Hugh Baird (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, who designed and built the Union Canal
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
. Born at Westertown, Bothkennar, Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...
, he was the son of Nicol Hugh Baird
Nicol Hugh Baird
Nicol Hugh Baird was a Scottish surveyor who worked for his uncle Charles Baird in St Petersburg for several years, and emigrated to Canada in 1828....
, surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
to the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
, and was the younger brother of engineer Charles Baird
Charles Baird (engineer)
Charles Baird was a Scottish engineer who played an important part in the industrial and business life of 19th century St. Petersburg...
.
Nicol Baird died in 1807, and Hugh Baird succeeded him as surveyor to the canal. In 1810 he put forward designs for extending Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
docks, although nothing was built. Baird was appointed resident engineer to the Forth and Clyde Canal in 1812, on a salary of £250 a year.
In 1813, Baird was commissioned to prepare a scheme for linking Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to the Forth and Clyde Canal, via an "arm", or branch canal, between Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
and Fountainbridge
Fountainbridge
Fountainbridge is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross to the east, Bruntsfield to the south, Dalry to the west and Haymarket to the north....
, Edinburgh. Alternative designs included schemes by John Rennie and Robert Stevenson
Robert Stevenson (civil engineer)
Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
, as well as earlier proposals by Ainslie and Whitworth (1797). Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
supported Baird's proposal in 1815, and an act of Parliament was passed two years later. Baird was appointed chief engineer to the new canal, which became the Union Canal
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
, on a salary of £500 a year. The canal was begun in March 1818 and was opened in May 1822. Although the canal had only one flight of lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
s, at Falkirk (since replaced by the Falkirk Wheel
Falkirk Wheel
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift located in Scotland, UK,connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal, opened in 2002. It is named after the nearby town of Falkirk which is in central Scotland...
), it was necessary to construct three substantial aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s; the Avon Aqueduct
Avon Aqueduct
The Avon Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct on the Union Canal near Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is long and high; it is the longest and tallest aqueduct in Scotland, and the second longest in Britain...
, the Almond Aqueduct
Almond Aqueduct
The Almond Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Scotland, west of Ratho. Measuring long, it carries the Union Canal above the River Almond, from Edinburgh into West Lothian. It can be reached by car and by cyclists on the Union Canal path.-External links:**...
and the Slateford Aqueduct
Slateford Aqueduct
The Slateford Aqueduct is a navigable aqueduct in Slateford, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by Hugh Baird and completed in 1822 with advice from Thomas Telford....
. These were designed by Baird with Telford's advice, and are modelled on Telford's Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct
Chirk Aqueduct is a high and long navigable aqueduct that carries what is now the Llangollen Canal across the Ceiriog Valley near Chirk, on the England-Wales border....
on the Ellesmere Canal
Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a canal in England and Wales, originally planned to link the Rivers Mersey, Dee, and Severn, by running from Netherpool to Shrewsbury. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned...
. The canal also includes Scotland's only canal tunnel, at Falkirk, 630 metres (2,066.9 ft) long.
Hugh Baird was also involved with the Crinan Canal
Crinan Canal
The Crinan canal is a canal in the west of Scotland. It takes its name from the village of Crinan at its westerly end. Nine miles long, it connects the village of Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp with the Sound of Jura, providing a navigable route between the Clyde and the Inner Hebrides, without the need...
in Argyll, and the Ulverston Canal
Ulverston Canal
The Ulverston Canal is a canal in the town of Ulverston, Cumbria, England. It is claimed to be the deepest, widest and straightest canal in the UK. It is entirely straight and on a single level...
in Cumbria. He died at Kelvinhead
Kelvinhead
Kelvinhead is a very small community within the vicinity of the village of Banton in Scotland. Located close to the source of the River Kelvin, it is little more than a collection of a few houses along the A803 road between Kilsyth and Banknock....
, and was buried at Kilsyth
Kilsyth
Kilsyth is a town of 10,100 roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.-Location:...
. Baird Road in Ratho
Ratho
Ratho is a village and civil parish in the west of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Newbridge and Kirkliston are other villages in the area. The Union Canal passes through Ratho. Edinburgh Airport is situated only 4 miles ...
, Edinburgh was named after Hugh Baird. His son, Nicol Hugh Baird
Nicol Hugh Baird
Nicol Hugh Baird was a Scottish surveyor who worked for his uncle Charles Baird in St Petersburg for several years, and emigrated to Canada in 1828....
(1796–1849), emigrated to Canada, where he worked on a number of canal projects.
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...