Lin's Mill Aqueduct, Union Canal. Obilque aerial view. Digital image of ML 5505

Description Lin's Mill Aqueduct, Union Canal. Obilque aerial view. Digital image of ML 5505

Date 1983

Collection RCAHMS Aerial Photography

Catalogue Number SC 797020

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of ML 5505

Scope and Content Aerial view, Almond Aqueduct, Union Canal, Edinburgh, from south-west This shows the south side of Almond Aqueduct, built between 1818 and 1822, which was designed by Baird with advice from Thomas Telford. The five-arched aqueduct travels over the River Almond and the small channel (centre right) is a canal feeder which supplies water to the canal from Cobbinshaw Reservoir in the hills beyond West Calder, West Lothian. The 'L' shaped building (centre top) is Lin's Mill. The original plan was for a single-arched structure with embankments, but this was changed in favour of a design which was based on Telford-executed aqueducts (Chirk and Pontcysyllte) on the Ellesmere Canal. The aqueduct was built with an iron trough for water which means that the structure does not have to counter the water's outward pressure. The stone pillars and arches are therefore lighter and more elegant. 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/797020

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap