Thomas Telford
Encyclopedia
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE
(1757–1834) was a Scottish civil engineer
, architect
and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal
builder.
, Dumfriesshire
. His father John Telford, a shepherd, died soon after Thomas was born. Thomas was raised in poverty by his mother Janet Jackson (d.1794).
At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and some of his earliest work can still be seen on the bridge across the River Esk in Langholm
in the Scottish borders. He worked for a time in Edinburgh
and in 1782 he moved to London where (after meeting architects Robert Adam
and Sir William Chambers
) he was involved in building additions to Somerset House
there. Two years later he found work at Portsmouth dockyard
and — although still largely self-taught — was extending his talents to the specification, design and management of building projects.
In 1787, through his wealthy patron William Pulteney, he became Surveyor of Public Works in Shropshire
. Civil engineering was a discipline still in its infancy, so Telford was set on establishing himself as an architect
. His projects included renovation of Shrewsbury
Castle, the town's prison
(during the planning of which he met leading prison reformer John Howard
), the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
and another church in Madeley. (Called in to advise on a leaking roof at St Chad's Church Shrewsbury in 1788, he correctly warned the church was in imminent danger of collapse; his reputation was made locally when it collapsed 3 days later, but he was not the architect for its replacement).
As the Shropshire county surveyor, Telford was also responsible for bridges. In 1790 he designed a bridge carrying the London-Holyhead
road over the River Severn
at Montford, the first of some 40 bridges he built in Shropshire, including major crossings of the Severn at Buildwas
, and Bridgnorth
. The bridge at Buildwas was Telford's first iron
bridge. He was influenced by Abraham Darby's
bridge
at Ironbridge
, and observed that it was grossly over-designed for its function, and many of the component parts were poorly cast. By contrast, his bridge was 30 ft (10 m) wider in span and half the weight, although it now no longer exists. He was one of the first engineers to test his materials thoroughly before construction. As his engineering prowess grew, Telford was to return to this material repeatedly.
In 1795 the bridge at Bewdley
, in Worcestershire
was swept away in the winter floods and Telford was responsible for the design of its replacement. The same winter floods saw the bridge at Tenbury also swept away. This bridge across the River Teme
was the joint responsibility of both Worcestershire and Shropshire and the bridge has a bend where the two counties meet. Telford was responsible for the repair to the northern Shropshire end of the bridge.
, linking the ironworks and collieries of Wrexham
via the north-west Shropshire town of Ellesmere, with Chester
, utilising the existing Chester Canal
, and then the River Mersey
.
Among other structures, this involved the spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
over the River Dee
in the Vale of Llangollen
, where Telford used a new method of construction consisting of troughs made from cast iron
plates and fixed in masonry. Extending for over 1000 feet (304.8 m) with an altitude of 126 feet (38.4 m) above the valley floor, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct consists of nineteen arches, each with a forty-five foot span. Being a pioneer in the use of cast-iron for large scaled structures, Telford had to invent new techniques, such as using boiling sugar and lead as a sealant on the iron connections.
Eminent canal engineer William Jessop
oversaw the project, but he left the detailed execution of the project in Telford's hands.
The same period also saw Telford involved in the design and construction of the Shrewsbury Canal
. When the original engineer, Josiah Clowes, died in 1795, Telford succeeded him. One of Telford's achievements on this project was the design of the cast-iron aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern
, pre-dating that at Pontcysyllte, and substantially bigger than the UK's first cast-iron aqueduct, built by Benjamin Outram
on the Derby Canal
just months earlier.
The Ellesmere Canal was completed in 1805 and alongside his canal responsibilities, Telford's reputation as a civil engineer meant he was constantly consulted on numerous other projects. These included water supply works for Liverpool
, improvements to London's docklands and the rebuilding of London Bridge(c.1800).
Most notably (and again William Pulteney was influential), in 1801 Telford devised a master plan to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland, a massive project that was to last some 20 years. It included the building of the Caledonian Canal
along the Great Glen
and redesign of sections of the Crinan Canal
, some 920 miles (1,480.6 km) of new roads, over a thousand new bridges (including the Craigellachie Bridge
), numerous harbour improvements (including works at Aberdeen
, Dundee
, Peterhead
, Wick
, Portmahomack
and Banff
), and 32 new churches.
Telford also undertook highway works in the Scottish Lowlands, including 184 miles (296.1 km) of new roads and numerous bridges, ranging from a 112 ft (34 m) span stone bridge across the Dee
at Tongueland in Kirkcudbright
(1805–1806) to the 129 ft (39 m) tall Cartland Crags bridge near Lanark
(1822).
Telford was consulted in 1806 by the King of Sweden about the construction of a canal between Gothenburg
and Stockholm
. His plans were adopted and construction of the Göta Canal
began in 1810. Telford travelled to Sweden at that time to oversee some of the more important initial excavations.
During his later years, Telford was responsible for rebuilding sections of the London to Holyhead road
, a task completed by his assistant of ten years, John MacNeill; today, much of the route is the A5 trunk road. Between London and Shrewsbury, most of the work amounted to improvements. Beyond Shrewsbury, and especially beyond Llangollen, the work often involved building a highway from scratch. Notable features of this section of the route include the
Waterloo Bridge
across the River Conwy
at Betws-y-Coed
, the ascent from there to Capel Curig
and then the descent from the pass of Nant Ffrancon towards Bangor
. Between Capel Curig
and Bethesda
, in the Ogwen Valley, Telford deviated from the original road, built by Romans during their occupation of this area.
On the island of Anglesey
a new embankment across the Stanley Sands to Holyhead was constructed, but the crossing of the Menai Strait
was the most formidable challenge, overcome by the Menai Suspension Bridge
(1819–1826). Spanning 580 feet (176.8 m), this was the longest suspension bridge of the time. Unlike modern suspension bridges, Telford used individually linked 9.5 feet (2.9 m) iron eye bars for the cables.
Telford also worked on the North Wales coast road between Chester and Bangor, including another major suspension bridge
at Conwy
, opened later the same year as its Menai counterpart.
Further afield Telford designed a road to cross the centre of the Isle of Arran
. Named the 'String road', this route traverses bleak and difficult terrain to allow traffic to cross between east and west Arran avoiding the circuitous coastal route.
Telford improved on methods for the building of macadam
roads by improving the selection of stone based on thickness, taking into account traffic, alignment and slopes.
The punning nickname
Colossus of Roads was given to Telford by his friend, the eventual Poet Laureate
, Robert Southey
. Telford’s reputation as a man of letters may have preceded his fame as an engineer: he had published poetry between 1779 and 1784, and an account of a tour of Scotland with Southey. His will left bequests to Southey (who would later write Telford’s biography), the poet Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) and to the publishers of the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (to which he had been a contributor).
In 1821, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
.
An Act of Parliament in 1823 provided for the building of up to 40 churches and manses in communities without any church buildings (hence the alternative name: 'Parliamentary Church'). The total cost was not to exceed £1500 on any site and Telford was commissioned to undertake the design. He developed a simple church of T-shaped plan and two manse designs - a single-storey and a two-storey, adaptable to site and ground conditions, and to brick or stone construction, at £750 each. Of the 43 churches originally planned, 32 were eventually built around the Scottish highlands and islands (the other 11 were achieved by renovating existing buildings).
(1824–1828) close to Tower Bridge
in central London, where he worked with the architect Philip Hardwick
, the Gloucester and Berkeley Ship Canal (today known as the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
), Over Bridge
near Gloucester, the second Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal
(1827), and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
(today part of the Shropshire Union Canal
) — started in May 1826 but finished, after Telford's death, in January 1835. At the time of its construction in 1829, Galton Bridge
was the longest single span in the world. He also built Whitstable harbour in Kent in 1832, in connection with the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
with an unusual system for flushing out mud using a tidal reservoir.
In 1820, Telford was appointed the first President of the recently-formed Institution of Civil Engineers
, a post he held until his death.
in his diary states:
states that Telford wrote and gave him a poem:
(Turnbull includes notes that explain nine references to Burns' life in the poem.)
Turnbull also states:
When a new town
was being built in the Wrekin
area of Shropshire
in 1968, it was named Telford
in his honour. In 1990, when it came to naming one of Britain's first City Technology College
s, to be situated in Telford, Thomas Telford was the obvious choice. Thomas Telford School
is consistently among the top performing comprehensive school
s in the country.
, Pennsylvania
changed its name to Telford
in 1857, after the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company
named its new station there "Telford" in honour of Thomas Telford.
, one of Scotland's largest colleges, is named in the honour of the famous engineer.
He also completed the Grand Trunk
after James Brindley
died due to being over-worked.
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(1757–1834) was a Scottish civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
builder.
Early career
Telford was born on 9 August 1757 at Glendinning, a hill farm 3 miles west of Eskdalemuir Kirk, in the rural parish of Westerkirk, in EskdaleEskdale, Dumfries and Galloway
Eskdale is a glen in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The River Esk flows through Eskdale to its estuary at the Solway Firth....
, Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
. His father John Telford, a shepherd, died soon after Thomas was born. Thomas was raised in poverty by his mother Janet Jackson (d.1794).
At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and some of his earliest work can still be seen on the bridge across the River Esk in Langholm
Langholm
Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the River Esk and the A7 road.- History:...
in the Scottish borders. He worked for a time in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and in 1782 he moved to London where (after meeting architects Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
and Sir William Chambers
William Chambers (architect)
Sir William Chambers was a Scottish architect, born in Gothenburg, Sweden, where his father was a merchant. Between 1740 and 1749 he was employed by the Swedish East India Company making several voyages to China where he studied Chinese architecture and decoration.Returning to Europe, he studied...
) he was involved in building additions to Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
there. Two years later he found work at Portsmouth dockyard
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
and — although still largely self-taught — was extending his talents to the specification, design and management of building projects.
In 1787, through his wealthy patron William Pulteney, he became Surveyor of Public Works in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. Civil engineering was a discipline still in its infancy, so Telford was set on establishing himself as an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. His projects included renovation of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
Castle, the town's prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
(during the planning of which he met leading prison reformer John Howard
John Howard (prison reformer)
John Howard was a philanthropist and the first English prison reformer.-Birth and early life:Howard was born in Lower Clapton, London. His father, also John, was a wealthy upholsterer at Smithfield Market in the city...
), the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
The Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth, is a Parish Church in the Church of England.-Early history:The College of St. Mary Magdalen, Bridgnorth was founded as a royal free chapel, and its church was in the royal castle at Bridgnorth....
and another church in Madeley. (Called in to advise on a leaking roof at St Chad's Church Shrewsbury in 1788, he correctly warned the church was in imminent danger of collapse; his reputation was made locally when it collapsed 3 days later, but he was not the architect for its replacement).
As the Shropshire county surveyor, Telford was also responsible for bridges. In 1790 he designed a bridge carrying the London-Holyhead
Holyhead
Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....
road over the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
at Montford, the first of some 40 bridges he built in Shropshire, including major crossings of the Severn at Buildwas
Buildwas
Buildwas is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north bank of the River Severn at . It lies on the B4380 road to Atcham. The Royal Mail postcodes begin TF6 and TF8Buildwas Primary School is situated on the Buildwas bank road...
, and Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
. The bridge at Buildwas was Telford's first iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
bridge. He was influenced by Abraham Darby's
Abraham Darby III
Abraham Darby III was an English ironmaster and Quaker. He was the third Abraham Darby in three generations of an English Quaker family that played a role in the Industrial Revolution....
bridge
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
at Ironbridge
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
, and observed that it was grossly over-designed for its function, and many of the component parts were poorly cast. By contrast, his bridge was 30 ft (10 m) wider in span and half the weight, although it now no longer exists. He was one of the first engineers to test his materials thoroughly before construction. As his engineering prowess grew, Telford was to return to this material repeatedly.
In 1795 the bridge at Bewdley
Bewdley
Bewdley is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England, along the Severn Valley a few miles to the west of Kidderminster...
, in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
was swept away in the winter floods and Telford was responsible for the design of its replacement. The same winter floods saw the bridge at Tenbury also swept away. This bridge across the River Teme
River Teme
The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown in Powys, and flows through Knighton where it crosses the border into England down to Ludlow in Shropshire, then to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border there, on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester...
was the joint responsibility of both Worcestershire and Shropshire and the bridge has a bend where the two counties meet. Telford was responsible for the repair to the northern Shropshire end of the bridge.
Ellesmere Canal
Telford's reputation in Shropshire led to his appointment in 1793 to manage the detailed design and construction of the Ellesmere CanalEllesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a canal in England and Wales, originally planned to link the Rivers Mersey, Dee, and Severn, by running from Netherpool to Shrewsbury. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned...
, linking the ironworks and collieries of Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
via the north-west Shropshire town of Ellesmere, with Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, utilising the existing Chester Canal
Chester Canal
The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary.-History:...
, and then the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee in Wrexham in north east Wales....
over the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
in the Vale of Llangollen
Llangollen
Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...
, where Telford used a new method of construction consisting of troughs made from cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
plates and fixed in masonry. Extending for over 1000 feet (304.8 m) with an altitude of 126 feet (38.4 m) above the valley floor, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct consists of nineteen arches, each with a forty-five foot span. Being a pioneer in the use of cast-iron for large scaled structures, Telford had to invent new techniques, such as using boiling sugar and lead as a sealant on the iron connections.
Eminent canal engineer William Jessop
William Jessop
William Jessop was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-Early life:...
oversaw the project, but he left the detailed execution of the project in Telford's hands.
Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 1835, when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal built the Newport Branch from...
. When the original engineer, Josiah Clowes, died in 1795, Telford succeeded him. One of Telford's achievements on this project was the design of the cast-iron aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern
Longdon-on-Tern
Longdon-on-Tern is a village in east central Shropshire, England. It is in the unitary district of Telford and Wrekin, and is approximately east of Shrewsbury and north-west of Telford....
, pre-dating that at Pontcysyllte, and substantially bigger than the UK's first cast-iron aqueduct, built by Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
on the Derby Canal
Derby Canal
The Derby Canal ran from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone to Derby and Little Eaton, and to the Erewash Canal at Sandiacre, Derbyshire, England. The canal gained its Act of Parliament in 1793 and was fully completed in 1796...
just months earlier.
The Ellesmere Canal was completed in 1805 and alongside his canal responsibilities, Telford's reputation as a civil engineer meant he was constantly consulted on numerous other projects. These included water supply works for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, improvements to London's docklands and the rebuilding of London Bridge(c.1800).
Most notably (and again William Pulteney was influential), in 1801 Telford devised a master plan to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland, a massive project that was to last some 20 years. It included the building of the Caledonian Canal
Caledonian Canal
The Caledonian Canal is a canal in Scotland that connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. It was constructed in the early nineteenth century by engineer Thomas Telford, and is a sister canal of the Göta Canal in Sweden, also constructed by...
along the Great Glen
Great Glen
The Great Glen , also known as Glen Albyn or Glen More is a series of glens in Scotland running 100 kilometres from Inverness on the Moray Firth, to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe.The Great Glen follows a large geological fault known as the Great Glen Fault...
and redesign of sections of the Crinan Canal
Crinan Canal
The Crinan canal is a canal in the west of Scotland. It takes its name from the village of Crinan at its westerly end. Nine miles long, it connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need...
, some 920 miles (1,480.6 km) of new roads, over a thousand new bridges (including the Craigellachie Bridge
Craigellachie Bridge
The Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge located at Craigellachie which is near to the village of Aberlour in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from 1812–1814...
), numerous harbour improvements (including works at Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Peterhead
Peterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
, Wick
Wick, Highland
Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...
, Portmahomack
Portmahomack
Portmahomack is a small fishing village in Easter Ross, Scotland. It is situated in the Tarbat Peninsula in the parish of Tarbat. Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is about three miles from the village at the end of the Tarbat Peninsula. Ballone Castle lies about a mile from the village...
and Banff
Banff, Aberdeenshire
Banff is a town in the Banff and Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Banff is situated on Banff Bay and faces the town of Macduff across the estuary of the River Deveron...
), and 32 new churches.
Telford also undertook highway works in the Scottish Lowlands, including 184 miles (296.1 km) of new roads and numerous bridges, ranging from a 112 ft (34 m) span stone bridge across the Dee
River Dee, Galloway
The River Dee, in south-west Scotland, flows from its source in Loch Dee amongst the Galloway Hills, firstly to Clatteringshaws Loch, then in to Loch Ken, where it joins the Water of Ken. From there, the Dee flows southwards to Kirkcudbright, and into Kirkcudbright Bay to reach the Solway. The...
at Tongueland in Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...
(1805–1806) to the 129 ft (39 m) tall Cartland Crags bridge near Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
(1822).
Telford was consulted in 1806 by the King of Sweden about the construction of a canal between Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. His plans were adopted and construction of the Göta Canal
Göta Canal
The Göta Canal is a Swedish canal constructed in the early 19th century. It formed the backbone of a waterway stretching some 382 miles , linking a number of lakes and rivers to provide a route from Gothenburg on the west coast to Söderköping on the Baltic Sea via the river Göta älv and the...
began in 1810. Telford travelled to Sweden at that time to oversee some of the more important initial excavations.
The 'Colossus of Roads'
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, a task completed by his assistant of ten years, John MacNeill; today, much of the route is the A5 trunk road. Between London and Shrewsbury, most of the work amounted to improvements. Beyond Shrewsbury, and especially beyond Llangollen, the work often involved building a highway from scratch. Notable features of this section of the route include the
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge, Betws-y-Coed
Waterloo Bridge is an early cast iron bridge, spanning the River Conwy at Betws-y-Coed, in Conwy county borough, north-west Wales.The bridge is located about half a mile south-east of the village. It was built by the civil engineer Thomas Telford...
across the River Conwy
River Conwy
The River Conwy is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is a little over long. "Conwy" is sometimes Anglicized as "Conway."...
at Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed
Betws-y-Coed is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It has a population of 534. The name Betws or Bettws is generally thought to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon Old English 'bed-hus' - i.e. a bead-house - a house of prayer, or oratory...
, the ascent from there to Capel Curig
Capel Curig
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226...
and then the descent from the pass of Nant Ffrancon towards Bangor
Bangor, Wales
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
. Between Capel Curig
Capel Curig
Capel Curig is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226...
and Bethesda
Bethesda, Wales
Bethesda is a town lying on the River Ogwen and the A5 road on the edge of Snowdonia, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, colloquially called Pesda by the locals.- History :...
, in the Ogwen Valley, Telford deviated from the original road, built by Romans during their occupation of this area.
On the island of Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
a new embankment across the Stanley Sands to Holyhead was constructed, but the crossing of the Menai Strait
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
was the most formidable challenge, overcome by the Menai Suspension Bridge
Menai Suspension Bridge
The Menai Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the first modern suspension bridge in the world.-Construction:...
(1819–1826). Spanning 580 feet (176.8 m), this was the longest suspension bridge of the time. Unlike modern suspension bridges, Telford used individually linked 9.5 feet (2.9 m) iron eye bars for the cables.
Conwy Suspension Bridge
Conwy Suspension Bridge, was one of the first road suspension bridges in the world. Located in the medieval town of Conwy in Conwy county borough, North Wales, it is now only passable on foot. The bridge is now in the care of the National Trust...
at Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, opened later the same year as its Menai counterpart.
Further afield Telford designed a road to cross the centre of the Isle of Arran
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
. Named the 'String road', this route traverses bleak and difficult terrain to allow traffic to cross between east and west Arran avoiding the circuitous coastal route.
Telford improved on methods for the building of macadam
Macadam
Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by the Scotsman John Loudon McAdam in around 1820. The method simplified what had been considered state-of-the-art at that point...
roads by improving the selection of stone based on thickness, taking into account traffic, alignment and slopes.
The punning nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
Colossus of Roads was given to Telford by his friend, the eventual Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
, Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
. Telford’s reputation as a man of letters may have preceded his fame as an engineer: he had published poetry between 1779 and 1784, and an account of a tour of Scotland with Southey. His will left bequests to Southey (who would later write Telford’s biography), the poet Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) and to the publishers of the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (to which he had been a contributor).
In 1821, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
.
The 'Telford Church'
Late career
Other works by Telford include the St Katharine DocksSt Katharine Docks
St Katharine Docks, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, were one of the commercial docks serving London, on the north side of the river Thames just east of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge...
(1824–1828) close to Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
in central London, where he worked with the architect Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...
, the Gloucester and Berkeley Ship Canal (today known as the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
Gloucester and Sharpness Canal
The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal or Gloucester and Berkeley Canal is a canal in the west of England, between Gloucester and Sharpness; for much of its length it runs close to the tidal River Severn, but cuts off a significant loop in the river, at a once-dangerous bend near Arlingham...
), Over Bridge
Over Bridge
Over Bridge is a single span stone arch bridge spanning the canalised West Channel of the River Severn near Gloucester. It links Over to Alney Island....
near Gloucester, the second Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
(1827), and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal...
(today part of the Shropshire Union Canal
Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....
) — started in May 1826 but finished, after Telford's death, in January 1835. At the time of its construction in 1829, Galton Bridge
Galton Bridge
Galton Bridge is a canal bridge in Smethwick, West Midlands, England built by Thomas Telford in 1829. It spans Telford's Birmingham Canal Navigations New Main Line carrying Roebuck Lane. When it was constructed, its single span of 151 feet was the highest in the world . Originally a road bridge...
was the longest single span in the world. He also built Whitstable harbour in Kent in 1832, in connection with the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
Canterbury and Whitstable Railway
The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, sometimes referred to colloquially as the Crab and Winkle Line, was an early British railway that opened in 1830 between Canterbury and Whitstable in the county of Kent, England.- Early history :...
with an unusual system for flushing out mud using a tidal reservoir.
In 1820, Telford was appointed the first President of the recently-formed Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
, a post he held until his death.
Telford's death
Telford's young draughtsman and clerk 1830-1834 George TurnbullGeorge Turnbull (civil engineer)
George Turnbull was the Chief Engineer responsible for construction from 1851 to 1863 of the first railway line from Calcutta : the 541-mile line to Benares en route to Delhi...
in his diary states:
- "On the 23rd [August 1834] Mr Telford was taken seriously ill of a bilious derangement to which he had been liable … he grew worse and worse … [surgeons] attended him twice a day, but it was to no avail for he died on the 2nd September, very peacefully at about 5pm. … His old servant James Handscombe and I were the only two in the house [24 Abingdon Street, London] when he died. He was never married. Mr MilneAlexander Milne (civil servant)Alexander Milne was a British civil servant who worked as a Commissioner of Woods and Forests for many years.Milne first became a commissioner on 14 August 1834 when William IV appointed him a "Commissioner of His Majesty's Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, and Buildings"...
and Mr RickmanJohn RickmanJohn Rickman was an English government official and statistician of the early nineteenth century.He was born in Newburn, Northumberland, son of the Rev Thomas Rickman and educated at Guildford Grammar School, Magdalen Hall, Oxford and Lincoln College, Oxford...
were, no doubt, Telford's most intimate friends. … I went to Mr Milne and under his direction … made all the arrangements about the house and correspondence. … Telford had no blood relations that we knew of. The funeral took place on the 10th September [in Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
]. … Mr Telford was of the most genial disposition and a delightful companion, his laugh was the heartiest I ever heard; it was a pleasure to be in his society."
Telford the poet
George TurnbullGeorge Turnbull (civil engineer)
George Turnbull was the Chief Engineer responsible for construction from 1851 to 1863 of the first railway line from Calcutta : the 541-mile line to Benares en route to Delhi...
states that Telford wrote and gave him a poem:
- On reading an account of the death of ROBERT BURNSRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, the SCOT POET
-
-
-
- CLAD in the sable weeds of woe,
- CLAD in the sable weeds of woe,
- As o'er your tomb her sorrows flow,
-
-
-
-
-
- Each laurel round his humble urn,
- She strews with pious care,
- And by soft airs to distance borne,
- These accents strike the ear.
- Each laurel round his humble urn,
-
-
-
-
-
- Farewell my lov'd, my favourite child,
- A mother's pride farewell!
- The muses on thy cradled smiled,
- Ah! now they ring thy knell.
- Farewell my lov'd, my favourite child,
-
-
-
-
-
-
- ---- ten verses and then ----
-
-
-
-
-
-
- And round the tomb the plough shall pass,
- And yellow autumn smile ;
- And village maids shall seek the place,
- To crown thy hallowed pile.
- And round the tomb the plough shall pass,
-
-
-
-
-
- While yearly comes the opening spring,
- While autumn wan returns ;
- Each rural voice shall grateful sing,
- And SCOTLAND boasts of BURNS.
- While yearly comes the opening spring,
-
-
-
- 22nd August, 1796. T.T.
(Turnbull includes notes that explain nine references to Burns' life in the poem.)
Turnbull also states:
- "His ability and perseverance may be understood from various literary compositions of after life, such as the articles he contributed to the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, such as Architecture, Bridge-building, and Canal-making. Singular to say the earliest distinction he acquired in life was as a poet. Even at 30 years of age he reprinted at Shrewsbury a poem called "Eskdale", … Some others of his poems are in my possession."
Bridges designed by Telford
Thomas Telford designed a number of bridges during his career. They include:- Bannockburn BridgeBannockburnBannockburn is a village immediately south of the city of Stirling in Scotland. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a burn running through the village before flowing into the River Forth.-History:...
- Bewdley BridgeBewdley BridgeBewdley Bridge is a three-span masonry arch bridge over the River Severn at Bewdley, Worcestershire. The two side spans are each , with the central span . The central arch rises . Smaller flood arches on the bank bridge the towpath. The bridge is wide....
(1798) - Bonar Bridge (1802)
- BridgnorthBridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
bridge (1810) - Bridge of KeigKeigKeig is a village within the local government area of Aberdeenshire Council in the North East of Scotland and is located within the Marr area of Aberdeenshire...
(1827) - Broomielaw Bridge, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(1816) - BuildwasBuildwasBuildwas is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north bank of the River Severn at . It lies on the B4380 road to Atcham. The Royal Mail postcodes begin TF6 and TF8Buildwas Primary School is situated on the Buildwas bank road...
bridge (1796) - Cantlop bridgeCantlop BridgeCantlop Bridge is a single span cast-iron road bridge over Cound Brook in the parish of Berrington, Shropshire. It was constructed in 1818 to a design possibly by Thomas Telford, being at least having been approved by him, and replaced an unsuccessful cast iron coach bridge constructed in 1812...
(1820) - Chirk AqueductChirk AqueductChirk Aqueduct is a high and long navigable aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border....
(1801) - Clachan BridgeClachan BridgeThe Clachan Bridge is a simple, single-arched, hump-backed masonry bridge spanning the Clachan Sound, miles southwest of Oban in Argyll, Scotland....
(1792) - Conwy Suspension BridgeConwy Suspension BridgeConwy Suspension Bridge, was one of the first road suspension bridges in the world. Located in the medieval town of Conwy in Conwy county borough, North Wales, it is now only passable on foot. The bridge is now in the care of the National Trust...
(1826) - Coundarbour Bridge (1797)
- Craigellachie BridgeCraigellachie BridgeThe Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge located at Craigellachie which is near to the village of Aberlour in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from 1812–1814...
(1815) - Dean BridgeDean VillageDean Village is a former village immediately northwest of Edinburgh, Scotland city centre. It was known as the "Water of Leith Village" and was a successful grain milling hamlet for more than 800 years. At one time there were no fewer than eleven working mills there, driven by the strong currents...
, Edinburgh (1831) - Dunkeld Bridge (1809)
- Eaton Hall BridgeAldford Iron BridgeAldford Iron Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Dee north of the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England, linking the village with Eaton Hall, forming part of the Buerton Approach to the hall . It is a Grade I listed building....
(1824) - Galton BridgeGalton BridgeGalton Bridge is a canal bridge in Smethwick, West Midlands, England built by Thomas Telford in 1829. It spans Telford's Birmingham Canal Navigations New Main Line carrying Roebuck Lane. When it was constructed, its single span of 151 feet was the highest in the world . Originally a road bridge...
(1829) - Glen Loy Aqueduct on the Caledonian CanalCaledonian CanalThe Caledonian Canal is a canal in Scotland that connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William. It was constructed in the early nineteenth century by engineer Thomas Telford, and is a sister canal of the Göta Canal in Sweden, also constructed by...
(1806) - Harecastle Tunnel (1827)
- Holt Fleet BridgeHolt Fleet BridgeHolt Fleet Bridge, also known as Holt Bridge, is a cast-iron arch bridge over the River Severn, at Holt in Worcestershire, England. It has a span of ; it was designed by Thomas Telford and opened in 1828...
(1827) - A proposal for London BridgeLondon BridgeLondon Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
- Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct (1796)
- Menai Suspension BridgeMenai Suspension BridgeThe Menai Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the first modern suspension bridge in the world.-Construction:...
(1826) - Montford BridgeMontford BridgeMontford Bridge is a village in Shropshire, England, and also the name of the bridge in that village.It lies on the River Severn and is close to the town of Shrewsbury. Most of the village is in the Montford parish, but some is covered by the Bicton parish....
(1792) - Mythe BridgeMythe BridgeMythe Bridge carries the A438 road across the River Severn at Tewkesbury. It is a cast iron arch bridge spanning 170 feet and 24 feet wide, designed by Thomas Telford and completed in April 1826....
(1826) - Over BridgeOver BridgeOver Bridge is a single span stone arch bridge spanning the canalised West Channel of the River Severn near Gloucester. It links Over to Alney Island....
(1827) - Pontcysyllte AqueductPontcysyllte AqueductThe Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee in Wrexham in north east Wales....
(1805) - Potarch BridgePotarchPotarch is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a bridge across the River Dee.It is a popular location with tourists and day trippers, and has a hotel.-References:...
- Telford Bridge (1813)
- Tongland BridgeTonglandTongland is a small village about 2 miles north of Kirkcudbright, south west Scotland. It lies on the west bank of the Dee near its confluence with the Tarff Water.-History:...
(1808) - Waterloo Bridge, Betws-y-CoedWaterloo Bridge, Betws-y-CoedWaterloo Bridge is an early cast iron bridge, spanning the River Conwy at Betws-y-Coed, in Conwy county borough, north-west Wales.The bridge is located about half a mile south-east of the village. It was built by the civil engineer Thomas Telford...
(1815)
Telford New Town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
was being built in the Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. The district was created in 1974 as The...
area of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
in 1968, it was named Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
in his honour. In 1990, when it came to naming one of Britain's first City Technology College
City Technology College
In England, a City Technology College is a state-funded all-ability secondary school that charges no fees but is independent of local authority control, being overseen directly by the Department for Education....
s, to be situated in Telford, Thomas Telford was the obvious choice. Thomas Telford School
Thomas Telford School
Thomas Telford School is a City Technology College in Telford, Shropshire, England. Often referred to as 'TTS', it achieved the highest GCSE pass rate of any comprehensive school in England in 2008 and 2009.-Background:...
is consistently among the top performing comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
s in the country.
Telford, Pennsylvania
The Borough of County Line in Montgomery CountyMontgomery County, Pennsylvania
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 799,874, making it the third most populous county in Pennsylvania . The county seat is Norristown.The county was created on September 10, 1784, out of land originally part...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
changed its name to Telford
Telford, Pennsylvania
Telford is a borough in Bucks and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 4,872 at the time of the 2010 census.- History :...
in 1857, after the North Pennsylvania Railroad Company
North Pennsylvania Railroad
North Pennsylvania Railroad was a railroad company formed in 1855, and served Philadelphia, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Northampton County, Pennsylvania.-History:...
named its new station there "Telford" in honour of Thomas Telford.
Edinburgh's Telford College
Edinburgh's Telford CollegeEdinburgh's Telford College
Edinburgh's Telford College, named after Thomas Telford, the great Scottish civil engineer, was established in 1968. The College is a corporate institution governed by a Board of Management whose members are representative of key industrial and commercial sectors, professional organisations and...
, one of Scotland's largest colleges, is named in the honour of the famous engineer.
Autobiography
Telford's autobiography, titled The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer, written by himself, was published in 1838.See also
- Works of Thomas Telford
- Telford MedalTelford MedalThe Telford Medal is the highest prize awarded by the British Institution of Civil Engineers for a paper, or series of papers, in the field of engineering. It was introduced in 1835 following a bequest made by Thomas Telford, the ICE's first president....
He also completed the Grand Trunk
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
after James Brindley
James Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
died due to being over-worked.
External links
- 250th Anniversary 2007
- Prosiect Menai — Celebrating the Bridges of The Menai Strait
- Revolutionary Players website
- The Life of Thomas Telford