On the trail of the obscure - Red Jacket & Glan-y-Wern canals

[magpie patrick]

First, Red Jacket Lock, connecting the Tennant Canal with Red Jacket Pill - built for river Neath barges not for canal boats.

Second - possibly the only canal junction on a Ramsar site - the Tennant Canal runs left to right and the gap in thr reeds is the Glan-y-wern canal. This is in Crymlin Bog East of Swansea. 

[magpie patrick]

The Glan-y-wern canal was built across the bog and then to Red Jacket Pill, originally there was no lock, cargoes were transhipped. The canal had fallen out of use when the Tennant Canal was built and George Tennant (who built the whole canal on his own land with his own money) bought the Glan-y-wern canal and refurbished it including adding an entrance lock. The original Glan-y-wern canal thus became two branches off the Tennant Canal. 

 

This is a bit of a simplification but I thought the forum might find it interesting. 🤔 

[John Brightley]

Yes, really interesting, and excellent photos. Thanks Patrick. 

[the grinch]

I'd looked at this sometime ago and it's a fascinating place with so much going on. Really like the pictures that djhow what remains 

[Chris Lowe]

Did you also look at the Tir Isaf Colliery Branch, Neath Abbey Iron Works Branch, and the Neath River branch (Crown Works)?

[Bugsworth Tippler]

The name Red Jacket immediately reminded me of a couple of song entries in my well hidden website "Songs of the Inland Waterways" https://www.waterwaysongs.info/index.htm so I'll cheekily use this thread to give it a plug.

The songs are :

The Neath and Swansea Canal (A Song in Praise of the Opening) by Elizabeth Davies. There are 19 verses of which I have tracked down 9 so there are 10 still to be found. Any help finding the others much appreciated.

https://www.waterwaysongs.info/Songs/N/neath_and_swansea.htm

The Red Jacket Stream, a more modern song by Chris Hastings and Huw Pudner. Any help finding a recording of this, again, would be much appreciated.
https://www.waterwaysongs.info/Songs/R/the_red_jacket_stream.htm

[magpie patrick]

2 hours ago, Bugsworth Tippler said:

The name Red Jacket immediately reminded me of a couple of song entries in my well hidden website "Songs of the Inland Waterways" https://www.waterwaysongs.info/index.htm so I'll cheekily use this thread to give it a plug.

The songs are :

The Neath and Swansea Canal (A Song in Praise of the Opening) by Elizabeth Davies. There are 19 verses of which I have tracked down 9 so there are 10 still to be found. Any help finding the others much appreciated.

https://www.waterwaysongs.info/Songs/N/neath_and_swansea.htm

The Red Jacket Stream, a more modern song by Chris Hastings and Huw Pudner. Any help finding a recording of this, again, would be much appreciated.
https://www.waterwaysongs.info/Songs/R/the_red_jacket_stream.htm

Ooooooo! As I host a folk radio show I would also be very interested in any recordings! Thank you for highlighting these songs to me 😀