Thomas Telford
From 1787 he designed churches,  roads and canals in Shropshire.  He built 40 bridges in Shropshire, including major crossings of the Severn at Buildwas, and Bridgnorth. The bridge at Buildwas was Telford's first iron bridge. In 1793 he managed the detailed design and construction of the Ellesmere Canal, to join the ironworks and collieries of Wrexham  with Chester, using the existing Chester Canal, and then the River Mersey. This involved the spectacular Pontcysyllte Aqueduct over the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen, where Telford used a new method of construction consisting of troughs made from cast iron plates and fixed in masonry. Running for over 1,000 feet (300 metres)  126 ft (38 m) above the valley floor, the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct has nineteen arches, each with a 45 ft (14 m) span.