(pronounced _Pont y Casulte_) or famous aqueduct, now erecting over the
river Dee, and found ourselves within half a mile of this great and
astonishing undertaking. It is not yet finished; eleven pillars are
already completed, built of sandy stone, which is dug on the spot; they
are fifteen yards asunder, and their height, from the bed of the river,
one hundred and twenty feet: over the whole is to run an iron trough,
sufficiently deep for barges of considerable burthen. On the middle
column is the following inscription:
“The nobility and gentry of
The adjacent counties,
Having united their efforts with
The great commercial interest of this country,
In creating an intercourse and union between
England and Wales,
By a navigable communication of the three rivers,
Severn, Dee, and Mercey;
For the mutual benefit of agriculture and trade,
Caus’d the first stone of this aqueduct of
PONTCYSYLLTY
To be laid on the 25th day of July, M.DCC.XCV.
When Richard Myddleton, of Chirk, Esq. M.P.
One of the original patrons of the
Ellesmere canal,
Was lord of this manor,
And in the reign of our Sovereign
George the Third;
When the equity of the laws, and
The security of property,
Promoted the general welfare of the nation;
While the arts and sciences flourish’d
By his patronage, and
The conduct of civil life was improv’d
By his example.”
This wonderful aqueduct reflects great honour to the undertakers of so
admirable, as well as valuable enterprize; and, should their hazardous
scheme succeed, the whole nation must indubitably reap great advantages:
several columns must still be erected, before the level can be
accomplished. It is forming over the most beautiful and romantic part of
the river Dee; a bridge likewise, not far from this spot, adds
considerably to the beauty of the scene. Wood, water, and sloping hills,
all combine to render this vale interesting; several detached cottages,
are sprinkled through its wooded declivities, and here and there a
gentleman’s seat, “embosomed high in tufted trees,” makes a pleasing
feature, in the fascinating landscape. Returning to the turnpike-road, a
short saunter soon brought us to the romantically-situated town of