Craigellachie Bridge. Thomas Telford. Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE (1757–1834) was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.
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. Thomas Telford Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland. Thomas Telford was born on 9 August 1757 near Westerkirk in Dumfries-shire, the posthumous son of a shepherd.
He spent his childhood supplementing the family's limited income by shepherding and left his parish school at the age of 14 to become an apprentice stonemason in Langholm. In 1780 he went to Edinburgh to work as a mason on the development of the New Town. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline. In 1782 Telford moved to London to work on the greatest construction project of the day, Somerset House. His ability, his desire to better himself, and the strong impression he made on an increasing number of influential people allowed him rapidly to catch up on his missed education, and to moved from stonemason to engineer. By 1784 he was managing construction works at Portsmouth Dockyard. In 1801 the Government asked Thomas Telford to develop his earlier work on harbours and piers with a survey of roads across Scotland.
Thomas Telford the Civil Engineer. Thomas Telford. Langholm Online - Langholm, Dumfriesshire Welcome to the Muckle Toon. The son of a shepherd, Thomas Telford was born on 9 August 1757 at Glendinning in the Parish of Westerkirk.
Thomas Telford became an apprentice stonemason locally and worked on the construction of the Langholm Bridge and the new town of Langholm. Telford’s career took him to Edinburgh where he studied architecture and then to London and Shrewsbury. Langholm Online - Thomas Telford, 250th Anniversary Celebrations. Thomas Telford was born at Glendinning in the Parish of Westerkirk to the north of Langholm on August 9th 1757.
The people of Langholm and Westerkirk are proud of Telford’s legacy and the remarkable things he achieved in his lifetime. Thomas Telford was prolific as a builder of roads, canals, harbours and churches across Britain and in Sweden. He is buried in Westminster Abbey and bequeathed money to the two libraries in Westerkirk and Langholm which still exist today. Thomas Telford. Telford, Thomas (1757 - 1834), versatile Scottish Civil Engineer whose crowning achievement was the design and construction (1819-26) of the Menai Bridge in Wales.
Early Life Telford was born near Westerkirk, Scotland, August 9, 1757 as a son of a shepherd. Young Telford grew up a healthy boy and he was so full of fun and humour that he became known in the valley by the name of "Laughing Tam. " When he was old enough to herd sheep he went to live with a relative a shepherd like his father and he spent most of his time with him in summer on the hillside amidst the silence of nature. In winter he lived with one or other of the neighbouring farmers. Building a Reputation He accordingly left Eskdale for the first time in 1780 and sought work in Edinburgh where the New Town was then in course of erection on the elevated land formerly green fields extending along the north bank of the 'Nor' Loch. A Typical Working Day Engineering Work. The History of Bannockburn:Thomas Telford by Joe Smith. 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. ThomasTelford.info - Celebrating Thomas Telford's 250th Year Anniversary: Home Page. Thomas Telford - The Colossus Of Roads At Coalbrookdale Gallery, Ironbridge. Thomas Telford. 2007 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of legendary engineer, Thomas Telford, the greatest road, canal and bridge builder of his age.
Telford was born on the 9th August 1757 in Westerkirk, Scotland and he became the first President of the Institution of Civil Engineers and was renowned in his day as "Colossus of Roads". In 1787 he became Surveyor of Public Works in Shropshire and as an architect he became involved with the renovation of Shrewsbury Castle, Shrewsbury Prison, St. Mary Magdalene Church in Bridgnorth and St. Michael’s Church in Madeley. This work involved: Shrewsbury Castle – Telford converted this from a derelict ruin into a house for the town’s MP.
MossValley: 1830, Thomas Telford's report - Holyhead Road, proposed mail coach road between Chirk and Ketley. MossValley Home Transcript of the of Mr.
Telford on the ROAD FROM KETLEY IRON WORKS in the County of Salop to CHIRK IN NORTH WALES (Holyhead Road) Ordered, by The House of Commons, to be Printed, 10 February, 1830. [James and Luke G. Hansard & Sons, Printers.] Thomas Telford's Contribution. Initial Involvement Thomas Telford first visited the canal construction works in 1817 in his capacity as Consultant Engineer to the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners.
The Commissioners’ remit was to promote public works which would employ soldiers returning from the war with France that had ended in 1815. Following Telford's visit, they agreed to support the project, and construction work started again after a break of 19 years since the initial phase in the 1790s. Progress at a Price Although good progress was made, including a junction with the Stroudwater Canal in 1820, the work of contractors and the supervision of resident engineers fell short of what was required for such a huge project.
Telford was called in to advise on one crisis after another until the available money was all spent with much work still to do at Sharpness. Sources Telford correspondence at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum and G&B Canal Co minute books at the National Archives. Darwin Country - Telford, Thomas 1757-1834. Civil Engineer. Home : Telford, Thomas 1757-1834.
Civil Engineer. Thomas Telford. Oil painting. c. 1792. artist unknown. Shrewsbury Museums Service (SHYMS: FA/1991/109) Thomas Telford. Thomas Telford (1757-1834) Thomas Telford (1757-1834) - Civil Engineer. Born August 9th 1757 at Langholm, Dumfries ... on a hill farm in Eskdale. Treftadaeth Menai Heritage — Biography of Thomas Telford. Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh First President of the Institution of Civil Engineers Engineer for the Holyhead Road 1811-1826 Thomas Telford was born at Glendinning, Eskdale (near Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway) on 9 th August 1757. John Telford, his father, was a shepherd and died in November the same year so the family was very poor. Thomas received elementary education at the local school and also helped out with various jobs around the area. He was known locally as 'Laughing Tam'.
At the age of 14 Thomas was apprenticed to a stone mason, and examples of his work can still be seen in Langholm and Westerkirk. In 1786 he was employed by William Pulteney to improve Shrewsbury Castle and was appointed Surveyor of Public Works for the County of Shropshire, a post he held until his death. Following work he had done for the British Fisheries Society, in 1801 he was appointed by the Government to survey and improve communications in the Scottish Highlands. Thomas Telford. Thomas Telford continued Early life: more than a stonemason On 9 August 1757, in a remote cottage in the parish of Westerkirk in Eskdale, Scotland, Janet Telford gave birth to a son, Thomas.
He was her second son — the first, also named Thomas, had died as a young baby. Their father was John Telford, an Eskdale shepherd. Thomas Telford - History of Roads. Thomas Telford was the son of a Dumfriesshire shepherd. With a background in stonemasonary, Telford became a civil engineer. During his time, Thomas Telford improved upon the method of building roads with broken stones by analyzing stone thickness, road traffic, road alignment and gradient slopes. Eventually his designs became the norm for all roads everywhere. Thomas Telford's Greatest Achievements Comsidered one of the best engineers in the world, Thomas Telford's achievements of civil engineering include:Caledonian CanalOne thousand miles of road builtone thousand bridges builtforty harborsGotha CanalKatherine's Docks in LondonMenai BridgeImprovements to the Glasgow to Carlisle Roadway Menai Suspension Bridge.
Thomas Telford (1757-1834) - Online stuff. Thomas Telford - Engineers, Designers & Designing - Design & Technology On The Web support resource for students and teachers of Design & Technology at KS3, KS4, A-Level and beyond. To handle the ever increasing volume of traffic using the waterways system. Thomas Telford, engineer: Colossus of Roads Thomas Telford (1757-1834) was a prolific civil engineer, responsible for the building of a number of significant roads, canals and bridges during his long career. His major achievements included the London to Holyhead road and the 579 ft span wrought iron Menai Suspension Bridge, which was begun in 1819 and completed seven years later.
The Parliamentary Archives holds a variety of records relating to works which Telford was involved in, including Acts of Parliament, deposited plans, evidence, reports and correspondence. Many of Thomas Telford's creations required Acts of Parliament to provide the funds for building and from 1794 it was necessary to deposit with the office of the Clerk of the Parliaments various documents, including plans, for canal, navigation and water Bills. Over time, these rules were extended to apply to other types of Bills such as those dealing with railways, turnpike roads and bridges. Parliamentary Archives: HL/PO/PB/3/plan26 Parliamentary Archives: SC/1/3/310. Thomas Telford.