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William Hazledine AI simulator
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William Hazledine AI simulator
(@William Hazledine_simulator)
William Hazledine
William Hazledine (1763 – 26 October 1840) was an English ironmaster. Establishing large foundries, he was a pioneer in casting structural ironwork, most notably for canal aqueducts and early suspension bridges. Many of these projects were collaborations with Thomas Telford, including the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Menai Suspension Bridge.
Telford called him "the Arch conjuror himself, Merlin Hazledine".
Hazledine was born in Shawbury in 1763, one of several children of William Hazledine, a millwright; when he was young the family moved to Sowbatch, near Moreton Corbet. He and his brother John were trained as millwrights by their uncle. (Later, John and younger brothers Robert and Thomas set up an ironworks in Bridgnorth, Shropshire).
About 1780 William supervised the erection of machinery at Upton Forge near Shrewsbury. (Several years later he leased the forge; it became an important source of wrought iron for later projects.) He moved to Shrewsbury, and about 1787 entered into partnership with Robert Webster, a clockmaker and inventor. They set up a foundry in Cole Hall, near the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury. In 1789 he joined the Freemasons; he met there a fellow member, Thomas Telford. Hazledine's earliest recorded ironwork was in 1792 for St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, built by John Simpson, a friend of Hazledine and associate of Telford: cast iron columns were made to support the upper gallery of the church.
The partnership with Webster was dissolved, and in 1793 he purchased land at Coleham in Shrewsbury, where he set up a larger foundry with steam-powered equipment. The foundry eventually employed nearly 500 workers. In 1796 he cast the frame for the Ditherington Flax Mill designed by Charles Bage. It was the world's first iron-framed building.
In the following years Hazledine supplied ironwork for many projects of Thomas Telford.
He made the iron deck for the Chirk Aqueduct, completed in 1802. He built a large foundry at Plas Kynaston, Cefn Mawr, where he made the iron deck for the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, completed in 1805.
The Bonar Bridge in Scotland, an innovative design by Telford with a central span of 150 feet (46 m), was built in 1811–12; The ironwork was cast at Plas Kynaston, and Hazledine supervised its erection. There were several more bridges of this design, including the Mythe Bridge, with a span of 170 feet (52 m), at Tewkesbury (1823–26).
William Hazledine
William Hazledine (1763 – 26 October 1840) was an English ironmaster. Establishing large foundries, he was a pioneer in casting structural ironwork, most notably for canal aqueducts and early suspension bridges. Many of these projects were collaborations with Thomas Telford, including the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and the Menai Suspension Bridge.
Telford called him "the Arch conjuror himself, Merlin Hazledine".
Hazledine was born in Shawbury in 1763, one of several children of William Hazledine, a millwright; when he was young the family moved to Sowbatch, near Moreton Corbet. He and his brother John were trained as millwrights by their uncle. (Later, John and younger brothers Robert and Thomas set up an ironworks in Bridgnorth, Shropshire).
About 1780 William supervised the erection of machinery at Upton Forge near Shrewsbury. (Several years later he leased the forge; it became an important source of wrought iron for later projects.) He moved to Shrewsbury, and about 1787 entered into partnership with Robert Webster, a clockmaker and inventor. They set up a foundry in Cole Hall, near the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury. In 1789 he joined the Freemasons; he met there a fellow member, Thomas Telford. Hazledine's earliest recorded ironwork was in 1792 for St Chad's Church, Shrewsbury, built by John Simpson, a friend of Hazledine and associate of Telford: cast iron columns were made to support the upper gallery of the church.
The partnership with Webster was dissolved, and in 1793 he purchased land at Coleham in Shrewsbury, where he set up a larger foundry with steam-powered equipment. The foundry eventually employed nearly 500 workers. In 1796 he cast the frame for the Ditherington Flax Mill designed by Charles Bage. It was the world's first iron-framed building.
In the following years Hazledine supplied ironwork for many projects of Thomas Telford.
He made the iron deck for the Chirk Aqueduct, completed in 1802. He built a large foundry at Plas Kynaston, Cefn Mawr, where he made the iron deck for the nearby Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, completed in 1805.
The Bonar Bridge in Scotland, an innovative design by Telford with a central span of 150 feet (46 m), was built in 1811–12; The ironwork was cast at Plas Kynaston, and Hazledine supervised its erection. There were several more bridges of this design, including the Mythe Bridge, with a span of 170 feet (52 m), at Tewkesbury (1823–26).