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The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct ((:ˌpɔntkəˈsəɬtɛ), full name in (ウェールズ語:Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte)) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee in Wrexham County Borough in north east Wales. Completed in 1805, it is the longest and highest aqueduct in Great Britain, a Grade I Listed Building〔("Listed Buildings: Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Trevor" ), Wrexham County Borough Council, viewed on 25 May 2007〕 and a World Heritage Site. When the bridge was built, it linked the villages of Froncysyllte, at the southern end of the bridge in the Cysyllte township of Llangollen parish (from where it takes its name), and Trevor (''Trefor'' in Welsh), at the northern end of the bridge in the Trefor Isaf township, also of Llangollen parish. Both townships were later transferred to Wrexham County Borough following local government reorganisation. The name ''Pontcysyllte'' is in the Welsh language and means "Cysyllte Bridge".〔 The township of Cysyllte existed for centuries before the bridge was built. For most of its history, the aqueduct was known as ("Bridge of Cysyllte"). Other translations such as "Bridge of the Junction" or "The Bridge that links" are modern, and incorrect, derived from the literal English translation of ' as "junctions" or "links." ==History== The aqueduct, built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop, is long, wide and deep. It consists of a cast iron trough supported above the river on iron arched ribs carried on eighteen hollow masonry piers (pillars). Each of the nineteen spans is wide. Despite considerable public scepticism, Telford was confident the construction method would work: he had previously built at least one cast-iron trough aqueduct – the Longdon-on-Tern aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal. It is still visible in the middle of a field, though the canal was abandoned years ago. Part of what was originally called the Ellesmere Canal, the Pontcysyllte aqueduct was one of the first major feats of civil engineering undertaken by Telford, by then a leading civil engineer, supervised by Jessop, the more experienced canal engineer. The iron was supplied by William Hazledine from his foundries at Shrewsbury and nearby Cefn Mawr. It was opened on 26 November 1805, having taken around ten years to design and build at a total cost of £47,000. Adjusted for inflation this is equivalent to no more than £}} in , but represented a major investment against the contemporary GDP of some £400 million.〔()〕 Such a project would cost more today due to factors that did not apply in the early 19th century, such as higher real wages, safety measures, new regulations and taxes, financing fees and so on. At the time of the aqueduct's completion, the canal terminated at a wharf slightly to its north. A feeder to bring water from the Horseshoe Falls beyond Llangollen was completed three years later in 1808. At some point after 1820, the Plas Kynaston Canal was built to serve industry in the Cefn Mawr and Rhosymedre areas. There might have been another canal extension ("Ward's") but detailed records do not survive.〔(Plas Kynaston Canal by P Brown )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pontcysyllte Aqueduct」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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