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Telford died in 1834 at the dawn of rail travel, little knowing how long his legacy would actually endure. Read by Robin Laing.

With his death in September 1834, just as the railway age was dawning, Telford had little idea of how lasting his legacy would be: he shaped the lives of the Victorian civil engineers who followed him and almost everything he built is still in use today.

Julian Glover's biography of Thomas Telford: a shepherd's son, born in the Scottish Borders in 1757, who revolutionised British engineering and set the stage for the Industrial Revolution.

Concluded by Robin Laing.

Abridged by David Jackson Young

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2017.

15 minutes

On radio

Fri 30 Jan 202608:30
BBC Radio 4 Extra

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Credits

ReaderRobin Laing
AuthorJulian Glover
AbridgerDavid Jackson Young
ProducerKirsteen Cameron

Broadcasts

  • Fri 3 Feb 201709:45
    BBC Radio 4 FM
  • Sat 4 Feb 201700:30
    BBC Radio 4
  • Fri 7 Jan 202214:00
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sat 8 Jan 202202:00
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 30 Jan 202608:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 30 Jan 202613:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Fri 30 Jan 202619:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra
  • Sat 31 Jan 202603:30
    BBC Radio 4 Extra