Thomas
Telford
Thomas Telford, the son of
a shepherd, was born in Westerkirk, Scotland in 1757. At the
age of 14 he was apprenticed to a stonemason. He worked for
a time in Edinburgh and in 1792 he moved to London where he
was involved in building additions to Somerset House. Two
years later he found work at Portsmouth dockyard.
In 1787 he became surveyor
of public works for Shropshire. By this time Telford had established
a good reputation as an engineer and in 1790 was given the
task of building a bridge over the River Severn at Montford.
This was followed by a canal that linked the ironworks and
collieries of Wrexham with Chester and Shrewsbury. This involved
building an aqueduct over the River Dee. On the Pontcysyllte
Aqueduct, Telford used a new method of construction consisting
of troughs made from cast-iron plates and fixed in masonry.
After the completion of the
Ellesmere Canal Telford moved back to Scotland where he took
control of the building of Caledonian Canal. Other works by
Telford include the Menai Suspension Bridge (1819-1826) and
the Katherine's Docks (1824-1828) in London.
Telford was also an important
road builder. He was responsible for rebuilding the Shrewsbury
to Holyhead road and the North Wales coast road between Chester
and Bangor.
During his life Telford built
more than 1,000 miles of road, including the main road between
London and Holyhead.
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