Shropshire Routes to Roots

Perhaps one of the most influential civil engineers to come to Shropshire, and have a direct impact on the roads, was Thomas Telford. He was born in 1757 in Scotland but came to Shropshire 1787, and was here until his death in 1834. Originally a stone mason, turned architect, he later became a civil engineer. He was responsible for building more than 1000 miles of roads and over 1,200 bridges.

This print of Shrewsbury Abbey by Henry Burn (1847) shows how Telford's road carved a route through the monastic buildings, necessitating their demolition. This was all in the cause of a straight through route over the English bridge. The church of the Holy Cross was left intact. The refectory pulpit, where the brothers had been read the Bible during meal times, can be seen on the other side of the road to the Abbey. Today the pulpit stands in the centre of a car park.

Telford's method of road construction was very different to that of his contemporaries. The straight line of his road was not the only similarity to the Romans. He also used a similar method of road construction. Telford set a paving of large stones on a prepared subsoil to take the brunt of the weight of the road. This was followed by a layer of paving with broken stone on top. On top of all this was a coating of gravel. Like the Roman roads, Telford's road also had a marked camber to improve drainage with water running into channels.

Telford's attention to detail was one of his marking features. Toll houses were placed regularly along the route at 5 to 10 mile intervals. The design was carefully specified with good visibility and accommodation. This tollhouse at Blists Hill Open Air Museum was originally built at Shelton in 1829 about a mile from the Welsh bridge. It was moved to the museum in 1972 when it was due to be demolished.

There are many similar houses on the Holyhead Road. Telford's patron, Sir Harry Parnell, wanted to attract honest toll collectors who would not leave the gate at night nor let friends through without paying. To attract the right sort of person the houses should be comfortable. The wrought iron toll, gate with its distinctive design, came from Blaenau Ffestiniog and is typical of the gates designed by Telford. They were made of wrought iron with radiating bars forming a sunburst design.

Telford also designed his own milestones. He saw this as an opportunity to give his road clear markers. The milestones - an example of which can be seen outside the Shelton Tollhouse - had a triangular head and chamfered sides.