- Chirk Aqueduct
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Chirk Aqueduct 
Chirk Aqueduct and the Railway viaduct behind it Carries Llangollen Canal Crosses Ceiriog Valley Location Chirk OS grid reference Maintained by British Waterways Designer Thomas Telford Trough construction Cast Iron Pier construction Masonry Number of spans Ten Total length 710 feet (220 m) Height 70 feet (21 m) Boats can pass? No Towpath(s) East Side Completion date 1801 Coordinates 52°55′43″N 3°03′42″W / 52.9287°N -3.0616°ECoordinates: 52°55′43″N 3°03′42″W / 52.9287°N -3.0616°E Chirk Aqueduct is a 70-foot (21 m) high and 710-foot (220 m) long navigable aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border.
The aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford for the Ellesmere Canal and completed in 1801.[1] It possesses a cast iron trough within which the water is contained. The masonry walls effectively hide the cast iron interior. The aqueduct followed Telford's innovative Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, and was a forerunner of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct also on the Llangollen Canal.[2]
Looking at Wales over the Aqueduct. The entrance to the Chirk Tunnel is visible.
Telford pioneered the use of cast iron in bridges as well as aqueducts, and cast iron troughs were widely used elsewhere on the British canal network, especially where a secure and watertight crossing or bridge was needed. Another famous example is the Cosgrove Aqueduct on the Grand Junction Canal at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.
The aqueduct consists of ten arches, each with a span of 40 feet (12 m). The water level is 65 feet (20 m) above the ground and 70 feet (21 m) above the River Ceiriog. The first stone was laid on 17 June 1796.[1] William Hazledine provided the ironwork for the aqueduct.[3] Side plates were added to the aqueduct in 1870.[4]
The Chirk Tunnel starts at the north end of the Chirk Aqueduct, allowing the canal to continue on towards Llangollen.
See also
- List of canal aqueducts in Great Britain
- List of bridges in Wales
References
- ^ a b Samuel Smiles (2004). The Life of Thomas Telford. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1419169912.
- ^ Samuel Smiles (1861). Lives of the Engineers, with an Account of Their Principal Works. J. Murray.
- ^ A. W. Skempton (2002). A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland. Thomas Telford. ISBN 072772939X.
- ^ Roger Cragg (1997). Wales and West Central England: Wales and West Central England, 2nd Edition. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0727725769.
External links
- Chirk Aqueduct at chirk.com
- 360 Degree Panoramic View at BBC Shropshire (Java Applet Required)
Categories:- Bridges in Wrexham county borough
- Buildings and structures in Shropshire
- Navigable aqueducts in Wales
- Works of Thomas Telford
- Bridges completed in 1801
- Llangollen Canal
- Ellesmere Canal
- Welsh building and structure stubs
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