TELFORD. 121 



iron into great permanent structures exposed to heavy strains.* 

 This bridge was commenced in 1819, and opened for traffic in 1826. 

 The distance between the two piers is 550 feet, and the whole road- 

 way, which is carried over four arches on the one side, and three on 

 the other, has a length of 1000 feet, and a breadth of 30 feet. The 

 total cost of the work was 120,000?. 



Mr. Telford also built many other bridges of considerable size, 

 and executed some important harbour works at Aberdeen and 

 Dundee ; but his most striking performance of this latter class is 

 the St. Katharine Docks, London. One of his latest engagements 

 was the survey of Dover harbour, undertaken in January, 1834, at 

 the request of the Duke of Wellington, (as Warden of the Cinque 

 Ports,) with a view to the adoption of measures to check the accu- 

 mulation of shingle at the entrance. 



During the course of his life Mr. Telford taught himself Latin, 

 French, and German, so as to be able to read those languages with 

 fluency, and to be able to converse freely in French. He is likewise 

 said to have been well acquainted with algebra, but to have placed 

 more reliance upon experiment, than on mathematical investigation. 

 He contributed to the 'Edinburgh Encyclopaedia' the articles 

 ' Architecture,' ' Bridge Building,' and ' Canal Making.' Besides the 

 above, he wrote an account of his own life, giving elaborate de- 

 scriptions of his various professional undertakings. (Life of Thomas 

 Telford, written by himself. Edited by John Rickman. London, 

 1833, 4to.) 



Although Telford was not connected with the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers at its formation, he accepted their invitation in 1820, and 

 became their President ; and from that time he was unremitting in 

 his attention to the duties of the office, having become by his 

 partial retirement from business, a pretty regular resident in the 

 metropolis. 



Telford was possessed of a robust frame, and till he had reached 

 the age of seventy, had never been visited with any serious illness. 

 While at Cambridge, in the year 1827, he was afflicted with a severe 

 and dangerous disorder; and although he gradually recovered a 

 certain degree of health, he never regained his former vigour. He 

 died a few years afterwards at his house in Abingdon Street, West- 

 minster, having completed the seventy- seventh year of his age. 

 His remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey, where there is 

 a statue erected to his memory. Encyclopaedia Britannica. English 

 Cyclopaedia. 



* Sixth Dissertation, by Dr. J. D. Forbes, F.K.S. Encyclopedia Britannica. 

 Eighth Edition. 



