Thomas Telford's lasting legacy

See the work of Scotland's greatest engineer

From the Caledonian Canal to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Thomas Telford made his mark on the industrial landscape of Britain.

Regarded as one of Scotland's greatest engineers, he was born in Glendinning, Dumfries and Galloway, in 1757.

He began his working life as a stonemason, moving to London where his works included Somerset House.

The engineer and architect spent a lifetime constructing great building works.

Prolific worker

William Pulteney, who he had known as a child, secured him a job as surveyor of public works in Shropshire. This involved civil engineering, then in its infancy, as well as architectural skills. Telford approached both with relish, designing and engineering his first iron bridge.

In 1793 he was appointed engineer for the Ellesmere Canal, one of his most famous engineering feats, involving the construction of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to carry canal traffic high above the land.

Telford is now regarded as an honourable Salopian and the town of Telford was named after him.

The Caledonian Canal was designed and engineered by Thomas Telford

Telford was a prolific worker undertaking grand works in Shropshire, Wales, London and abroad.

He designed and engineered roads, bridges, harbours and other structures across Scotland.

This helped pull the country into the modern industrial age and giving those dispossessed by the Highland Clearances a reason to work and stay in Scotland.

Lasting legacy

One of his great achievements in Scotland was the design and engineering of the Caledonian Canal. The canal took ten years to complete and its practical use was eclipsed with the advent of the age of steam.

Telford died in 1834, having completely transformed the face of Britain and leaving a lasting legacy to the then fledgling profession of civil engineering. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.