76-477: Thomas Telford FRS FRSE (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire , he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbours and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed the 'Colossus of Roads' (a pun on
152-520: A 4,607-yard (4,213 m) tunnel at Ruabon, a high level crossing over the Dee at Pontcysyllte , a further tunnel and aqueduct near Chirk , and a tunnel in Shropshire near Weston Lullingfields . A plan of the canal, published in 1795, showed the route between Netherpool in the north to Shrewsbury to the south: The canal plan would also have four branches: Originally Jessop had suggested that
228-500: A 45 ft (14 m) 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. Canal engineer William Jessop oversaw the project but left the detailed execution of the project in Telford's hands. The aqueduct was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. The same period also saw Telford involved in
304-763: A Chair (all of whom are Fellows of the Royal Society ). Members of the 10 Sectional Committees change every three years to mitigate in-group bias . Each Sectional Committee covers different specialist areas including: New Fellows are admitted to the Society at a formal admissions day ceremony held annually in July, when they sign the Charter Book and the Obligation which reads: "We who have hereunto subscribed, do hereby promise, that we will endeavour to promote
380-498: 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 Milne and Mr Rickman 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
456-562: A task completed by his assistant of ten years, John MacNeill ; today, much of the route is the A5 trunk road, although the Holyhead Road diverted off the A5 along what is now parts of A45 , A41 and A464 through the cities of Coventry , Birmingham and Wolverhampton . Between London and Shrewsbury, most of the work amounted to improvements. Beyond Shrewsbury, and especially beyond Llangollen,
532-542: 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 km) of new roads and numerous bridges, ranging from a 112 ft (34 m) span stone bridge across
608-737: Is confirmed by the Council in April, and a secret ballot of Fellows is held at a meeting in May. A candidate is elected if they secure two-thirds of votes of those Fellows voting. An indicative allocation of 18 Fellowships can be allocated to candidates from Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences; and up to 10 from Applied Sciences, Human Sciences and Joint Physical and Biological Sciences. A further maximum of six can be 'Honorary', 'General' or 'Royal' Fellows. Nominations for Fellowship are peer reviewed by Sectional Committees, each with at least 12 members and
684-421: Is nominated by two Fellows of the Royal Society (a proposer and a seconder), who sign a certificate of proposal. Previously, nominations required at least five fellows to support each nomination by the proposer, which was criticised for supposedly establishing an old boy network and elitist gentlemen's club . The certificate of election (see for example ) includes a statement of the principal grounds on which
760-876: Is now part of the Llangollen Canal . This section (the Llanymynech Branch) is now designated as part of the Montgomery Canal (combining the Llanymynech Branch of the Ellesmere Canal with the Montgomeryshire Canal). The section from Frankton Junction to the Weston Branch was originally intended to be the main line of the canal. Bridge numbering (which starts at Hurleston Junction ) continues down
836-546: The Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company Act 1845 ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. ii). A year later the canal was taken over again by the formation of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company . By 1917 the Weston Branch had closed following a breach near Hordley Wharf. In 1939 traffic on the line from Hurleston to Llangollen had all but ceased. All remaining parts of the Ellesmere Canal network, other than
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#1732798698113912-652: The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway with an unusual system for flushing out mud using a tidal reservoir. He also completed the Grand Trunk after James Brindley died due to being over-worked. In 1820, Telford was appointed the first President of the recently formed Institution of Civil Engineers , a post he held until his death. He was Initiated into Freemasonry in Antiquity Lodge, No. 26, ( Portsmouth , England) in 1770. This lodge no longer exists. He
988-592: The Chester Canal , Montgomery Canal and Shropshire Union Canal . Although several major civil engineering feats were accomplished, major building work ceased following the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805. The northern end of the navigation's mainline ended 16 miles (25 km) from Chester at Trevor Basin near Ruabon and its southern end was at Weston Lullingfields about 9 miles (15 km) from Shrewsbury . As part of
1064-540: The Colossus of Rhodes ), and, reflecting his command of all types of civil engineering in the early 19th century, he was elected as the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers , a post he held for 14 years until his death. The town of Telford in Shropshire was named after him. Telford was born on 9 August 1757, at Glendinning, a hill farm three miles (five kilometres) east of Eskdalemuir Kirk , in
1140-624: The Dee at Tongueland in Kirkcudbright (1805–06) to the 129 ft (39 m) tall Cartland Crags bridge near Lanark (1822). In 1809, Telford was tasked with improving the Howth Road in Dublin, to connect the new harbour at Howth to the city of Dublin as part of wider plan to improve communication between Dublin and London. The milestones that are a feature of this route from Howth to
1216-595: The Derby Canal just months earlier. The aqueduct is no longer in use, but is preserved as a distinctive piece of canal engineering. The Ellesmere Canal was left uncompleted in 1805 because it failed to generate the revenues needed to finance the connecting sections to Chester and Shrewbury. However, 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
1292-646: The GPO on O'Connell Street still mark the route. He also drafted the first design of the Ulster Canal . Irish engineer, William Dargan , was trained by Telford. 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
1368-686: 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 1,000 feet (300 metres) with an altitude of 126 ft (38 m) above the valley floor, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct consists of nineteen arches, each with
1444-843: 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. Telford surveyed and planned the Macclesfield Canal , which was completed by William Crosley (or Crossley). He also built Whitstable harbour in Kent in 1832, in connection with
1520-519: The copper mines at Llanymynech . By 1793 an act of Parliament , the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. 3 . c. 91), had been passed allowing the Ellesmere Canal company to build the canal. However this route of the canal beyond Chester was not to the liking of all backers. They wanted the canal's course to follow a more westerly route from the Dee to the Severn passing directly through
1596-520: The mineral industries in north east Wales and the manufacturing centres in the West Midlands . However, the canal was never completed as intended because of its rising costs and failure to generate the expected commercial traffic. The Ellesmere Canal, which was first proposed in 1791, would have created a waterway between Netherpool , Cheshire, and Shrewsbury . However, only certain sections were completed; these were eventually incorporated into
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#17327986981131672-426: The post-nominal letters FRS . Every year, fellows elect up to ten new foreign members. Like fellows, foreign members are elected for life through peer review on the basis of excellence in science. As of 2016 , there are around 165 foreign members, who are entitled to use the post-nominal ForMemRS . Honorary Fellowship is an honorary academic title awarded to candidates who have given distinguished service to
1748-608: The 10th September [in Westminster Abbey ]. ... 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. Thomas Telford was buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey; a statue was erected to him nearby, in St Andrew's Chapel adjoining the north transept. Throughout his life Telford had a great affection for his birthplace of Eskdale and its people and in his will left legacies to
1824-470: The Chester Canal at Hurleston Junction in sections between 1797 and 1806. Despite the circuitous route, it was considered to be the main line. The extension also included an arm to Whitchurch because the town had been by-passed by the new route. A branch was also originally intended to reach Prees in Shropshire; however the line was only constructed as far as Quina Brook , 1-mile (1.5 km) from
1900-520: The Llanymynech Branch, and despite now being regarded as two separate canals (the Llangollen and the Montgomery) this numbering scheme remains. This section was originally intended to be the main line of the canal, and is now infilled. The 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile-long (9 km) arm had wharves at Hordley, Dandyford, Pedlar's Bridge, Shade Oak and Weston Lullingfields. At Weston Lullingfields
1976-539: The Mersey to the Dee was completed in 1797. This allowed the company to generate revenue from tolls to help finance construction of the rest of the canal. However the westerly route posed formidable engineering obstacles. Close to the Eglwyseg and Ruabon mountains, there were deep river valleys to be crossed and high ground to be tunnelled. Duncombe's survey involved a climb of 303 feet (92 m) from Chester to Wrexham,
2052-513: The Montgomeryshire Canal, and the isolated northern section from Chester to Ellesmere Port considered part of the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal . The Weston Branch is now infilled, save for a very short section, which has a Canal & River Trust amenity block. The canal starts at Ellesmere Port Dock by the Mersey. Originally goods would be transferred directly from inland waterways craft into river-going vessels at
2128-1828: The Royal Society ( FRS , ForMemRS and HonFRS ) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge , including mathematics , engineering science , and medical science ". Fellowship of the Society, the oldest known scientific academy in continuous existence, is a significant honour. It has been awarded to many eminent scientists throughout history, including Isaac Newton (1672), Benjamin Franklin (1756), Charles Babbage (1816), Michael Faraday (1824), Charles Darwin (1839), Ernest Rutherford (1903), Srinivasa Ramanujan (1918), Jagadish Chandra Bose (1920), Albert Einstein (1921), Paul Dirac (1930), Winston Churchill (1941), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1944), Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1945), Dorothy Hodgkin (1947), Alan Turing (1951), Lise Meitner (1955), Satyendra Nath Bose (1958), and Francis Crick (1959). More recently, fellowship has been awarded to Stephen Hawking (1974), David Attenborough (1983), Tim Hunt (1991), Elizabeth Blackburn (1992), Raghunath Mashelkar (1998), Tim Berners-Lee (2001), Venki Ramakrishnan (2003), Atta-ur-Rahman (2006), Andre Geim (2007), Bai Chunli (2014), James Dyson (2015), Ajay Kumar Sood (2015), Subhash Khot (2017), Elon Musk (2018), Elaine Fuchs (2019) and around 8,000 others in total, including over 280 Nobel Laureates since 1900. As of October 2018 , there are approximately 1,689 living Fellows, Foreign and Honorary Members, of whom 85 are Nobel Laureates. Fellowship of
2204-439: The Royal Society has been described by The Guardian as "the equivalent of a lifetime achievement Oscar " with several institutions celebrating their announcement each year. Up to 60 new Fellows (FRS), honorary (HonFRS) and foreign members (ForMemRS) are elected annually in late April or early May, from a pool of around 700 proposed candidates each year. New Fellows can only be nominated by existing Fellows for one of
2280-663: The Society, we shall be free from this Obligation for the future". Since 2014, portraits of Fellows at the admissions ceremony have been published without copyright restrictions in Wikimedia Commons under a more permissive Creative Commons license which allows wider re-use. In addition to the main fellowships of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS & HonFRS), other fellowships are available which are applied for by individuals, rather than through election. These fellowships are research grant awards and holders are known as Royal Society Research Fellows . In addition to
2356-471: The Welsh mining areas. Eventually this proposal was the one that canal engineer John Duncombe followed when he eventually surveyed the route. Notable civil engineer William Jessop was called into advise; he too recommended the route surveyed by Duncombe. Jessop was eventually appointed the project's engineer while Thomas Telford was appointed as General Agent . The northernmost section, a contour canal , from
Thomas Telford - Misplaced Pages Continue
2432-596: The award of Fellowship (FRS, HonFRS & ForMemRS) and the Research Fellowships described above, several other awards, lectures and medals of the Royal Society are also given. Ellesmere Canal The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn . The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and
2508-532: 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
2584-520: The canal was launched at a meeting in Ellesmere in 1791 for a canal from Netherpool (now Ellesmere Port ) on the River Mersey to the River Dee at Chester . It would then go in a south easterly direction via Overton (south of Wrexham ) to the River Severn at Shrewsbury . Branches would then be cut to the iron making and coal mining areas at Bersham between Wrexham and Ruabon and to
2660-612: The cause of science, but do not have the kind of scientific achievements required of Fellows or Foreign Members. Honorary Fellows include the World Health Organization's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (2022), Bill Bryson (2013), Melvyn Bragg (2010), Robin Saxby (2015), David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville (2008), Onora O'Neill (2007), John Maddox (2000), Patrick Moore (2001) and Lisa Jardine (2015). Honorary Fellows are entitled to use
2736-466: The cheaper solution was to use locks on both sides of Vale of Llangollen to take the canal down to a more manageable height for the second, upstream crossing of the River Dee at Froncysyllte . Rather than crossing at full height, the locks would reuse water by backpumping. But by 1795 Jessop and Telford had changed their decision. Instead they developed a proposal for a cast-iron aqueduct to maintain
2812-516: The circuitous coastal route. His work on improving the Glasgow – Carlisle road, later to become the A74 , has been described as "a model for future engineers." 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,
2888-504: The constraints placed on the canal by its incomplete design, the Ellesmere Canal struggled financially throughout its operating life as an industrial waterway. In 1813, the Ellesmere Canal company merged with the Chester Canal to form the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company under the Ellesmere and Chester Canals Unification Act 1813 ( 53 Geo. 3 . c. lxxx). This business was then merged with the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal by
2964-566: 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 Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct , 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
3040-565: The dock, which would enter and exit through tidal lock gates. However, in the 1890s, with the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal , the basin became detached from the river. Traffic was controlled by a set of two-lock staircases. A contour canal runs between Ellesmere Port and Chester following the course of a natural river valley that encompasses Backford Brook and the Bache valley . The canal enters Chester Basin (wharf) at
3116-574: The ear. Farewell my lov'd, my favourite child, A mother's pride farewell! The muses on thy cradle smiled, Ah! now they ring thy knell. ---- 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. While yearly comes the opening spring, While autumn wan returns; Each rural voice shall grateful sing, And SCOTLAND boasts of BURNS. 22nd August, 1796. T.T. (Turnbull includes notes that explain nine references to Burns's life in
Thomas Telford - Misplaced Pages Continue
3192-406: The end the only parts of the main line of the canal to be built was the extreme northern line from the Mersey to Chester and the 18-mile (29 km) central section from Trevor Basin to Weston Lullingfields. As this left the middle part isolated from the rest of the UK waterways network, the planned Whitchurch branch was re-routed. A 29-mile (47 km) link was built from Frankton via Ellesmere to
3268-499: The eventual Poet Laureate , Robert Southey . In 1821, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences . An Act of Parliament in 1823 provided a grant of £50,000 for the building of up to 40 churches and manses in communities without any church buildings (hence the alternative name: 'Parliamentary Church' or 'Parliamentary Kirk'). The total cost was not to exceed £1500 on any site and Telford
3344-528: The fellowships described below: Every year, up to 52 new fellows are elected from the United Kingdom, the rest of the Commonwealth of Nations , and Ireland, which make up around 90% of the society. Each candidate is considered on their merits and can be proposed from any sector of the scientific community. Fellows are elected for life on the basis of excellence in science and are entitled to use
3420-501: The formal closure, increasing popularity of the canal with pleasure boats led to its acceptance as an important amenity, and the rebranding as the Llangollen Canal. As the canal was never intended to go to Llangollen, this renaming is an ironic twist symbolic of the canal's convoluted development. The Ellesmere Canal south of Frankton Junction (the Llanymynech Branch) nowadays forms part of the Montgomery Canal , together with
3496-540: The good of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, and to pursue the ends for which the same was founded; that we will carry out, as far as we are able, those actions requested of us in the name of the Council; and that we will observe the Statutes and Standing Orders of the said Society. Provided that, whensoever any of us shall signify to the President under our hands, that we desire to withdraw from
3572-613: 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 (1819–26). Spanning 580 feet (180 m), this was the longest suspension bridge of the time. Unlike modern suspension bridges, Telford used individually linked 9.5-foot (2.9 m) iron eye bars for
3648-429: The junction with the Chester Canal . At this point, there is also a 4-lock branch that once led down to the River Dee and Port of Chester . When the Ellesmere Canal reached the Chester Canal, the configuration of the staircase locks at Chester was altered. The original 5-lock staircase was replaced by a deeper three-lock arrangement. At this point, the section is now part of the Shropshire Union Canal . This section
3724-465: The main line section, the Chirk Aqueduct was opened in 1801, and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805. However, by this time the proposed line from the Dee at Chester to Ruabon had been abandoned as uneconomic. The canal was therefore terminated at Trevor Basin , 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Ruabon . Also abandoned was the plan to reach the Severn, as the Shrewsbury Canal was already serving
3800-618: The more important initial excavations. Many of Telford's projects were undertaken due to his role as a member of the Exchequer Bill Loan Commission , an organ set up under the Public Works Loans Act 1817 ( 57 Geo. 3 . c. 34), to help finance public work projects that would generate employment. During his later years, Telford was responsible for rebuilding sections of the London to Holyhead road ,
3876-607: The northern line from Ellesmere Port to Chester, was closed to navigation by the London Midland and Scottish Railway (Canals) Act 1944 ( 8 & 9 Geo. 6 . c. ii). However, the canal from Hurleston to Llangollen was retained as a water feeder for the Shropshire Union Canal main line and for drinking water. In 1955 an agreement with the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board secured the canal's future. Despite
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#17327986981133952-406: The original level. In 1796 the Llanymynech Branch was opened, linking the main line at Frankton Junction with Llanymynech. This joined the Montgomeryshire Canal at Carreghofa Locks when the Montgomeryshire opened in 1797. In 1796, Thomas Telford constructed a feeder reservoir lake in Moss Valley, Wrexham to provide water to the length of canal between Trevor Basin and Chester . However, as
4028-408: The plan to build this section was cancelled in 1798, the isolated feeder and a stretch of navigation between Ffrwd and a basin in Summerhill was abandoned. Remnants of the feeder channel are visible in Gwersyllt . A street in the village is still named Heol Camlas (Canal Way). The contour section from the River Mersey to the River Dee at Chester was joined to the Chester Canal in 1797. On
4104-505: 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. Another example, later in Telford's life,
4180-536: The poet Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) and to the publishers of the Edinburgh Encyclopædia (to which he had been a contributor). George Turnbull states that Telford wrote and gave him a poem: On reading an account of the death of ROBERT BURNS , the SCOT POET CLAD in the sable weeds of woe, The Scottish genius mourns, As o'er your tomb her sorrows flow, The "narrow house" of Burns.' Each laurel round his humble urn, She strews with pious care, And by soft airs to distance borne, These accents strike
4256-460: The post nominal letters HonFRS . Statute 12 is a legacy mechanism for electing members before official honorary membership existed in 1997. Fellows elected under statute 12 include David Attenborough (1983) and John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne (1991). The Council of the Royal Society can recommend members of the British royal family for election as Royal Fellow of the Royal Society . As of 2023 there are four royal fellows: Elizabeth II
4332-493: The proposal is being made. There is no limit on the number of nominations made each year. In 2015, there were 654 candidates for election as Fellows and 106 candidates for Foreign Membership. The Council of the Royal Society oversees the selection process and appoints 10 subject area committees, known as Sectional Committees, to recommend the strongest candidates for election to the Fellowship. The final list of up to 52 Fellowship candidates and up to 10 Foreign Membership candidates
4408-472: The rebranding of Britain's industrial waterways as leisure destinations, the surviving central section is now called the Llangollen Canal ; even though historically its builders had no intention of sending boat traffic to Llangollen . The branch, from which the waterway now takes its name, was primarily a water feeder from the River Dee above the town. Therefore it was not built as a broad-gauge canal, hence its inherently narrow design. The formal proposal for
4484-422: 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 km) of new roads, over
4560-527: The rural parish of Westerkirk, in Eskdale, Dumfriesshire . His father John Telford, a shepherd, died soon after Thomas was born. Thomas was raised in poverty by his mother Janet Jackson (died 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 Dumfries and Galloway. 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
4636-404: 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, St Michael's , in Madeley . Called in to advise on a leaking roof at St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury in 1788, he warned the church was in imminent danger of collapse; his reputation was made locally when it collapsed three days later, but he
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#17327986981134712-414: The town, and the poor navigational state of the Severn meant that additional traffic would not justify the cost of the building works. As the canal would now not reach its proposed main source of water northwest of Wrexham , a feeder was constructed along the side of the Dee valley to Horseshoe Falls at Llantysilio . This narrow feeder branch was made navigable, allowing boats to reach Llangollen . In
4788-416: The two counties meet. Telford was responsible for the repair to the northern (Shropshire) end of the bridge. Telford's reputation in Shropshire led to his appointment in 1793 to manage the detailed design and construction of the Ellesmere Canal , linking the ironworks and collieries of Wrexham via the north-west Shropshire town of Ellesmere , with Chester , utilising the existing Chester Canal , and then
4864-415: The two local libraries at Westerkirk and Langholm. In 2011 he was one of seven inaugural inductees to the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame . 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 Robert Southey. His will left bequests to Southey (who would later write Telford's biography),
4940-417: The village. The section of waterway from Frankton Junction to Weston Lullingfields, which was originally intended to be the main line to Shrewsbury, became the Weston Branch. The uncompleted part between Weston Lullingfields and the River Severn would have been 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (15 km) long, with 107 feet (33 m) of lockage and a 487-yard (445 m) tunnel at Weston Lullingfileds. Due to
5016-448: 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
5092-401: Was To Sir John Malcolm on Receiving His Miscellaneous Poems (1831). Telford designed many bridges and aqueducts during his career. They include: Telford is commemorated in the names of many sites: Telford's autobiography, titled The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer, written by himself , was published posthumously in 1838. Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of
5168-485: Was a founder member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 257 (also in Portsmouth). Telford designed a room within the George Inn for the lodge. In 1786 he became an affiliate member of Salopian Lodge, No. 262 (Shrewsbury, England). Telford's young draughtsman and clerk 1830–34 George Turnbull 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
5244-399: Was added to link the canal to the national network. It became the Ellesmere Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and is now part of the Llangollen Canal . This was the principal part of the original main line of the canal. It became the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal and is now part of the Llangollen Canal . This section of the canal was added as a navigable feeder. It
5320-399: Was built in 1830. Some have been restored and/or converted to private use. Other works by Telford include the St Katharine Docks (1824–28) 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
5396-429: 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 redoing existing buildings). The last of these churches
5472-424: 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 (9 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
5548-416: 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. His projects included renovation of Shrewsbury Castle ,
5624-421: Was not a Royal Fellow, but provided her patronage to the society, as all reigning British monarchs have done since Charles II of England . Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1951) was elected under statute 12, not as a Royal Fellow. The election of new fellows is announced annually in May, after their nomination and a period of peer-reviewed selection. Each candidate for Fellowship or Foreign Membership
5700-480: Was not the architect for its replacement. As the Shropshire county surveyor , Telford was also responsible for bridges. In 1790 he designed Montford 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
5776-521: 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
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