Civil engineering heritage: country profile – Wales, UK

Abstract

This paper is a review of the civil engineering heritage of Wales, UK, one of the series of national profiles being published by Engineering History and Heritage. It is presented under four headings: Wales’s major civil engineering achievements; national and regional recognition of its engineering heritage; examples of conservation of engineering structures; and information sources for engineering heritage. The paper discusses the engineering structures of heritage importance including the Conwy and Britannia tubular bridges, the Telford bridges along the A5 trunk road to Holyhead, the Pont-y-Cafnau at Merthyr Tydfil, the oldest iron tram road bridge in the world built in c. 1793, Brunel’s railways in south Wales and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Sites at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Blaenavon industrial landscape. The paper lists organisations in Wales active in helping to conserve its engineering heritage, including Cadw, the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales, and the paper concludes with details of websites and books giving further information about Welsh civil engineering heritage.