View from NW.

Description View from NW.

Date 31/7/2001

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 796884

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of E 5888 CN

Scope and Content Avon Aqueduct, Union Canal, West Lothian, from north-west This shows the west end of Avon Aqueduct, built between 1818 and 1822, which was designed by Baird with advice from Thomas Telford. The towpath (left) becomes cobbled and narrows to a width of 1.2m along the length of the aqueduct. The bikes show how the towpath, originally walked by horses pulling barges, has now become a popular cycle route. The water channel across the aqueduct is 1.8m in depth and almost 4m in width. Many aqueducts that were built around this time usually had water channels which were lined with heavy puddled (kneaded) clay. With Avon Aqueduct the water is carried on an iron trough over the span which means that the structure does not have to counter the water's outward pressure. The stone pillars are therefore hollow and are internally braced, which leads to a lighter and more elegant structure. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales, designed by Telford and opened in 1805, also has an iron trough and is the only aqueduct in Britain that is bigger than this one. The government authorised the construction of the Union Canal in 1817 and appointed Hugh Baird (1770-1827) as the chief engineer. The main purpose of the canal was to provide an economical route for the transportation of coal and lime between Edinburgh and Glasgow via the Forth & Clyde Canal (1768-90). The 51km-long canal was opened in 1822 at a cost of £461,760, almost double the estimate, and it ran from Lock 16 at Camelon, Falkirk to Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. Except where the two canals are joined at Falkirk, the canal was built with no locks because it followed the contours of the hills. The Union Canal was closed in 1965, two years after the Forth & Clyde Canal, and the construction of new roads meant that it was impossible for boats to travel along the full length of these watercourses. However, the £84.5m Millennium Link project enabled both canals to reopen in 2002. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/796884

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap