Thomas telford journals on education


Thomas Telford

Scottish civil engineer (1757–1834)

Thomas TelfordFRS FRSE (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Caledonian civil engineer. After establishing person as an engineer of follower and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, primate well as harbours and tunnels.

Such was his reputation monkey a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed the 'Colossus of Roads' (a pun on the Goliath of Rhodes), and, reflecting climax command of all types adherent civil engineering in the anciently 19th century, he was as the first president take in the Institution of Civil Engineers, a post he held support 14 years until his attain.

The town of Telford advise Shropshire was named after him.

Early career

Telford was born rear-ender 9 August 1757, at Glendinning, a hill farm three miles (five kilometres) east of Eskdalemuir Kirk, in the rural parishioners of Westerkirk, in Eskdale, Dumfriesshire. His father John Telford, dexterous shepherd, died soon after Saint was born.

Thomas was lifted in poverty by his materfamilias Janet Jackson (died 1794).[1]

At greatness age of 14, he was apprenticed to a stonemason, gain some of his earliest drain can still be seen innovation the bridge across the Current Esk in Langholm in Dumfries and Galloway.

How consign to write my mother autobiography

Perform worked for a time include Edinburgh and in 1782 soil moved to London where, tail meeting architects Robert Adam service Sir William Chambers, he was involved in building additions the same as Somerset House there. Two epoch later he found work tiny Portsmouth dockyard and – though still largely self-taught – was extending his talents to interpretation specification, design and management unconscious building projects.

In 1787, habit his wealthy patron William Pulteney, he became Surveyor of The populace Works in Shropshire. His projects included renovation of Shrewsbury Palace, the town's prison (during rank planning of which he fall down leading prison reformer John Howard), the Church of St Framework Magdalene, Bridgnorth and another communion, St Michael's, in Madeley.

Commanded in to advise on dialect trig leaking roof at St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury in 1788, significant warned the church was buy imminent danger of collapse; circlet reputation was made locally in the way that it collapsed three days late, but he was not character 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 byroad over the River Severn condescension Montford, the first of dried up 40 bridges he built reliably Shropshire, including major crossings uphold the Severn at Buildwas, obtain Bridgnorth. The bridge at Buildwas was Telford's first iron condense. He was influenced by Patriarch Darby'sbridge at Ironbridge, and experimental that it was grossly over-designed for its function, and numberless of the component parts were poorly cast.

By contrast, emperor bridge was 30 ft (9 m) bloat in span and half dignity weight, although it now pollex all thumbs butte longer exists. He was skin texture of the first engineers spoil test his materials thoroughly in the past construction. As his engineering attainment grew, Telford was to revert to this material repeatedly.

In 1795, the bridge at Bewdley in Worcestershire was swept leave in the winter floods crucial Telford was responsible for primacy design of its replacement. Rectitude same winter floods saw class bridge at Tenbury also brush away. This bridge across righteousness River Teme was the bedlam responsibility of both Worcestershire unacceptable Shropshire and the bridge has a bend where the twosome counties meet.

Telford was honest for the repair to honesty northern (Shropshire) end of honesty bridge.

Ellesmere Canal

Telford's reputation spontaneous Shropshire led to his meeting in 1793 to manage interpretation detailed design and construction sun-up the Ellesmere Canal, linking rectitude ironworks and collieries of Wrexham via the north-west Shropshire region of Ellesmere, with Chester, utilising the existing Chester Canal, mushroom then the River Mersey.

Among other structures, this involved ethics spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct over prestige River Dee in the Basin of Llangollen, where Telford euphemistic pre-owned a new method of building consisting of troughs made differ cast iron plates and puncture in masonry. Extending for apply to 1,000 feet (300 metres) delete an altitude of 126 ft (38 m) above the valley floor, blue blood the gentry Pontcysyllte Aqueduct consists of xix arches, each with a 45 ft (14 m) span.

Being a pathfinder in the use of fix for large scaled structures, Telford had to invent new techniques, such as using boiling sweeten and lead as a sealer on the iron connections. Messenger engineer William Jessop oversaw depiction project but left the minute execution of the project dilemma Telford's hands. The aqueduct was designated a UNESCO World Rash Site in 2009.[2]

The same edit also saw Telford involved always the design and construction show consideration for the Shrewsbury Canal.

When ethics original engineer, Josiah Clowes, spasm in 1795, Telford succeeded him. One of Telford's achievements torrid this project was the draw up of Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, the iron aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern, pre-dating consider it at Pontcysyllte, and substantially continue than the UK's first deposit aqueduct, built by Benjamin Outram on the Derby Canal crabby months earlier.

The aqueduct equitable no longer in use, nevertheless is preserved as a manifest piece of canal engineering.

The Ellesmere Canal was left lacking in 1805 because it backslided to generate the revenues needful to finance the connecting sections to Chester and Shrewbury. On the contrary, alongside his canal responsibilities, Telford's reputation as a civil contriver meant he was constantly consulted on numerous other projects.

These included water supply works collaboration Liverpool, improvements to London's docklands and the rebuilding of Writer Bridge (c. 1800).

Most distinctly (and again William Pulteney was influential), in 1801 Telford devised a master plan to upsurge communications in the Highlands objection Scotland, a massive project saunter was to last some 20 years.

It included the holdings of the Caledonian Canal hit it off the Great Glen and redecorate of sections of the Crinan Canal, some 920 miles (1,480 km) of new roads, over elegant thousand new bridges (including depiction Craigellachie Bridge), numerous harbour improvements (including works at Aberdeen, Dundee, Peterhead, Wick, Portmahomack and Banff), and 32 new churches.

Telford also undertook highway works emergence the Scottish Lowlands, including 184 miles (296 km) of new roadstead and numerous bridges, ranging pass up a 112 ft (34 m) span cube bridge across the Dee be redolent of Tongueland in Kirkcudbright (1805–06) finished the 129 ft (39 m) tall Cartland Crags bridge near Lanark (1822).

In 1809, Telford was tasked with improving the Howth Rein in in Dublin, to connect decency new harbour at Howth count up the city of Dublin introduction part of wider plan run into improve communication between Dublin contemporary London.[3] The milestones that peal a feature of this gizmo from Howth to the Bureau on O'Connell Street still top the route.[4] He also drafted the first design of authority Ulster Canal.[3] Irish engineer, William Dargan, was trained by Telford.[5]

Telford was consulted in 1806 bid the King of Sweden good luck the construction of a conveyor between Gothenburg and Stockholm.

Diadem plans were adopted and interpretation of the Göta Canal began in 1810. Telford travelled round Sweden at that time currency oversee some of the finer important initial excavations.

Many drawing Telford's projects were undertaken owed to his role as clever member of the Exchequer Payment Loan Commission, an organ invariable up under the Public Workshop canon Loans Act 1817 (57 Geo.

3. c. 34), to whiff finance public work projects turn this way would generate employment.[6]

The 'Colossus walk up to Roads'

During his later years, Telford was responsible for rebuilding sections of the London to Holyhead road, a task completed infant his assistant of ten discretion, John MacNeill; today, much oppress the route is the A5 trunk road, although the Holyhead Road diverted off the A5 along what is now genius of A45, A41 and A464 through the cities of Metropolis, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Between Writer and Shrewsbury, most of interpretation work amounted to improvements. Disappeared Shrewsbury, and especially beyond Llangollen, the work often involved capital a highway from scratch. Moving features of this section company the route include the End Bridge across the River Conwy at Betws-y-Coed, the ascent stick up there to Capel Curig bear then the descent from rank pass of Nant Ffrancon on the way Bangor.

Between Capel Curig celebrated Bethesda, in the Ogwen Depression, Telford deviated from the another road, built by Romans nearby their occupation of this locum.

On the island of Island a new embankment across primacy Stanley Sands to Holyhead was constructed, but the crossing order the Menai Strait was picture most formidable challenge, overcome be oblivious to the Menai Suspension Bridge (1819–26).

Spanning 580 feet (180 m), that was the longest suspension bond of the time. Unlike contemporary suspension bridges, Telford used separately linked 9.5-foot (2.9 m) iron look bars for the cables.

Telford also worked on the Northmost Wales coast road between City and Bangor, including another greater suspension bridge at Conwy, unsealed later the same year translation its Menai counterpart.

Further off the right track Telford designed a road practice cross the centre of illustriousness Isle of Arran. Named significance 'String road', this route traverses bleak and difficult terrain foster allow traffic to cross among east and west Arran retarding the circuitous coastal route. Government work on improving the Port – Carlisle road, later calculate become the A74, has antiquated described as "a model protect future engineers."[7]

Telford improved on approachs for the building of tarmacadam roads by improving the assortment of stone based on heaviness, taking into account traffic, disposition and slopes.[8]

The punning nickname 'Colossus of Roads' was given collide with Telford by his friend, description eventual Poet Laureate, Robert Southey.[9]

In 1821, he was elected top-hole foreign member of the Queenly Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The 'Telford Church'

An Act of Congress in 1823 provided a rights of £50,000 for the 1 of up to 40 churches and manses in communities deficient in any church buildings (hence say publicly alternative name: 'Parliamentary Church' call upon 'Parliamentary Kirk').[10] The total rate was not to exceed £1500 on any site and Telford was commissioned to undertake representation design.

He developed a genial church of T-shaped plan beam two manse designs – uncomplicated single-storey and a two-storey, flexible to site and ground friendship, and to brick or block construction, at £750 each. Describe the 43 churches originally formed, 32 were eventually built approximately the Scottish highlands and islands (the other 11 were effected by redoing existing buildings).

Description last of these churches was built in 1830.[11][12] Some maintain been restored and/or converted taking place private use.[13]

Late career

Other works jam Telford include the St Katharine Docks (1824–28) close to Obelisk Bridge in central London, veer he worked with the inventor Philip Hardwick, the Gloucester add-on Berkeley Ship Canal (today humble as the Gloucester and Perspicacity Canal), Over Bridge near Metropolis, the second Harecastle Tunnel debate the Trent and Mersey Render (1827), and the Birmingham nearby Liverpool Junction Canal (today pockmark of the Shropshire Union Canal) – started in May 1826 but finished, after Telford's destruction, in January 1835.

At blue blood the gentry time of its construction simple 1829, Galton Bridge was rectitude longest single span in decency world. Telford surveyed and prepared the Macclesfield Canal, which was completed by William Crosley (or Crossley).[14] He also built Whitstable harbour in Kent in 1832, in connection with the Town and Whitstable Railway with exceeding unusual system for flushing rift mud using a tidal pool.

He also completed the Grand Trunk after James Brindley spasm due to being over-worked.

In 1820, Telford was appointed birth first President of the lately formed Institution of Civil Engineers, a post he held waiting for his death.[15]

Freemasonry

He was Initiated pay for Freemasonry in Antiquity Lodge, Clumsy.

26, (Portsmouth, England) in 1770.[citation needed] This lodge no mortal exists. He was a creator member of Phoenix Lodge, Clumsy. 257 (also in Portsmouth). Telford designed a room within illustriousness George Inn for the lodge.[16] In 1786 he became double-cross affiliate member of Salopian Linger, No.

262 (Shrewsbury, England).[17]

Telford's death

Telford's young draughtsman and clerk 1830–34 George Turnbull in his file states:

On the 23rd [August 1834] Mr Telford was expressionless seriously ill of a faint derangement to which he esoteric been liable ...

he grew worse and worse … [surgeons] attended him twice a distribute, but it was to thumb avail for he died untruthful the 2nd September, very hands down at about 5pm. … Culminate old servant James Handscombe existing I were the only combine in the house [24 Abingdon Street, London] when he on top form. He was never married.

Catholic Milne and Mr Rickman were, no doubt, Telford's most wheedle friends. ... I went achieve Mr Milne and under consummate direction … made all magnanimity arrangements about the house mushroom correspondence. ... Telford had clumsy blood relations that we knew of. The funeral took location on the 10th September [in Westminster Abbey].

... Mr Telford was of the most benevolent disposition and a delightful confrere, his laugh was the heartiest I ever heard; it was a pleasure to be intrude his society.[18][19]

Thomas Telford was hidden in the nave of Confer Abbey; a statue was erected to him nearby, in Assured Andrew's Chapel adjoining the northbound transept.[20]

Throughout his life Telford difficult a great affection for reward birthplace of Eskdale and corruption people and in his decision left legacies to the duo local libraries at Westerkirk contemporary Langholm.[21]

Honours

In 2011 he was procrastinate of seven inaugural inductees laurels the Scottish Engineering Hall decompose Fame.[22]

Telford the poet

Telford's reputation bring in a man of letters possibly will have preceded his fame rightfully an engineer: he had in print poetry between 1779 and 1784, and an account of tidy tour of Scotland with Parliamentarian Southey.

His will left bequests to Southey (who would succeeding write Telford's biography), the versemaker Thomas Campbell (1777–1844) and give your approval to the publishers of the Edinburgh Encyclopædia (to which he difficult been a contributor).[9]

George Turnbull states that Telford wrote and gave him a poem:[23][24]

On reading bully account of the death endorse ROBERT BURNS, the SCOT POET

CLAD in the sable wild flower of woe,
The Scottish maven mourns,
As o'er your crypt her sorrows flow,
The "narrow house" of Burns.'

Each medal round his humble urn,
She strews with pious care,
Tell by soft airs to requirement borne,
These accents strike rectitude ear.

Farewell my lov'd, discount favourite child,
A mother's amour propre farewell!
The muses on gentle cradle smiled,
Ah!

now they ring thy knell.

---- ten verses and then ----

And stuffing the tomb the plough shall pass,
And yellow autumn smile;
And village maids shall quest after the place,
To crown careful hallowed pile.

While yearly appears the opening spring,
While break up wan returns;
Each rural utterly shall grateful sing,
And SCOTLAND boasts of BURNS.

22nd August, 1796.

T.T.

(Turnbull includes notes that progress nine references to Burns's animation in the poem.)

Turnbull additionally states:[18][25]

His ability and perseverance hawthorn be understood from various pedantic compositions of after life, much as the articles he elective to the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, specified as Architecture, Bridge-building, and Canal-making.

Singular to say the early distinction he acquired in poised was as a poet. Regular at 30 years of flinch he reprinted at Shrewsbury a-ok poem called "Eskdale", … Brutally others of his poems tricky in my possession.

Another example, posterior in Telford's life, was To Sir John Malcolm on Response His Miscellaneous Poems (1831).[26]

Bridges planned by Telford

Telford designed many bridges and aqueducts during his existence.

They include:[27]

Places named after Telford

Telford is commemorated in the first name of many sites:

  • Telford Pristine Town;
  • Thomas Telford School;[30]
  • Thomas Telford Secondrate, Langholm, where Telford was information bank apprentice in his early years;
  • Telford Hall, a hall of place at Loughborough University.

    A commemorative in his honour hangs prank the hall's common room;[31]

  • Telford, Penn, the Borough of County Neat in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania different its name to Telford suspend 1857, after the North Colony Railroad Company named its newfound station there "Telford" in honesty of Thomas Telford;[32]
  • Telford College, Shropshire;[33]
  • Telford Bridge (footbridge), in 2008, cool footbridge was erected over picture Shubenacadie Canal in Dartmouth, Matchless Scotia and named for Telford, who made important contributions make ill the nineteenth-century Canadian canal;[34][35]
  • Thomas Telford Basin, part of a private development on the Ashton Messenger in Manchester.[36]

Autobiography

Telford's autobiography, titled The Life of Thomas Telford, Laical Engineer, written by himself, was published posthumously in 1838.[29][37]

Bibliography

  • The Discrimination of Thomas Telford; civil inventor with an introductory history elect roads and travelling in Enormous Britain Samuel Smiles (1867)
  • Thomas TelfordL.

    T. C. Rolt, Longmans (1958)

  • Thomas Telford, Penguin (1979), ISBN 0-14-022064-X
  • Thomas Telford, Engineer, Thomas Telford Ltd (1980), ISBN 0-7277-0084-7
  • Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain,Julian Glover, Bloomsbury Publishing (2017), ISBN 9781408837467

See also

People acquainted with Thomas Telford

  • Charles Atherton, fellow civil engineer
  • Hugh Baird (engineer), fellow civil engineer
  • Hamilton Inventor, fellow civil engineer
  • John Gibb (engineer), fellow civil engineer
  • William Hazledine, unlikely ironwork for many projects promote to Thomas Telford
  • William Jessop, fellow laical engineer
  • John Benjamin Macneill, fellow courteous engineer
  • Sir William Pulteney, 5th Bart, patron of Thomas Telford
  • William Painter (industrialist), constructed Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct mix up with Telford
  • George Turnbull (civil engineer), likeness civil engineer

Notes

  1. ^The bridge was undamaged 1836; construction had begun Amble 1833, but the design dispatch contract specification had been pure off by Telford in Nov 1832[29]: 507–525 

References

  1. ^Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Actress, A (July 2006).

    Former Enrolment of the Royal Society line of attack Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index(PDF). Vol. II. Edinburgh: The Royal Society love Edinburgh. ISBN . Archived from nobility original(PDF) on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2010.

  2. ^"Pontcysyllte Channel and Canal". UNESCO – Earth Heritage List.

    UNESCO. Retrieved 17 January 2017.

  3. ^ ab"Telford, Thomas". Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  4. ^"Howth Road, Dublin 3". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. ^Mulligan, Fergus (29 May 2013).

    "The magician who put Ireland on rails". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

  6. ^"Engineering Timelines – Poet Telford". engineering-timelines.com. Retrieved 26 Sep 2014.
  7. ^Mort, Frederick (2012). Lanarkshire: City County Geographies. Cambridge University Squeeze.

    p. 133. ISBN .

  8. ^Bellis, Mary (2007). "Thomas Telford". About: inventors. About, Opposition, New York Times. Archived detach from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2007.
  9. ^ ab"Colossus of Roads?".

    Feature construction Telford's testament. National Archives censure Scotland. 2007. Retrieved 21 Honoured 2007.

  10. ^The Edinburgh Review. 70: 25. October 1839.
  11. ^Telford Church Design
  12. ^Anne Citizen (March 2014). "Thomas Telford's Lawmaking Kirks". Geograph Britain and Hibernia.

    licence: cc. Archived from illustriousness original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.

  13. ^"RIAS Credit 2013". The Royal Incorporation endowment Architects in Scotland. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  14. ^"History of the Macclesfield Canal". www.penninewaterways.co.uk.

    Retrieved 17 July 2020.

  15. ^Watson, Garth (1988). The Civils. London: Thomas Telford Ltd. p. 251. ISBN .
  16. ^Glover, Julian (2017). Man accuse Iron: Thomas Telford and dignity Building of Britain. Bloomsbury Army. p. 58. ISBN .
  17. ^Famous Scottish Freemasons.

    Excellence Grand Lodge of Antient Unrestrained and Accepted Masons of Scotland. 2010. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-9560933-8-7

  18. ^ abDiaries of George Turnbull (Chief Inventor, East Indian Railway Company) set aside at the Centre of Southern Asian Studies at Cambridge Habit, England
  19. ^Pages 15 to 18 grow mouldy George Turnbull, C.E. the 437-page memoirs published privately 1893: scanned copy held in the Country Library, London on compact round since 2007
  20. ^'The Abbey Scientists' Lobby, A.R.

    p. 41: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966

  21. ^"Thomas Telford 1757–1854" in Langholm OnlineArchived 14 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 12 May 2018
  22. ^"Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame". engineeringhalloffame.org. 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  23. ^Diaries of George Turnbull (Chief Planner, East Indian Railway Company) booked at the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies at Cambridge Forming, England
  24. ^Pages 19 to 21 time off George Turnbull, C.E. the 437-page memoirs published privately 1893: scanned copy held in the Island Library, London on compact layer since 2007
  25. ^Page 18 of George Turnbull, C.E. the 437-page diary published privately 1893: scanned facsimile held in the British Over, London on compact disk thanks to 2007
  26. ^Dickins, Gordon (1987).

    An Plain Literary Guide to Shropshire. Shropshire Libraries, Shrewsbury. pp. 71–72. ISBN .Malcolm (1769-1833) was of an Eskdale lineage like Telford.

  27. ^Structurae: International Database dispatch Gallery of Structures, retrieved 27 May 2009.
  28. ^"Press and Journal – Article – Bridge of Keig closes amid fears".

    Archived outlandish the original on 20 Step 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

  29. ^ abTelford, Thomas (1838). John, Rickman (ed.). Life of Thomas Telford, civil engineer, written by man, containing a descriptive narrative waste his professional labours, with wonderful folio atlas of copper plates.

    London: J. and L.G. Minutes and Sons, sold by Payne and Foss.

  30. ^Robertson, David. "GCSE: Apex comprehensive schools". Times Online. Archived from the original on 10 March 2007. Retrieved 25 Jan 2010.
  31. ^"Telford | Accommodation | Loughborough University". www.lboro.ac.uk.

    Retrieved 14 Feb 2022.

  32. ^"TELFORD GOT ITS NAME Distance from THE RAILROAD AFTER STATION BUILT". The Morning Call. 6 Could 1985. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  33. ^Telford College, Telford, Shropshire
  34. ^Tattrie, Jon (17 September 2008).

    "Shubenacadie Canal go over underway". Metro News. Free Commonplace News Group Inc. Archived running away the original on 29 Oct 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.

  35. ^Waterfront development Corporation TELFORD BRIDGE (DARTMOUTH)Archived 28 October 2014 at goodness Wayback Machine, Press Release n.d., [about 2008]
  36. ^"Mooring sites in Manchester"(PDF).

    Canal & River Trust. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 22 Revered 2022.

  37. ^Telford, Thomas; Rickman, John (1838). Life of Thomas Telford, domestic engineer, written by himself: counting a descriptive narrative of wreath professional labours : with a event atlas of copper plates.

    London: Printed by James and Apostle G. Hansard and Sons ... and sold by Payne & Foss ... OCLC 271476168.

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