Symbol of a Revolution

"Antiquity has produced no structure, as an aqueduct, which can compare with Pontcysyllte."


Pontcysyllte Aqueduct ©Science & Society Picture Library

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was a pioneering project.  It remains to this day the highest navigable canal aqueduct ever built.  The aqueduct was the result of a need to find a way to cross the valley of the Dee, without a series of locks that would delay traffic on the canal.  The aqueduct was a brilliant fusion of canal technology, industrial innovation and hard work.

The aqueduct was also a work of art. Tourists flocked to see it under construction. 8,000 people witnessed its opening. Landscape painters featured the aqueduct in their works.

Today the aqueduct stands a symbol of the ambitions of local industrialists, the hard and dangerous work of the men who built it and worked in the foundry, and the desire of engineers and architects to advance science and technology.


Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. ©Wrexham Archives

" 'This is the Pont y Cysswllt, sir,' said my guide; 'It is the finest  bridge in the world.' "

George Borrow, Wild Wales, 1862


"The aqueduct was the latest in technology when it was built. They say it is the highest aqueduct for boats in the world."

Symbol of a Revolution

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