Episode 1
Julian Glover's biography of the innovative engineer who set the stage for the Industrial Revolution. Read by Robin Laing.
"There was no better moment to be born, if you wanted to change the world by building things, than Britain in the second half of the 18th century."
Julian Glover has written the first full modern biography of Thomas Telford.
He was a shepherd's son who changed the world with his revolutionary engineering. Telford's life spanned a fascinating time in British history: born in post-Union, post-Enlightenment Scotland, Telford forged a successful career in London and then across the country working on projects that set the stage for the Industrial Revolution.
Born in the Scottish Borders in 1757, Telford's beginnings were not auspicious. But he gained a fine education in his village school and, in that egalitarian time and place, mixed there with children from all different classes. Indeed, contacts from his schooldays played a key role in helping him to become established as one of Britain's leading engineers.
A stonemason turned architect turned engineer Telford built churches, harbours, canals, docks and the famously vertiginous Pontcysyllte aqueduct in Wales. He invented the modern road and created the backbone of our national road network. His bridges are some of the most dramatic and beautiful ever built, most of all the Menai Bridge, which spans the dangerous channel between the mainland and Anglesey. Astonishingly, gratifyingly, almost everything he built remains in use today.
Read by Robin Laing.
Abridged in five parts by David Jackson Young
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.
First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio 4 in January 2017.
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Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Reader | Robin Laing |
Author | Julian Glover |
Abridger | David Jackson Young |
Producer | Kirsteen Cameron |
Broadcasts
- Mon 30 Jan 2017 09:45大象传媒 Radio 4 FM
- Tue 31 Jan 2017 00:30大象传媒 Radio 4
- Mon 3 Jan 2022 14:00大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra
- Tue 4 Jan 2022 02:00大象传媒 Radio 4 Extra