Chirk Aqueduct is a high and long

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-se ...

that carries what is now the

Llangollen Canal The Llangollen Canal () is a navigable canals of the United Kingdom, canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, S ...

across the Ceiriog Valley near

Chirk Chirk () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the historic counties of Wales, traditional coun ...

, on the

England–Wales border The England–Wales border, sometimes referred to as the Wales–England border or the Anglo-Welsh border, runs for from the Dee estuary, in the north, to the Severn estuary in the south, separating England and Wales. It has followed broadly ...

, spanning the two countries.

History

The aqueduct was designed by civil engineer

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

for the

Ellesmere Canal The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...

. The resident engineer was M. Davidson who also acted as resident engineer on a number of Telford's other works. The foundation stone was laid on 17 June 1796 and it was completed in 1801. It has a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

trough within which the water is contained. The masonry walls hide the cast iron interior. The aqueduct followed Telford's innovative

Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct The Longdon-upon-Tern Aqueduct, near Longdon-upon-Tern in Shropshire, was one of the first two canal aqueducts to be built from cast iron. History The cast iron canal aqueduct was re-engineered by Thomas Telford after the first construction ...

on the

Shrewsbury Canal The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...

, and was a forerunner of the

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; ) 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 is for use by narrowboats and was complet ...

, also on the Llangollen Canal. The aqueduct was briefly the tallest navigable one ever built, and it now is Grade II* listed in both England and Wales. It forms part of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Description

The aqueduct consists of ten arches, each with a span of . The water level is above the ground and above the River Ceiriog. The stone work is yellow sandstone. William Hazledine provided the ironwork for the aqueduct. Originally built with iron plates only at the base of the trough, iron side plates were added to the aqueduct in 1870 to alleviate leakage. The

Chirk Tunnel Chirk Tunnel is a canal tunnel near Chirk, Wales. It lies on the Llangollen Canal, immediately northwards of the Chirk Aqueduct. It is long and has a complete towpath inside. The tunnel is designed for a single standard narrowboat, so passi ...

starts at the north end of the Chirk Aqueduct, allowing the canal to continue on towards Llangollen. Chirk Railway Viaduct was built later alongside the aqueduct. It is slightly higher than the aqueduct. As is true for the entire Llangollen Canal, a steady current flows in the aqueduct with the narrow cross-section of the aqueduct's trough amplifying this flow.

References

External links

Chirk Aqueduct at chirk.com360 Degree Panoramic View at BBC Shropshire
(Java Applet Required) {{Wrexham Bridges in Wrexham County Borough Buildings and structures in Shropshire Navigable aqueducts in Wales Bridges by Thomas Telford Bridges completed in 1801 Llangollen Canal Ellesmere Canal Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Grade II* listed buildings in Wrexham County Borough Grade II* listed bridges in Wales Cast iron aqueducts Chirk

History

Description

See also

References

External links