TÒMAS TELFORD: A’ TOGAIL NA GAIDHEALTACHD
Monday 6th April at 9pm on BBC ALBA
In 1801 one of the finest minds that Scotland has ever produced turned his attention to helping the Clearance-ravaged Highlands. Engineer Thomas Telford’s work had a massive impact, arguably even greater than that of the 1886 Crofting Act.
In a compelling film produced for BBC ALBA titled Tòmas Telford: A’ Togail na Gaidhealtachd, Gaelic-speaking engineers, historians and churchmen reveal the one-man revolution that Thomas Telford created in the Gaeltacht.
Among them is Donald Meek who is not only an expert on Telford’s Highland Churches, but who is also writing a book on 19th century Scottish Engineers. Other interviewees include bridge engineer, Andrew Macleod and Donald John MacInnes, a lock-keeper on the Caledonian Canal.
Donald Meek
Thomas Telford spent 20 years building the Caledonian Canal. The most ambitious such project the world had ever seen, it created massive employment and gave an enormous boost to the Scottish fishing industry. A workaholic who never seemed to run out of good ideas, Telford, in the same period, built more than 1000 miles of Scottish roads. These were not the steep military roads that Wade designed, but highways with gentle gradients that would stimulate industry, travel and trade.
He built 120 bridges, many of them still in use including Dunkeld, Sligachan, Spean, Shiel and Craigellachie. His harbours at Portree, Tobermory, Jura and Invergordon are also still in use.
Furthermore, when the Church of Scotland needed a massive church building programme Telford designed more than 30 of them. In Uist, Islay, Argyll, Iona and Skye, Gaels still worship in Telford churches with ministers living in Telford manses.
Neptune's Staircase
On many of his Highland projects Telford waived the fee, or worked for minimum wages. At a time when the English and Lowlanders still had bitter memories of the ’45 rebellion, the Borders-born Telford set about giving the Highlands the communications system and infrastructure of a modern country.
It is impossible to travel in the Highlands and Islands without encountering a Telford structure, yet the debt the Gaels owe to him has largely been forgotten. This film will celebrate the work of an extraordinary man whose vision could well serve the Highlands today.
Tòmas Telford: A’ Togail na Gaidhealtachd will be broadcast on BBC ALBA on Monday 6th April at 21:00 and is available on Sky channel 168 & Freesat channel 110.