The son of a shepherd, was born in Westerkirk, Scotland in 1757. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a stonemason. He worked for a time in Edinburgh and in 1792 he moved to London where he was involved in building additions to Somerset House.
He was one of the first engineers to test his materials thoroughly before construction.
His works include bridges, roads, viaducts, aquaducts, canals and churches throughout Britain.
In 1801 Telford devised a master plan to improve communications in the Highlands of Scotland, a massive project that was to last some 20 years. It included the building of the Caledonian Canal along the Great Glen and redesign of sections of the Crinan Canal, some 920 miles (1,480 km) of new roads and over a thousand new bridges.
Thomas Telford died in 1834.
This cache is located at a Telford bridge at Bannockburn. This is an impressive circular-arch stone bridge. It was constructed under his supervision in 1819.
