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Mails to Ireland: Difference between revisions
→Thomas Telford
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===Thomas Telford===
An Act of Parliament of 1815 authorised the purchase of the existing turnpike road interests and, where necessary, the construction of new roads, to complete the route from London to Holyhead, the present day A5. This made it the first major state funded road project in Britain since Roman time. Responsibility for this work as well as realigning and resurfacing the existing roads was awarded to the famous engineer [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Telford Thomas Telford]. Part of the route was surveyed by a young man, aged just 16 at the time, and born just a few miles from here, his name was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Brassey Thomas Brassey].
The completion of this road transformed the journey between London and Holyhead. The jewel in the crown was his daring suspension bridge over the Menai Strait, but the route includes many other fine examples of civil engineering as it passes through breathtaking mountain scenery in North Wales. He insisted on solid foundations for his new road, and in 2000 an [https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-281-1/dissemination/pdf/RR135_Thomas_Telfords_Holyhead_Road.pdf archaeological study] by Cadw (Wales’ historic monuments agency) found that circa 40% of the original remained, beneath and beside the modern road. He also ensured that the horses drawing the coaches faced no gradient steeper than 1 in 20. Telford's improvements to the Shrewsbury-Holyhead road were largely complete by 1818, although the Menai Suspension Bridge was not completed until 1826. Until Telford’s suspension bridges were completed over the river estuary at Conwy and the Menai Straits there were hazards in crossing these two stretches of water. In 1807, for example, a ferry crossing the River Conwy sank killing all but two passengers. Two weeks later another boat capsized trying to cross from Bangor to Anglesey with the loss of 14 lives. When Telford’s new road through North Wales was completed Chester ceased to be a major hub on the Irish Mail route and activities centred round the White Lion Inn in Northgate Street declined but did not cease.
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