The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is situated in the heart of Llangollen over the Dee Valley.
Designed by Thomas Telford and constructed under the supervision of William Jessop, the Aqueduct has a complete height of 126 feet and a complete length of 1007ft in length.
The aqueduct was designed in 1795 and completed in 1805. The purpose of the aqueduct was to carry raw materials over Dee Valley to parts of Wales and England.
The bridge linked numerous villages, however the main ones were the the village of Froncysyllte and the parish of Llangollen at the southern end of the bridge. Or as it was commonly known, the Cysyllte township of Llangollen, hence how the bridge got its name, although the bridge's name is most commonly known in English as the bridge of Cysyllte.
The bridge consists of an 11ft wide cast iron trough and is situated on 18 limestone quarried pillars.The mortar consists of lime, water and ox blood to hold the pillars together. The cast iron trough was produced at the Plas Kynaston Foundry, Cefn Mawr, which was built just for the building of the bridge.
The trough was joined together from boring waste out from the ground consisting of white lead and iron particles. The trough was made from iron flanges. William Jessop said the materials that were chosen would hold for many years to come, but a full prediction of how long they were going to last was never made.
The phillosophy of Archimedes said that a boat and its cargo or mass weight would push an equal amount of water off the bridge. The trough sides rise about six inches and a handrail is in place. There was also a tow path for horse-drawn canal barges to be pulled.
This viaduct brought a whole new meaning to the canals within Wales and brought a meaning to heritage within the canals. The bridge has now been opened to the public and is maintained by British Waterways.
The aqueduct is situated on Navigation Road, Llangollen and is a free attraction to all the public, however a really good head for heights is needed.
2 Comments – Post a comment
Scattered
Commented 7 months ago - 26th September 2011 - 13:35pm
Thanks for writing this after I suggested it! Another great history article well researched and written. *thumbs up*
GeoffCLIC
Commented 7 months ago - 26th September 2011 - 17:43pm
Happy memories of the CLIC residential last year walking over this aqueduct then eating chips in Llangollen