The History of Thomas Telford 1757 – 1834
Son of a shepherd, Thomas Telford was born at Glendinning in the Meggat Valley on 9th August 1757. After the early death of his father, his mother moved to The Crooks and took farm work to help provide for her infant son. The young Thomas Telford attended Westerkirk Parish School before taking up an apprenticeship as a stonemason in Langholm. At the age of 23 Thomas Telford went to Edinburgh where he became involved in the design and construction of the New Town, and 2 years later, driven by ambition, he travelled to London.
During the following years he studied hard and quickly rose from mason to architect to designer and engineer, undertaking increasingly complex projects, including the design and construction of churches, bridges, canals, aqueducts and tunnels.
In 1801 Thomas Telford was commissioned by the Government to return to Scotland to carry out a survey of the Highlands, where conditions were extremely primitive. He designed an ambitious communications network, and over the next 18 years his work included the construction of over 1000 miles of roads, 17 major bridges and more than 1100 minor bridges.
Thomas Telford was the founder member and the first president of the Institute of Civil Engineers. His skills gained an international reputation, but he never lost his affection for the people and landscape of Eskdale from which it is said he drew inspiration. He died on 2 September 1834 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
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