Rivers
The choice of transport routes for those merchants shipping
goods prior to the dawn of the industrial revolution was extremely
limited and poor in quality. Rivers made up the bulk of inland
waterways and, until the 18th Century, most heavy goods were
transported across Britain in this manner. This was mainly
because a healthy horse could pull a river barge weighing one
hundred tons as opposed to a cart laden with only two tons.
River transport proved to be particularly useful in inland
areas where hills with steep inclines made road travel slow
and difficult. However, the River Rhymney was not one of these
navigable rivers.
In other parts of Britain, particularly across the north,
fast flowing rivers also proved difficult to navigate and although
wider, slower rivers in the south were more suitable, mills
placed along the banks often made navigation hazardous. Apart
from the development of embankments and flood control, very
few alterations were made to these waterways. As a result,
many rivers were only negotiable for parts of their length
and could not always be used to ship goods between source and
destination.
There had always been a concern amongst merchants that the
use of rivers for long distance haulage would cause them to
silt up, preventing deep-draught vessels reaching town quays.
Navigable rivers had begun to silt up by Tudor times (1500's),
which provoked a switch to lighter vessels. However, rivers
were unable to cope with the increasing demands of the 18th
Century.
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