Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. He was a stonemason, architect and civil engineer - a noted road-, bridge- and canal- builder.

The 'Colossus of Roads'

During his later years, Telford was responsible for rebuilding sections of the London to Holyhead road (a task completed by his assistant of ten years, John MacNeill; today, the route is the A5 trunk road). Between London and Shrewsbury, most of the work amounted to improvements (including the Archway cutting in north London and improvements at Barnet and South Mimms). Beyond Shrewsbury, and especially beyond Llangollen, the work often involved building a highway from scratch. Notable features of this section of the route include the iron 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.

Related Topics:
London to Holyhead road - John MacNeill - A5 - Barnet - South Mimms - Conwy - Betws-y-Coed - Capel Curig - Nant Ffrancon - Bangor

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On 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, finally overcome by the Menai Suspension Bridge (1819-1826).

Related Topics:
Anglesey - Menai Strait - Menai Suspension Bridge

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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 counterpart at Menai Bridge.

Related Topics:
Suspension bridge - Conwy - Menai Bridge

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(The punning nickname Colossus of Roads was given to Telford by his friend and Poet Laureate Robert Southey.)

Related Topics:
Nickname - Poet Laureate - Robert Southey

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