Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2019}}

{{Short description|Grade I listed navigable aqueduct near Longdon-on-Tern, Shropshire, England}}

{{Infobox aqueduct navigable

| name = Longdon-upon-Tern Aqueduct

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| image = Aqueduct, Longdon-on-Tern - geograph.org.uk - 1067495.jpg

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| caption = The aqueduct pictured in 1994

| coordinates = {{Coord|52.737|-2.567888}}

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| carries = Shrewsbury Canal (now disused)

| crosses = River Tern

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| heritage = Grade I Listed building

| id = 1037006

| id_type = Historic England Listing Entry Number

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| material = Cast iron

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| length = {{convert|186|ft|m}}

| width = {{convert|9|ft|m}}

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| depth = {{convert|3|ft|m}}

| traversable = No (now drained)

| towpath = South side

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| number_spans = 4

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| designer = Thomas Telford

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| complete = 1796

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The Longdon-upon-Tern Aqueduct, near Longdon-upon-Tern in Shropshire, was one of the first two canal aqueducts to be built from cast iron.

History

The cast iron canal aqueduct was re-engineered by Thomas Telford after the first construction designed by William Clowes was swept away by floods. It was built in 1796 to carry the Shrewsbury Canal across the River Tern near Longdon-upon-Tern in Shropshire.{{cite book|editor1-last=Sivewright|editor1-first=W.J.|title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Wales & Western England|date=1986|publisher=For the Institution of Civil Engineers by Thomas Telford|isbn=072770236X|pages=179–180}} The {{convert|186|ft|m}} aqueduct was opened one month after Benjamin Outram's {{convert|44|ft|m}} cast iron Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby Canal, the world's first cast iron canal aqueduct.{{cite web|title=Shrewsbury Canal, Longdon Aqueduct (Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal) Shrewsbury Canal, the Aqueduct of the Shrewsbury Canal|url=https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1037006|publisher=Historic England|accessdate=19 November 2017}} Since the closure of the Shrewsbury Canal in 1944, the aqueduct has been disused. The aqueduct is an Historic England Grade I listed building and has been on the register since 30 March 1971.

Description

The canal was carried in a cast-iron trough {{convert|9|ft|m}} wide, {{convert|3|ft|m}} deep and {{convert|186|ft|m}} long and divided in four spans, each of {{convert|47|ft|8|in|m}}.

See also

References