Thomas Telford: under, over, through

9 August 2007 was the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Telford (1757–1834), one of Britain's greatest civil engineers, responsible for some of the country's best-known bridges, tunnels, and canals—as well as roads, harbours, and churches.

In the map you'll find examples of Telford's projects, along with works by other engineers who went under, over, and through. Click on the names to read the biographies and scroll down to find more about Thomas Telford.

Thomas Telford in numbers …

• 22,000: the number of people who could be accommodated in churches designed by Telford

• 580: the span in feet of Telford's Menai suspension bridge

• 0.5: the weight of Telford's iron bridge at Buildwas (1796) relative to its famous forerunner at Ironbridge (1781)

• 29/4/10: the number of locks, aqueducts, and bridges along the Caledonian Canal.

• 1007: the length in feet of Telford's Pontcysyllte aqueduct

• 1100: the number of bridges for which Telford was responsible in Scotland

and in words …

'the most impressive work of art ever seen' (Sir Walter Scott on Pontcysyllte)

'no other man has ever handled cast iron with such complete assurance and understanding … enabling him to achieve that perfection of proportion which gives strength the deceptive semblance of fragility' (Thomas Rolt)

'the Colossus of Roads', Sir Robert Southey, poet laureate