The Slateford Aqueduct is a

navigable aqueduct Navigable aqueducts (sometimes called 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-section of wa ...

that carries the

Union Canal Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

over the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing near central Edinburgh, Scotland, and flows into the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The name ''Leith'' may be of Britt ...

Slateford Slateford ( gd, Àth na Sglèata) is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of the Water of Leith. The former village of Slateford lies on the Lanark Road where it crosses the Water of Leith, south west of Slateford Sta ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland. Completed in 1822, it has eight arches and spans a length of .

History

It was designed by Hugh Baird with advice from

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (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 Scot ...

and is modelled on Telford's

Chirk Aqueduct Chirk Aqueduct is a high and long navigable aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border, spanning the two countries. History The aqueduct was designed by civil engin ...

. 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. Baird wrote to Telford regarding the ironwork, as he had received a visit from James Thomson, representing the company of

William Hazledine William Hazledine (1763 – 26 October 1840) was an English ironmaster. Establishing large foundries, he was a pioneer in casting structural ironwork, most notably for canal aqueducts and early suspension bridges. Many of these projects were c ...

, who had worked on the

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; cy, Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte) 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 ...

. Baird was unsure about using a contractor based so far away, and also as to whether the contract should just be for the delivery of the plates or the delivery and assembly. On 3 April 1818, Hugh McIntosh was chosen to construct the aqueduct, as he was the contractor for the east end of the canal. 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. 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." Construction had started by March 1819, after the laying of a foundation stone. It lasted until 1822, and the canal opened that year. It was listed as a category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in 1970.

Design

The

Barton Aqueduct Barton may refer to: Places Australia * Barton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Division of Barton, an electoral district in New South Wales * Barton, Victoria, a locality near Moyston Canada * Barton, Newfoundland and La ...

of 1761, and subsequent canal aqueducts in the United Kingdom, used large quantities of masonry and puddling to obtain watertightness. After the success of

The Iron Bridge The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a st ...

in 1789, however, cast iron was used by Telford on aqueducts such as Chirk and Pontcysyllte. Aqueducts built in the early part of the 19th century use either puddle clay or an iron trough in no particular pattern. The Slateford Aqueduct has eight arches of span, and is long and high above the Water of Leith. The piers are battered, giving a larger footprint at the base than the top, and the

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

s are hollow, an innovation by Telford. The interior of the stone structure is essentially a setof 5/6? stone arches running in parallel along the length of the bridge, linked and braced laterally at the top of each arch. It is possible to walk the length of the bridge inside the stonework on the north side, from access apertures on the abutments ersonal experience It carries the Union Canal across Inglis Green Road and the Water of Leith at Slateford. To the north of the aqueduct, on the side of the accessible

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

, is the parallel Slateford Viaduct, which carries an operational railway.

References

External links

Video footage of the aqueduct
{{Buildings and Structures in Edinburgh Bridges completed in 1822 Bridges in Edinburgh Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh Navigable aqueducts in Scotland Listed bridges in Scotland Listed canals in Scotland 1822 establishments in Scotland Bridges across the Water of Leith

History

Design

See also

References

External links