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Thomas Telford Anniversary

I certainly agree with my hon. Friend. As I said, Telford was truly a great Briton; his works extended to Wales, to London and Portsmouth in England, and to the highlands of Scotland. Indeed, one of his great works was to ensure a mail route from London to Ireland. He was referred to as ““pontifex maximus”” for his considerable proficiency in building bridges, and in 1820 he was appointed the first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He held the post until his death in 1834. He built his reputation on craftsmanship, as is demonstrated by the variety of projects that he undertook. Those projects include the Menai Strait and Conway bridges, the renovation of Shrewsbury castle, the Caledonian canal, St. Katherine’s dock, which has been mentioned, and the stunning Pontcysyllte aqueduct over the River Dee. The suspension bridge over the Menai Strait to Anglesey is a world-famous structure that still carries heavy traffic today, and it was a remarkable achievement at the time. The Caledonian canal is 60 miles long and stretches from Inverness to Fort William, and it is recognised as one of the great waterways of the world. The canal was instrumental in the development of the highland economy, and it facilitated trade between east and west, as well as with Germany, Holland and the Scandinavian countries. Telford’s work can be seen outside the United Kingdom in the Gota canal in Sweden—a project that he surveyed in 1808 and instructed a team of engineers to carry out, via correspondence. It was completed in 1832. Telford was consulted by Governments, including those of Russia and Austria, for help in planning new roads and bridges. He also held sway in the House, not least because of his reputation for delivering road and bridge-building schemes on time and to budget—a lesson that many politicians could learn. It is clear from the minutes of Select Committees at the time that Thomas Telford’s professional opinion was given significant weight when it came to the allocation of public funding. As a largely self-taught man, Telford was passionate about education and supporting training, and he was a strong advocate of apprenticeships. That is reflected in the extensive education programme promoted today by the Institution of Civil Engineers. The institution is looking to highlight Telford’s contribution to engineering over the past 250 years, but it also seeks to inspire a new generation of engineers for the next 250 years. Special activities for students this year include a series of new engineering teaching resources, and debating scenarios for citizenship lessons, involving political and ethical civil engineering issues. Apparently, the scenarios include the case for and against road pricing. In Scotland, both in Eskdale and as part of the ““highland promise”” project, a touring scale model suspension bridge with a span of 30 ft is assembled by groups of pupils, who get a real sense of construction and of the engineering principles behind the bridge. It is appropriate to recognise the other work that the institution is doing to mark the 250th anniversary. There is an informative website, an exhibition at the Guildhall art gallery between 19 July and 2 September, and a wreath-laying ceremony at Westminster abbey. Yesterday, a Telford conference took place in Edinburgh, addressed by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Shropshire has already paid its greatest tribute to its first county surveyor from the 1780s by naming a town and several schools after him. Local communities there are holding many events over the summer to mark the anniversary, and I applaud particularly the work of the Telford and Wrekin council and was pleased to sign the early-day motion lodged by the hon. Member for Telford (David Wright). Back in Eskdale, in the muckle toon of Langholm and the parish of Westerkirk, the Langholm and Westerkirk Thomas Telford anniversary group, under the able stewardship of Margaret Sanderson and supported by the Langholm Initiative, are to be commended for having raised funding of more than £30,000 to organise a number of events, including holding a church service, creating a Langholm and Westerkirk Thomas Telford trail, which includes a cairn and plaque to be unveiled on 9 August at Glendinning, Westerkirk, a brochure, new interpretation boards, an audio guide created by Langholm Academy pupils, and a new web page. A Telford family history day will be held and a piece of music to mark the anniversary has been commissioned and is being composed by Jamie Telford—no relation—which will be performed for the first time at a concert to be held on 8 September in the Buccleuch centre in Langholm by the Langholm pipe, flute and brass bands. I am sure the Minister will join me in applauding the considerable volunteer effort being put into the project to commemorate the anniversary at Telford’s birthplace. To conclude, in his will Telford left moneys for the establishment of libraries in both Westerkirk and Langholm, and both are still there today. It will be an honour for me to hand over a copy of Hansard from this debate to be kept in the Telford room of Langholm town hall as a record of this debate, as just one of the many events marking the 250th anniversary of a truly remarkable man.