the old Merthyr Tydfil to Brecon road over the Afon Taff Fechan and the Gurnos tramroad.

External Links

Cadwr Listing

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

Other nearby listed buildings

II Old Cefn Bridge
Situated on the S side of Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer crossing the Afon Taf Fechan just N of the present road bridge of the A470.
II Pont y Cefn
Situated on the S side of Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer some 0.5km NW of Cyfartha Castle, crossing the Afon Taff Fechan just S of the Old Cefn Bridge.
II Pont y Cefn
Situated on the S side of Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer some 0.5km NW of Cyfarthfa Castle, crossing the Afon Taff Fechan just S of the Old Cefn Bridge.
II Limekilns south of Cefn Bridge
Located on the bank of the Taff Fechan just south of Cefn Bridge. The upper level adjoins Brecon Road opposite the turning for Gurnos Estate.
II Carmel Welsh Baptist Chapel and attached schoolroom
Set back from High Street at splayed junction with Holford Street and Pontycapel Road. Enclosed burial ground.
II Vaynor War Memorial and attached railings
Near the centre of Cefn Coed-y-Cymmer on the NE side of the High Street.
I School at Cyfarthfa Castle
Situated in its own landscaped park overlooking the Taff Valley and site of the former Cyfarthfa Ironworks.
II* Pont-y-Cafnau
Small ironwork bridge spanning the River Taff immediately downstream from junction of Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan. Reached by an access road descending diagonally from Pont-y-Cefn (A470) and through EFI

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History in Structure

Old Cefn Bridge

A Grade II Listed Building in Gurnos, Merthyr Tydfil