Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Welsh pronunciation: [ˌpɔntkəˈsəɬtɛ]; Welsh: Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte
Stone
336 yd (307 m)
12 ft (3.7 m)
126 ft (38 m)
5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Yes
East side
18
4
25 July 1795
26 November 1805
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal
Cultural: i, ii, iv
2009 (33rd Session)
105 ha
4,145 ha
The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build. It is 12 feet (3.7 metres) wide and is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain as well as the highest canal aqueduct in the world. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side.[1][2]
The aqueduct was to have been a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway that would have created a commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey. Although a less expensive construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. Only parts of the canal route were completed because the expected revenues required to complete the entire project were never generated. Most major work ceased after the completion of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1805.
The structure is a Grade I listed building[3] and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Etymology[edit]
The name Pontcysyllte is Welsh for "Cysyllte Bridge" or "Bridge of Cysyllte", Cysyllte being the township of the old parish of Llangollen in which the southern end of the bridge lies.[4] The northern end of the bridge was in Trefor Isaf township, also in Llangollen parish.
Other translations such as "bridge of the junction" or "bridge that links" are modern false etymologies, derived from the name's apparent similarity to the word cysylltau (plural of cyswllt) which means connections or links.[5]
World Heritage Site[edit]
The aqueduct and surrounding lands were submitted to the "tentative list" of properties being considered for UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1999.[29] The aqueduct was suggested as a contender in 2005—its 200th anniversary year[30]—and it was formally announced in 2006 that a larger proposal, covering a section of the canal from the aqueduct to Horseshoe Falls would be the United Kingdom's 2008 nomination.[31][32]
The length of canal from Rhoswiel, Shropshire, to the Horseshoe Falls, including the main Pontcysyllte Aqueduct structure as well as the older Chirk Aqueduct, were visited by assessors from UNESCO during October 2008, to analyse and confirm the site management and authenticity. The aqueduct was inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List on 27 June 2009.[33]
A view of the Dee Valley from the aqueduct
From the river and valley
The canal being drained for inspection and maintenance (2009)
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Winter
Aerial view
Aerial view showing football ground and Cefn Mawr
Aerial view
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct viewed from below at its northern end
