42-677: The Almond Aqueduct , also known as the Lin's Mill Aqueduct , is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Union Canal over the River Almond in Scotland , west of Ratho , Edinburgh . The aqueduct was built to a design by Hugh Baird , with advice from Thomas Telford , in tandem with the Slateford Aqueduct and Avon Aqueduct , with which it shares its design. Baird had originally proposed to have only
84-617: A commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey . Although a less expensive construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales . Only parts of the canal route were completed because
126-714: A continual supply, Telford built an artificial weir known as the Horseshoe Falls near Llantysilio to maintain water height. Subsequently, the Plas Kynaston Canal was built to serve industry in the Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre areas in the 1820s. There might have been another canal extension ("Ward's") but detailed records do not survive. Goods traffic was brought down to the canal by the Ruabon Brook Tramway which climbed towards Acrefair and Plas Bennion. This railway
168-559: A location near an 18th-century road crossing, Pont Cysyllte . After the westerly high-ground route was approved, the original plan was to create a series of locks down both sides of the valley to an embankment that would carry the Ellesmere Canal over the River Dee. After Telford was hired the plan was changed to an aqueduct that would create an uninterrupted waterway straight across the valley. Despite considerable public scepticism, Telford
210-414: A single span, with embankments carrying the canal the rest of the way, but eventually decided to use the same design as the other two aqueducts. Telford was not convinced that the stone arches were necessary in conjunction with the iron trough, but Baird used both on all three major aqueducts. Construction was carried out by Messrs. Craven, Whitaker and Nowell between 1819 and 1821, their success in building
252-542: A stone bridge over the River Ouse making their tender for the contract "by far the most eligible." In 1970 it was designated as a scheduled monument and in 1971 it was given Category A status, being individually listed for each local authority (the river denotes the boundary between West Lothian and Edinburgh). In 2003 the Union Canal became a scheduled monument thus causing the aqueduct to be scheduled twice and leading to
294-602: A track and by walkers and cyclists on the Union Canal towpath. Navigable aqueduct Navigable aqueducts (sometimes called navigable water bridges ) are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts . Roman aqueducts were used to transport water and were created in Ancient Rome. The 662-metre (2,172 ft) long steel Briare aqueduct carrying
336-400: Is 336 yd (307 m) long, 12 ft (3.7 m) wide and 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) deep. It consists of a cast iron trough supported 126 ft (38 m) above the river on iron arched ribs carried on eighteen hollow masonry piers (pillars). Each of the 18 spans is 53 ft (16 m) wide. With the completion of the aqueduct, the next phase of the canal should have been
378-414: Is a decorative feature only, following the lines of the stiffening plates (see below) in the castings beneath. In nearby Cefn Mawr a high quartz content sandstone was discovered at the location where the new Cefn Druids football stadium has since been built. Known locally as 'The Rock', the sandstone was extracted and worked here into the many numerous shapes as required by the engineers. Many remnants of
420-489: Is for use by narrowboats and was completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build. It is 12 feet (3.7 metres) wide and is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain as well as the highest canal aqueduct in the world. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side. The aqueduct was to have been a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal , an industrial waterway that would have created
462-696: The Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire was built in 1896. It was ranked as the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for more than a century, until the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany took the title in the early 21st century. Early aqueducts such as the three on the Canal du Midi had stone or brick arches, the longest span being 18.3 metres (60 ft) on the Cesse Aqueduct , built in 1690. But,
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#1732852332641504-629: The Erie Canal , constructed 1817–1825 in New York State , United States. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct ( Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɔntkəˈsəɬtɛ] ; Welsh : Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte ) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales . The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure
546-518: The Llangollen Canal . It has since become one of the most popular canals for holidaymakers in Britain because of its aqueducts and scenery. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is now maintained and managed by the Canal & River Trust (branded Glandŵr Cymru in Wales). Otters have been seen in the area. The mortar used lime , water and ox blood. Blood and extracts of blood containing haemoglobin have been used in
588-642: The London and North Western Railway was more than happy for the canal to remain open as long as it remained profitable. With the start of the First World War in 1914, the Shropshire Union – of which the Pontcysyllte aqueduct was a part – served the war effort with its fleet of more than 450 narrow boats. Commercial traffic on the canal greatly declined after a waterway breach near Newtown, Powys (now part of
630-480: The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal . The two companies had always worked together, in a bid to maintain their profits against competition from the railways, and amalgamation seemed to be a logical step. An agreement was worked out by August, and the two companies then sought a Private Act of Parliament to authorise the takeover. This was granted on 8 May 1845, when the larger Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company
672-545: The 25th day of July MDCCXCV [1795]. When Richard Myddelton of Chirk, Esq, M.P. one of the original patrons of the Ellesmere Canal was Lord of this manor, and in the reign of our Sovereign George the Third. When the equity of the laws, and the security of property, promoted the general welfare of the nation. While the arts and sciences flourished by his patronage and the conduct of civil life was improved by his example. The bridge
714-521: The Montgomery Canal) in 1936. By 1939 boat movements across the aqueduct to Llangollen had ceased. The canal was formally closed to navigation under the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company Act of 1944. On 6 September 1945, due to inadequate maintenance, the canal breached its banks east of Llangollen near Sun Bank Halt . The flow of hundreds of tons of water washed away the embankment of
756-411: The adjacent Counties having united their efforts with the great commercial interests of this country. In creating an intercourse and union between England and North Wales by a navigable communication of the three Rivers, Severne [ sic ] Dee and Mersey for the mutual benefit of agriculture and trades, caused the first stone of this aqueduct of Pontcysyllty [ sic ], to be laid on
798-405: The arches, but lugs are cast into the plates to fit over the rib arches to prevent movement. The aqueduct was left for six months with water inside to check that it was watertight. A feature of a canal aqueduct, in contrast with a road or railway viaduct, is that the vertical loading stresses are virtually constant. According to Archimedes' principle , the mass (weight) of a boat and its cargo on
840-419: The bridge pushes an equal mass of water off the bridge. The towpath is mounted above the water, with the inner edge carried on cast-iron pillars in the trough. This arrangement allows the water displaced by the passage of a narrowboat to flow easily under the towpath and around the boat, enabling relatively free passage. In 1831, the original wooden towpath was replaced with an iron structure cantilevered off
882-537: The construction and building industry since antiquity as air entraining colloids to inexpensively strengthen mortar exposed to freeze-thaw temperature cycles. The iron castings for the trough were produced at the nearby Plas Kynaston Foundry, Cefn Mawr, which was built by the Shrewsbury ironfounder and millwright William Hazledine in the hope of gaining the contract. The rib castings may have been made at Hazledine's original works at Coleham , near Shrewsbury. The trough
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#1732852332641924-545: The continuation of the line to Moss Valley, Wrexham where Telford had constructed a feeder reservoir lake in 1796. This would provide the water for the length of canal between Trevor Basin and Chester . The plan to build this section was cancelled in 1798, and the isolated feeder and a stretch of navigation between Ffrwd and a basin in Summerhill was abandoned. Remnants of the feeder channel are visible in Gwersyllt . A street in
966-480: The expected revenues required to complete the entire project were never generated. Most major work ceased after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805. The structure is a Grade I listed building and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The name Pontcysyllte is Welsh for "Cysyllte Bridge" or "Bridge of Cysyllte", Cysyllte being the township of the old parish of Llangollen in which
1008-556: The far more ambitious Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales on the Llangollen Canal over the River Dee valley, with a total length 307 metres and a height of 38 metres, making it the tallest navigable aqueduct in the world. Other cast-iron aqueducts followed, such as the single-span Stanley Ferry Aqueduct on the Calder and Hebble Navigation in 1839, with its innovative 50-metre (160 ft) through arch design. There were 32 navigable aqueducts on
1050-531: The highest spans is opened to drain the canal water into the River Dee below, to allow inspection and maintenance of the trough. The aqueduct was most recently closed for maintenance in mid 2024 and maintenance will be resuming in January 2025 with a further full closure of the aqueduct until mid-March. The aqueduct and surrounding lands were submitted to the "tentative list" of properties being considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1999. The aqueduct
1092-401: The material's strength in compression. They also give an impression of greater solidity than would be the case were the webs pierced. This impression is enhanced by the arrangement of strips of thicker stiffening incorporated into the castings, arranged in the manner of joints between voussoirs. Cast plates are laid transversely to form the bed of the canal trough. The trough is not fastened to
1134-611: The original designation being removed in 2019. The Barton Aqueduct of 1761, and subsequent canal aqueducts in the United Kingdom, used large quantities of masonry and puddling to obtain watertightness. After the success of The Iron Bridge in 1789, however, cast iron was used by Telford on aqueducts such as Chirk and Pontcysyllte . Aqueducts built in the early part of the 19th century use either puddle clay or an iron trough in no particular pattern. The Almond Aqueduct uses an iron trough to achieve watertightness, as well as containing
1176-636: The outward pressure of the water, allowing it to be of more slender construction than a purely stone aqueduct such as the Kelvin Aqueduct . Measuring 420 feet (130 m) long, it carries the Union Canal 76 feet (23 m) above the River Almond, from Edinburgh into West Lothian . A sluice into the Almond allows regulation of the water level in the canal, and near to the aqueduct is a feeder from Cobbinshaw Reservoir . The aqueduct can be reached by car by way of
1218-403: The railway further down the hill, tearing a 40-yard (37 m) crater 50 feet (15 m) deep. This caused the first traffic of the morning, a mail and goods train composed of 16 carriages and two vans, to crash into the breach, killing one and injuring two engine crew. The aqueduct was saved (despite its official closure to waterway traffic) because it was still required as a water feeder for
1260-520: The remainder of the Shropshire Union Canal . The aqueduct also supplied drinking water to a reservoir at Hurleston . In 1955 the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board agreed to maintain the canal securing its future. In the latter half of the 20th century, leisure boating traffic began to rise. In a rebranding exercise by British Waterways in the 1980s, the former industrial waterway was renamed
1302-495: The side of the trough but, contrary to some texts, the 12 ft (3.7 m) wide trough, extending under the towpath to allow water displacement, remains as originally built. Pedestrians, and the horses once used for towing, are protected from falling from the aqueduct by railings on the outside edge of the towpath, but the holes in the top flange of the other side of the trough, capable of mounting railings, were never used. The trough sides rise only about 6 inches (15 cm) above
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1344-561: The southern end of the bridge lies. The northern end of the bridge was in Trefor Isaf township, also in Llangollen parish. Other translations such as "bridge of the junction" or "bridge that links" are modern false etymologies , derived from the name's apparent similarity to the word cysylltau (plural of cyswllt ) which means connections or links. The aqueduct was designed by civil engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop for
1386-402: The village is still named Heol Camlas ( Welsh for 'canal way'). The physical construction was undertaken by John Simpson (d.1815) of Shrewsbury . With the project incomplete, Trevor Basin just over the Pontcysyllte aqueduct would become the canal's northern terminus. In 1808 a feeder channel to bring water from the River Dee near Llangollen was completed. In order to maintain
1428-460: The water level, less than the depth of freeboard of an empty narrow boat, so the helmsman of the boat has no visual protection from the impression of being at the edge of an abyss. The trough of the Cosgrove aqueduct has a similar structure, although it rests on trestles rather than iron arches. It is also less impressively high. Every five years the ends of the aqueduct are closed and a plug in one of
1470-464: The weight of the construction to support the trough with the clay or other lining to make it waterproof made these structures clumsy. In 1796 Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct , the first large cast iron aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford at Longdon-on-Tern on the Shrewsbury Canal . It has a total length of 57 metres (187 ft) across three intermediate piers. Within ten years Telford had completed
1512-399: The workings are still visible alongside Rock Road which links Rhosymedre to Plas Madoc . The supporting arches, four for each span, are in the form of cast-iron ribs, each cast as three voussoirs with external arches cast with an un-pierced web to give greater strength, at the cost of extra weight. Using cast iron in this way, in the same manner as the stone arch it supersedes, makes use of
1554-491: Was confident his construction method would work because he had previously built a cast-iron trough aqueduct – the Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal . The aqueduct was one of the first major feats of civil engineering undertaken by Telford, who was becoming one of Britain's leading industrial civil engineers ; although his work was supervised by Jessop, the more experienced canal engineer. Ironwork
1596-464: Was eventually upgraded to steam operation and extended towards Rhosllannerchrugog and Wrexham . In 1844, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company, which owned the broad canals from Ellesmere Port to Chester and from Chester to Nantwich , with a branch to Middlewich , began discussions with the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal , which ran from Nantwich to Autherley, where it joined
1638-543: Was formed. In 1846, the canal and the aqueduct became part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company . But the intent of the merger was to build railways at a reduced cost, by using the existing routes of the canals they owned. By 1849, the plan to turn canals into railways had been dropped. As the aqueduct was largely in an area that was served by railways owned by the Great Western Railway ,
1680-435: Was made from flanged plates of cast iron, bolted together, with the joints bedded with Welsh flannel and a mixture of white lead and iron particles from boring waste. After 25 years the white lead was replaced with ordinary tar. As with Telford's Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct, the plates are not rectangular but shaped as voussoirs , similar to those of a stone arch. There is no structural significance to their shape: it
1722-551: Was suggested as a contender in 2005—its 200th anniversary year —and it was formally announced in 2006 that a larger proposal, covering a section of the canal from the aqueduct to Horseshoe Falls would be the United Kingdom's 2008 nomination. The length of canal from Rhoswiel, Shropshire , to the Horseshoe Falls, including the main Pontcysyllte Aqueduct structure as well as the older Chirk Aqueduct , were visited by assessors from UNESCO during October 2008, to analyse and confirm
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1764-510: Was supplied by William Hazledine from his foundries at Shrewsbury and nearby Cefn Mawr . The work, which took around ten years from design to construction, cost around of £ 47,000. Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to no more than £4,820,000 in 2023 , but represented a major investment against the contemporary GDP of some £400 million. The Pontcysyllte aqueduct officially opened to traffic on 26 November 1805. A plaque commemorating its inauguration reads: The nobility and gentry,
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