Man of Iron: Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain by Julian Glover
Bloomsbury, 448 pages, £10.99
While coal powered the industrial revolution, iron made it. If the Menai and Conwy Suspension Bridges (both completed in 1826) are the most famous testimony to the skill of Thomas Telford, they are but two of many. Thanks to Telford (1757–1834), Britain’s progress was accelerated.
Transport improvements played a major role in advancing, and in many cases creating, economic integration and efficiency. A higher-tempo economy was the product. Telford’s Conwy bridge replaced the ferry that had previously been the means to cross the river Conwy. It was part of an improvement to road transport that helped open up north Wales, ensuring that Holyhead became a more important port for Dublin. Telford was also responsible for the construction or improvement of 1,200 miles of road in the Scottish Highlands. The poet Robert Southey called him the “Colossus of Roads”.
However, there were always costs – financial, social, and to other economic sectors. When Telford’s St Katharine’s Docks in London were built, opening in 1828, a heavily populated slum area was cleared, thereby making over 11,000 homeless.
By the early 1830s, the engineer had lost his grip, as shown with his rejected plan for a bridge at Clifton. Instead, Brunel was chosen. Telford was also out of touch with the reform mood of his later years, although he did back decimalisation in 1831.
In this excellent study, Julian Glover successfully links Telford’s biography and achievements. The hard graft of his life is brought out, but also his energy and the recognition he won for civil engineering.
The book is handsomely illustrated and draws on a good range of sources, both manuscript and printed. They are ably deployed to construct a volume that is as fit for purpose as one of Telford’s bridges but yet also no heavier than it need be. Given the general focus on Brunel, it is particularly welcome to see such a fine treatment of Telford. Jeremy Black’s books include A New History of England (second edition 2015)