William Hazledine (1763 – 26 October 1840) was an English

ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...

. 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 collaborations with

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 Scotla ...

, including 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 ...

and the

Menai Suspension Bridge The Menai Suspension Bridge ( cy, Pont y Borth, Pont Grog y Borth) is a suspension bridge spanning the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826, it was the world's f ...

. Telford called him "the Arch conjuror himself, Merlin Hazledine"."Hazledine, William". A. W. Skempton. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500–1830''. Thomas Telford, 2002.

Early life and career

Hazledine was born in

Shawbury Shawbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Shropshire. The village is northeast of the town of Shrewsbury, northwest of Telford and northwest of London. The village straddles the A53 between Shrewsbury and Market Dray ...

in 1763, one of several children of William Hazledine, a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

; when he was young the family moved to Sowbatch, near

Moreton Corbet Moreton Corbet is a village in the civil parish of Moreton Corbet and Lee Brockhurst in Shropshire, England. The village's toponym refers to the Corbet baronets, the local landowners. It is just north of the larger village of Shawbury near Sta ...

. He and his brother John were trained as millwrights by their uncle. (Later, John and younger brothers Robert and Thomas set up an ironworks in Bridgnorth, Shropshire). About 1780 William supervised the erection of machinery at Upton Forge near Shrewsbury. (Several years later he leased the

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...

; it became an important source of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...

for later projects.) He moved to Shrewsbury, and about 1787 entered into partnership with Robert Webster, a clockmaker and inventor. They set up a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

in Cole Hall, near the

Welsh Bridge The Welsh Bridge is a masonry arch viaduct in the town of Shrewsbury, England, which crosses the River Severn. It connects Frankwell with the town centre. It is a Grade II* listed building. The bridge was designed and built from 1793 to ...

in Shrewsbury. In 1789 he joined the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

; he met there a fellow member,

. Hazledine's earliest recorded ironwork was in 1792 for St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, built by John Simpson, a friend of Hazledine and associate of Telford:

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

columns were made to support the upper gallery of the church.William Hazledine
Grace's Guide. Retrieved 31 March 2018."Bage, Charles Wooley". A. W. Skempton. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500–1830''. Thomas Telford, 2002. Shrewsbury Flaxmill-Maltings east side December 2018

Shrewsbury Flaxmill-Maltings east side December 2018

The partnership with Webster was dissolved, and in 1793 he purchased land at

Coleham Coleham is a district of the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It is located just south, over the River Severn, from Shrewsbury town centre. History Coleham grew up as a village outside medieval Shrewsbury, with the nearest crossing ov ...

in Shrewsbury, where he set up a larger foundry with steam-powered equipment. The foundry eventually employed nearly 500 workers. In 1796 he cast the frame for the

Ditherington Flax Mill Ditherington Flax Mill (promoted as the Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings), a flax mill located in Ditherington, a suburb of Shrewsbury, England, is the first iron-framed building in the world, and described as "the grandfather of skyscrapers",

Charles Bage Charles Woolley Bage (1751–1822) was an English architect, born in a Quaker family "Bage Way", part of Shrewsbury's 20th century inner ring road which links Old Potts Way to Crowmere Road, was named for him. References 1751 births 182 ...

. It was the world's first iron-framed building.

Projects with Thomas Telford

View along Pontcysyllte Aqueduct - geograph

In the following years Hazledine supplied ironwork for many projects of Thomas Telford. He made the iron deck for the

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 ...

, completed in 1802. He built a large foundry at Plas Kynaston,

Cefn Mawr Cefn Mawr () is a village in the community of Cefn within Wrexham County Borough, Wales. Its name translates as "big ridge".Mills, D. ''A Dictionary of British Place Names'', OUP, p.104 The population in 2001 was 6,669, increasing to 7,051 in ...

, where he made the iron deck for the nearby

, completed in 1805. Mythe Bridge - geograph

The Bonar Bridge in Scotland, an innovative design by Telford with a central span of , was built in 1811–12; The ironwork was cast at Plas Kynaston, and Hazledine supervised its erection. There were several more bridges of this design, including the

Mythe Bridge Mythe Bridge carries the A438 road across the River Severn at Tewkesbury. It is a cast-iron arch bridge spanning and 24 feet (7.3m) wide, designed by Thomas Telford and completed in April 1826. It is a Grade II* listed structure. Telford wa ...

, with a span of , at

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

(1823–26). From about 1815 to 1820 he supplied and fitted lock gates for the western half of Telford's

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The canal r ...

. In 1821 Hazledine contracted to supply the wrought iron and cast iron for the

. The bridge, designed by Telford, was completed in 1826. He also supplied the ironwork for Telford's

Conwy Suspension Bridge The Conwy Suspension Bridge is a Grade I-listed structure and is one of the first road suspension bridges in the world. Located in the medieval town of Conwy in Conwy county borough, North Wales, it is now only passable on foot. The bridge is ...

, completed the same year. The

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials t ...

of the wrought iron chains, made at Upton Forge, was important to these suspension bridges.

Other business interests, and later years

In 1817 he took over Calcutts Ironworks, in Ironbridge Gorge; pig iron was produced, and wrought and cast iron made. It was not successful, and he gave up the lease in 1831. Other business interests included a limeworks at

Llanymynech Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ba ...

, property in Shrewsbury, and timber-yards and brickyards. He was mayor of Shrewsbury from 1835 to 1836. Hazledine died in 1840 at his home, Newport House, in Dogpole, Shrewsbury, and was buried at St Chad's Church. There is a memorial, with a bust of Hazledine by James Heffernan whilst working under

Francis Leggatt Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

, in the church. Note - Gunnis states the monument is by local sculptor John Carline which is more likely.dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis

Structures

Hazledine's legacy is a range of spectacular structures including: *

, Shrewsbury (1797) *

Froncysyllte Froncysyllte (; ), colloquially known as Fron, is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales and stands on the banks of the River Dee and the Llangollen Canal. It is situated on the main A5 road which runs from London to Holyhead. It is in the ...

, (1799) *

Craigellachie Bridge Craigellachie Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge across the River Spey at Craigellachie, near to the village of Aberlour in Moray, Scotland. It was designed by the renowned civil engineer Thomas Telford and built from 1812 to 1814. It is a Catego ...

, Scotland (1812–1814) *

(1819–1826) *

(1823–1826) * Aldford Iron Bridge, Eaton Hall,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

(1824) *

(1824–1826) * Cleveland Bridge, Bath (1826) * Stretton Aqueduct,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

(1832–3)

Namesakes

In Coleham, "Hazeldine (''sic'') Crescent" and "Hazledine Court" were named for him, as were "Hazledine Way", part of Shrewsbury's later 20th century inner ring road, linking Reabrook housing estate to

Meole Brace Meole Brace, sometimes known locally as simply Meole (pronounced like ''meal''), is a south-western suburb of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The Rea Brook, a tributary of the River Severn, flows through the area. The brook was in the past kn ...

.Hazledine Way
Shrewsbury Local History. Retrieved 31 March 2018.

References

External links

Plas Kynaston Foundry
Plas Kynaston Canal Group
William Hazledine

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

William Hazledine

Art UK Art UK is a cultural, education charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Since 2003, it has digitised more than 220,000 paintings by more than 40,000 artists and is now expanding the digital collection t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazledine, William 1763 births 1840 deaths English ironmasters English civil engineers Structural engineers People of the Industrial Revolution Millwrights Mayors of places in Shropshire