Slateford Aqueduct
| Slateford Aqueduct | |
|---|---|
| File:Slateford Viaduct (9).jpg | |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Carries | Union Canal |
| Crosses | Water of Leith |
| Locale | Slateford |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 500 feet (150 m) |
| Height | 75 feet (23 m) |
| Longest span | 50 feet (15 m) |
| Number of spans | Eight |
| History | |
| Designer | Hugh Baird, Thomas Telford |
| Construction begin | 1819 |
| Construction end | 1822 |
The Slateford Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Slateford, Edinburgh, Scotland.
History
It was designed by Hugh Baird with advice from Thomas Telford and is modelled on Telford's Chirk Aqueduct.[1] Different parts of the canal were tendered to contractors at different times, and the masonry for the Slateford Aqueduct was advertised to builders on 2 March 1818.[2] Baird wrote to Telford regarding the ironwork, as he had received a visit from James Thomson, representing the company of William Hazledine, who had worked on the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Baird was unsure about using a contractor based so far away, and also whether the contract should be just for the delivery of the plates or the delivery and assembly.[2] On 3 April 1818, Hugh McIntosh was chosen to construct the aqueduct, as he was the contractor for the east end of the canal.[2] After Thomson sent an estimate to Telford for the iron on 30 April, a revised specification was chosen by Baird, the contract for which was advertised on 18 July, and tenders opened on 11 August.[2] The offer by the partnership of Messrs. Craven, Whitaker and Nowell, riding on the success of their building a stone bridge over the River Ouse, was accepted as being "by far the most eligible."[2]
Construction had started by March 1819, after the laying of a foundation stone.[2] It lasted until 1822, and the canal opened that year.[1]
It was listed as a category B listed building in 1970.[3]
Design
The Barton Aqueduct of 1761, and subsequent canal aqueducts in the United Kingdom, used large quantities of masonry and puddling to obtain watertightness.[2] After the success of The Iron Bridge in 1789, however, cast iron was used by Telford on aqueducts such as Chirk and Pontcysyllte.[2] Aqueducts built in the early part of the 19th century use either puddle clay or an iron trough in no particular pattern.[4]
The Slateford Aqueduct has eight arches of 50 feet (15 m) span, and is 500 feet (150 m) long and 75 feet (23 m) high above the Water of Leith.[1] The piers are battered, giving a larger footprint at the base than the top, and the spandrels are hollow, an innovation by Telford.[1]
It carries the Union Canal across Inglis Green Road and the Water of Leith at Slateford.[5][6] To the north of the aqueduct, on the side of the accessible towpath, is the parallel Slateford Viaduct, which carries an operational railway.[6][7]
See also
References
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