Chronology of the journey to World Heritage Site status

When did the journey start? You could argue from the beginning of construction in 1795 and throughout the site’s chequered history.

Or you might say it began in 1999, when the aqueduct was put on the UK government’s list of possible future World Heritage Sites.

Or even more recently, when Wrexham Council commenced the campaign in 2003 to go for World Heritage inscription, and the six difficult years progressing the nomination that followed. It’s been a long journey, but worthwhile.

The World Heritage Site nomination comprised of two key documents required by UNESCO. You can access these by clicking on the tabs below.

A chronology of key moments is also provided further down this page.

In summary, Pontcysyllte has been inscribed as a ‘cultural’ site, meeting the UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) requirements of Outstanding Universal Value, authenticity and integrity, together with an effective management system and legal protection.

The nomination for Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal has gone through a rigorous evaluation process by expert advisors to the World Heritage Committee. UNESCO uses 10 criteria for World Heritage Site designation and a site is required to meet just one of these. The experts agreed that Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal meets three World Heritage Criteria:

Criterion i: ‘represent a masterpiece of human creative genius’

Criterion ii: ‘exhibit an important interchange of human values… on developments in architecture or technology…’

Criterion iii: ‘be an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble… which illustrates a significant stage in human history’.

Chronology of the journey to World Heritage Site status

  • 1999 – the UK Government published a tentative list of 25 possible future World Heritage sites. There are only two sites in Wales – Blaenavon Industrial Landscape (which was inscribed in 2000) and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. If successful, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal will become only the third Welsh site to be inscribed onto the World Heritage List.
  • At this stage, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct site comprised of just the aqueduct i.e. a monument site.
  • 2003 – Wrexham Council started to look at how the aqueduct’s nomination could be taken forward and approached British Waterways (owners of the canal), other UK World Heritage Sites and government departments.
  • The UK is limited to putting forward one cultural and one natural site nomination each year; consequently there was great pressure from tentative list sites to be allocated a nomination slot.
  • 2005 – Experts were commissioned by Wrexham Council and British Waterways to give independent advice on the case for nomination. They produced a series of expert papers stating that in their view Pontcysyllte met three World Heritage Criteria and merited nomination. This work gave Wrexham Council and British Waterways the confidence to put time and resources into taking the nomination forward and seeking a UK nomination slot.
  • 2005 – The bicentenary of the completion of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in November 1805. Numerous celebrations took place, culminating in a major public event on November 26. The expert papers were summarised in a black book and published, helping to raise the profile of the nomination among local residents, visiting government officials, politicians and the press. A public display about the nomination was used to start a petition for local people to sign their support.
  • 2005 – Advice indicated that although Pontcysyllte Aqueduct could go forward for nomination as a monument site, a larger site should be considered. Work on the ‘outstanding universal value’ of the site identified the outstanding 18th Century canal engineering, technological innovation and significance in the development of canal engineering as the critical factors. With these key principles the site was extended to the Horseshoe Falls to the west, (where water is extracted from the River Dee and fed along the feeder canal to Pontcysyllte), and to Gledrid Bridge in the east.
  • The extended site crossed into other local authorities and into England. Consequently, a new Welsh partner in Denbighshire County Council and English partners in Oswestry Borough Council, Shropshire County Council, English Heritage and Natural England were approached and asked to support the proposals. A steering group began to meet in December 2005, with the new partner organisations all represented.
  • The campaign to raise the profile of the site and assure government officials that the bid team could deliver a nomination worthy of a UK nomination slot gathered momentum.
  • 2006 – In October, Culture Minister David Lammy announced that Pontcysyllte had got the UK’s 2008 Nomination slot.
  • 2007 – The nomination is progressed and a major 12 week consultation took place to ensure the views of local residents, businesses, landowners and community groups, together with the voluntary, public and private sector organisations, were taken on board and – critically – that the nomination was supported.
  • 2007 – The editorial team of Dr Peter Wakelin, Peter Birch, Dr Dawn Roberts, Dr Sian Rees and Steven Hughes, supported by Dr Christopher Young, worked round the clock to complete the Nomination Document, Management Plan and over 90 supporting documents – all delivered to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in London on December 21, 2007, ahead of schedule.
  • 2008 – The nomination went before Culture Secretary James Purnell for signature on January 4 and was sent to UNESCO in Paris as the United Kingdom submission for 2008. It arrived three weeks early, subsequently passing the UNESCO Technical Check and was approved for evaluation.
  • September 2008 – Professor Reinhold Castensson, appointed by ICOMOS to assess the authenticity, integrity and management of the site, comes for a four day assessment visit.
  • November 2008 to June 2009 – Behind the scenes UNESCO experts receive reports on the assessment of the site, and prepare recommendations ready to go before the World Heritage Committee.
  • 27 June 2009 – The World Heritage Committee at its meeting in Seville approves the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal nomination on to the World Heritage List. The discussion took just 24 minutes due to the strength of the nomination.

The World Heritage Site nomination comprised two main documents:

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site Nomination Document

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site Nomination Document - PDF version 18.6MB

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal World Heritage Site Management Plan - PDF version 11.3MB

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