Painting of Thomas Telford

This painting of Thomas Telford hangs in the Town Hall in Wick.<br /> <br /> Telford was born on 9 August 1857, son of John Telford, a Dumfriesshire shepherd. He worked as a stonemason firstly in the Borders and then in Edinburgh where in his spare time he taught himself drawing and studied architecture.<br /> <br /> Telford went to London where he worked on Somerset House. There he came to the attention of William Pultney.<br /> <br /> Pultney was a director of the British Fisheries Society and through him Telford began a lifelong connection with the Society. Telford advised on the improvement of many of the harbours throughout the north of Scotland, work which led to his involvement with government surveys of the Highlands. The result was the setting up of a commission in 1803 to construct roads and bridges, and for the building of the Caledonian Canal, with Telford as the principal surveyor. <br /> <br /> Telford advised on the building of canals in other parts of the world including the Gotha Canal in Sweden and the Panama Canal.<br /> <br /> Telford designed thousands of masonry bridges. One of the most impressive is the Dean Bridge in Edinburgh. He went on to develop wrought iron bridges, including the elegant Craigellachie Bridge on Speyside and the famous suspension bridge across the Menai Straits between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales.<br /> <br /> Telford was consulted on many railway projects, aqueducts and water supplies. Between 1823 and 1830 he supervised the design and building of churches and manses for the Church of Scotland.<br /> <br /> Thomas Telford died on 2 September 1834. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.