Editing Thomas Telford (section)

==Early career==
Telford was born on 9 August 1757, at Glendinning, a [[hill farm]] {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} east of [[Eskdalemuir Kirk]], in the rural [[List of Church of Scotland parishes|parish]] of Westerkirk, in [[Eskdale, Dumfries and Galloway|Eskdale, Dumfriesshire]]. His father John Telford, a shepherd, died soon after Thomas was born. Thomas was raised in poverty by his mother Janet Jackson (died 1794).<ref name="Waterston">{{cite book
 |last1       = Waterston
 |first1      = Charles D
 |last2       = Macmillan Shearer
 |first2      = A
 |title       = Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002: Biographical Index
 |url         = http://www.rse.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp2.pdf
 |access-date  = 25 September 2010
|volume      = II
 |date        = July 2006
 |publisher   = [[The Royal Society of Edinburgh]]
 |location    = Edinburgh
 |isbn        = 978-0-902198-84-5
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20061004113303/http://www.rse.org.uk/fellowship/fells_indexp2.pdf
 |archive-date = 4 October 2006}}</ref>
[[File:Portrait of Thos. Telford (4672707).jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait and signature of Thomas Telford]]

At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and some of his earliest work can still be seen on the bridge across the [[River Esk, Dumfriesshire|River Esk]] in [[Langholm]] in Dumfries and Galloway. He worked for a time in [[Edinburgh]] and in 1782 he moved to London where, after meeting architects [[Robert Adam]] and Sir [[William Chambers (architect)|William Chambers]], he was involved in building additions to [[Somerset House]] there. Two years later he found work at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth dockyard]] and – although still largely self-taught – was extending his talents to the specification, design and management of building projects.

In 1787, through his wealthy patron [[Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet|William Pulteney]], he became Surveyor of Public Works in Shropshire. His projects included renovation of [[Shrewsbury Castle]], [[HM Prison Shrewsbury|the town's prison]] (during the planning of which he met leading prison reformer [[John Howard (prison reformer)|John Howard]]), the [[Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth]] and another church, [[St Michael's Church, Madeley|St Michael's]], in [[Madeley (Shropshire)|Madeley]]. Called in to advise on a leaking roof at [[St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury]] in 1788, he warned the church was in imminent danger of collapse; his reputation was made locally when it collapsed three days later, but he was not the architect for its replacement.

As the Shropshire [[county surveyor]], Telford was also responsible for bridges. In 1790 he designed [[Montford Bridge]] carrying the London–[[Holyhead]] road over the [[River Severn]] at [[Montford, Shropshire|Montford]], the first of some 40 bridges he built in Shropshire, including major crossings of the Severn at [[Buildwas]], and [[Bridgnorth]]. The bridge at Buildwas was Telford's first iron bridge. He was influenced by [[Abraham Darby III|Abraham Darby's]] [[The Iron Bridge|bridge]] at [[Ironbridge]], and observed that it was grossly over-designed for its function, and many of the component parts were poorly cast. By contrast, his bridge was {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on|0}} wider in span and half the weight, although it now no longer exists. He was one of the first engineers to test his materials thoroughly before construction. As his engineering prowess grew, Telford was to return to this material repeatedly.

In 1795, the bridge at [[Bewdley]] in Worcestershire was swept away in the winter floods and Telford was responsible for the design of [[Bewdley Bridge|its replacement]]. The same winter floods saw the bridge at [[Tenbury]] also swept away. This bridge across the [[River Teme]] was the joint responsibility of both Worcestershire and Shropshire and the bridge has a bend where the two counties meet. Telford was responsible for the repair to the northern (Shropshire) end of the bridge.