Thomas Telford Esq FR. ALRE PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL Tho. Telfor ENGINEERS. & FISHER. SON. & C LONDON, 1832. THE IMPERIAL MAGAZINE. JULY, 1832. MEMOIR OF THOMAS TELFORD, ESQ., F. R. S. L. & E., ETC. ETC, ETC. (With a Portrait.) Ir rank and fortune were the criterion of genius, talent would be monopolized by wealth and title, and the aristocracy of power would extend its influence over the dominions of science. Happily, however, neither an extensive domain, nor hereditary descent, is the standard by which to measure mental energy. The castes of India have not yet established their thrones in the regions of thought. The human mind still expatiates in all the glory of unbounded freedom, and the sparklings of its emanations are equally brilliant, whether they arise from the poor man's cottage, or the palace of a prince. It is to the energies of genius in humble life, that science is chiefly indebted for its most valuable discoveries, and the extension of its empire; and the names which it has rescued from obscurity, and inscribed on the pedestal of fame, will remain with unfading lustre, when those of kings and heroes are erased from her tablet, or rendered illegible by the corrosions of the blood with which they were originally written. A Brindley, a Watt, a Rennie, a Davy, are names that never will be forgotten. From these, and such as these, both among the living and the dead, we have selected many illustrious examples, and we have now the pleasure of augmenting the number, by introducing to our readers the subject of this memoir. MR. THOMAS TELFORD is a native of Scotland, where he was born in the year 1757. The place of his nativity was in the pastoral valley of Eskdale, a district in the county of Dumfries. His parents occupied a station in the humble walks of life, which, without amassing wealth, they filled with becoming respectability. His education was limited, both in duration and extent. The parochial school of Westerkirk was his only seminary, and here nothing beyond the simple elements of learning was to be acquired. At the age of fourteen, Mr. Telford was bound an apprentice to an eminent builder, in the county that gave him birth; and, having obtained a competent knowledge of his business, on the expiration of his term, he for some years practised the same profession in his native district. The southern counties of Scotland, however, at this time furnished but little encouragement for talent; and, as a natural consequence, industry found but a scanty reward. Convinced of these facts, he resolved to leave his native abode, and, reducing resolution to practice, he repaired to Edinburgh, where he continued, by unremitting application, to study the principles of architecture, agreeably to the rules of science. Here he remained 2D. SERIES, No. 19.-VOL. II. 2 P 163.-VOL. XIV, until the year 1782, when, having made a commendable proficiency, he left the Scottish for the British metropolis, and came to London under the patronage of the late Sir William Pulteney, (originally Johnstone,) and the family of Pasley, who were natives of the parish of Westerkirk. The talents and industry of Mr. Telford, fostered by this patronage, on his arrival in England, did not long remain unnoticed or unemployed. His progress was not rapid, but it was steady and always advancing; and every new opportunity of displaying his taste, science, and genius, extended his fame, and paved the way to new enterprises and acquisitions. The first public employment in which we find Mr. Telford engaged was, that of superintending some works belonging to Government in Portsmouth Dock-yard. The duties of this undertaking were discharged with so much fidelity and care, as to give complete satisfaction to the commissioners, and to ensure the future exercise of his talents and services. Hence, in 1787, he was appointed surveyor of the public works in the rich and extensive county of Salop; and it is pleasing to add, that this situation he retains to the present day. In 1790 Mr. Telford was employed by the British Fishery Society, to inspect the harbours at their several stations, and to devise a plan for an extensive establishment at Wick in the county of Caithness. This work was regularly accomplished, and it has been the chief centre of the herring fishery on that coast, under the name of Pulteney Town. During the same year, 1790, an extensive inland navigation, in length about one hundred miles, called the Ellesmere Canal, was confided to Mr. Telford's general management. This, in its track along the base of the Welsh hills, passes over the aqueducts of Pont y Cysylte, and Chirk. The former, one thousand feet long, and one hundred and twenty-eight feet high; and the latter, six hundred feet long, and seventy feet high, were constructed according to his plans, and under his direction. In the years 1803 and 1804, the parliamentary commissioners for making roads and building bridges in the Highlands of Scotland, and also for making the Caledonian canal, appointed Mr. Telford their engineer. Under the former board, eleven hundred bridges, two of one hundred and fifty feet span, were built, and eight hundred and sixty miles of new road were made; and under the latter Board, the Caledonian Canal, of unusually large dimensions, was constructed. Under the Road Commissioners, on the Glasgow, Carlisle, and Lanarkshire Roads, thirty bridges, one of one hundred and fifty feet span, and another one hundred and twenty-two feet high, were constructed. Under the same Commissioners, and local Trustees, above thirty harbours were built; some of which, as at Aberdeen and Dundee, are upon an extensive scale. At and adjoining to Edinburgh, two very lofty and expensive bridges were built from his design, and under his direction. He is also occasionally employed by the city of Glasgow. Nor were Mr. Telford's labours and talents exclusively devoted to Scotland and Wales. In England his professional employment became very extensive. Five large bridges, over the river Severn, were executed after his plans. One of these was one hundred and thirty, another one hundred and fifty, and a third one hundred and seventy feet span. In all the works to which the Commissioners for the Loan of Exchequer Bills granted aid, he acted as their engineer, which, in the aggregate, amounted to more than twenty instances. By the general Post Office, he has also been employed in making many extensive surveys in sundry districts of England, Scotland, and Wales. As engineer to the Parliamentary Commissioners for improving the communication between London and Dublin, all the works on the Holyhead Road, including the Menai and Conway Bridges, were performed under Mr. Telford's direction, with the exception of the landing piers of Holyhead and Howth; for these he only completed. While the preceding works were being executed, several other branches of inland navigation were carried on under Mr. Telford's direction. Among these may be named the Birmingham and Liverpool, and the Macclesfield, canals; the unrivalled improvements upon the old Birmingham, and the extension of the Ellesmere and Chester canals. A new Tunnel also, three thousand yards in length, under the Harecastle Hill, on the summit of the Trent and Mersey canal, was conducted under his superintendence, as was likewise the improvement of the river Weaver Navigation, which is the outlet of the Cheshire Salt Works. In the metropolis, the St. Catherine's Docks, at Tower-hill, were constructed under Mr. Telford's direction; and in the Fens, the New Outfall of the river Nene, and the drainage of the North Level, stand as memorials of his scientific skill, industry, and perseverance. Nor has the British empire alone been benefited by Mr. Telford's genius. In the year 1808, he was employed by the Swedish government to survey the ground, and lay out an inland navigation, through the central parts of that kingdom. The design of this undertaking was, to connect the great fresh-water Lakes, and to form a direct communication by water between the North Sea at Gothenburg, and the Baltic at Soderkoping. In 1813, Mr. Telford again visited Sweden, taking with him some experienced British workmen, with such suitable materials as were wanted. Here he inspected the work in its progressive state, and superintended such branches as required practical observation. This gigantic undertaking has been fully accomplished, notwithstanding the numerous obstacles it became necessary to surmount. The communication between the lakes has been in active operation for several years; and the whole works being in a state of completion, the entire intercourse between the Baltic and the North Sea will be opened in October of the present year. In addition to the honorary distinction of F. R. S. awarded to Mr. Telford by the Royal Societies of London and of Edinburgh, his name stands conspicuously among the most celebrated engineers of our country. In 1818, an institution of civil engineers was established, which, being found of practical utility, was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1828. Of this institution, from its primary commencement, Mr. Telford has been annually elected president. This tribute of respect, due to transcendent talents, is cheerfully paid by its numerous members. This useful society consists of men eminent for experience and practical skill; and of young persons desirous of acquiring information on the various subjects connected with the profession of a civil engineer. Although at the meetings, theory cannot be excluded, yet the main purpose is, to obtain practical facts. Hence, notes are taken of what is verbally communicated; and these, together with what is furnished in writing, are registered for the use of the members. By these means, a valuable mass of practical information has already been accumulated, and every meeting adds something to the general stock. This institution at present consists of two hundred members, resident not only in the British Isles, but in Russia, Germany, France, Holland, and India. Mr. Telford, as may be gathered from the year of his birth, is now seventy-five years of age; and if months and weeks are taken into the |