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Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Sep 28 2009 By Chester Chronicle

Carrying the Llangollen canal 126ft above the River Dee, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is a masterpiece of Georgian engineering.

Situated between the villages of Trevor and Froncysyllte, It was built by Thomas Telford between 1795 and 1805.  The word "Pontcysyllte" means "the bridge that connects" and it created a navigable union between England and Wales, ultimately connecting the rivers Severn, Dee and Mersey.

There are eighteen piers made of local stone, the central ones over the Dee being 126’ high up to the ironwork. In order to make the aqueduct as light as possible, the slender masonry piers are partly hollow and taper at their summit. The mortar was made out of oxen blood, lime and water.

The canal runs through an iron trough which is 1007’ long, 11’ 10" wide and 5’ 3" deep, and is the largest in Britain. It holds 1.5 million litres of water and takes 2 hours to drain.

The iron was supplied by William Hazeldine from his foundries Shrewsbury and nearby Cefn Mawr. Water is fed from the Dee at the Horseshoe Falls at LLantysilio near Llangollen. The total cost to build the aqueduct in 1805 was £45,000.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct attracts thousands of visitors every year and was suggested as a contender for World Heritage status in 2005, its 200th anniversary year.  It was formally nominated in 2006. 

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